The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-07-26
BACON'S QUARTER BRANCH
cA,Isss OF A FRUITFUL MUS
ANCE FOR THE CITY
raIk with Dr. y. ". Mc'a"' WV
stabbed the suhject-suggcstion '' ~"
...,,o,r-rood for Thought FOR '"'
Counc,l-Other Local Needs

with members OF ltit h'N'
This CITY. For years, whenever ma''e'S
la,,nc 10 hygiene came before tn"se VIM
eor. an interest in such matters u'eSe
streams gave them theme In tue VI,
courcil wears ago. attention was direc'ou
:, ,hom as prime causes Of grave nuisances'
nr Robert Cabcll, when member o. ,no
1ouncn, and chairman OF th' ,..',, go,
ti"'i,h vas untiring in his efforts 10 gel
,ho C"nncil 10 take spirited action apou,
,bo condition Of affairs which was '""seu
by the streams referred 10. .,,i,,,s i,
mr. i n. McCaw and other phNslcla's ~,
tho civ appeared before the touhci' any
80 ihai body the benefit OF ther KNOW
cdee and experience in sucn ihihgS, o"1 t"o
M result was the establishment OF
Shcckoe Creek committee, ana an apluV-
priatIon Of $4,000 for It's Improvement
,rRUTrUL NUISANCE.
M NcCaw is an establiched authorli! |
-, .,,cb questions. and yesterday lMhs
.,,,ortcr Knowing that he was pcrlcctll ID"
miliar with the subject, called on MN anu
asrcd him 10 give his views, Whlch Nclo
s,,hstantlally as follow: Inc ca'le-iTnS
beyond the confines OF the cltH' IN" '"'9'" ,,
Of the CITY jurisdiction, furnish sIea'
o,nonn, Of filth. the blood tecal natter en-
traiIs and such things. from these caltlc-
80 arr emitted into BacOus Quarter
branch. This Is a scrpentine stream ul1'
winds its sinuOus way slu!e'Hu'!
through the very heart w
citv and produces a nuisance irultiul Oh
diseases of all sorts. Diphlheria' choiela'
typhoid fever and many other diseases grow
,Icam This bof-bcd only day or two ago
1'nn,ieman came 10 me and said, Doctor
,vont Won 10 tell me what Is the matter |
lin me am not sick. but ! feel badly
and want YOU 10 tell me what Is the mat
ter told him al once. lie hNed over
Sbockoe Creek. and had been breathing inc
deadly gases from that stream. AZ DaNeh-
port A Morris the same state OF ahalrs cN-
ISIS. I'm fact, believe that all lower Car!
street is affected by the same causes
AN ABATTOIR NEEDED.
al have urged the establishment OF an
,hottoir below the Gas works. II the city
were 10 construct one and put 1t INTO opera
tion in less than 1--WE years every hhlchtI
would he glad 10 patroniIe II. IL oil couIec
should be- properly constructed nave Hoors
that would bee tiled, and Dc furnished WIN
ali the modern appliances belonging To a
SLAUGHTER house. The blood and refuse
matter could be washed from the
floors Of the buildings daily, and would Ice
emntied quickly into the James river ana
i'm this way the nuisance from the slaughter
houses ,ould be gotten rid Of. | have
Sometimes thought tnat the old brewery
would be u good place for the abattolr' but
possibly the building - too hlgh IL Is GER
iainly necessary 10 have theabattolr. why,
think Of the great cities like London ana
Paris. IL would be impossible b. do without
something Of this sort there. The city could
leave the construction and arrangement OF
sucb n building 10 the City Engneer,.and IN
course Of tme-in fact, in short tme-the
revenue from the abatt0ir would more than
nav the interest on the cost OF construc-
lion"
JURISDICTION.
"But, doctor. the cattle pens are in the
county of llcnrico.
..Ycs. that is so: but while the cattlc-pens
are out OF the city, the nuisance Is IN II,
and while am no lawyer, II seems ihAl
there ought 10 be some way % abdte II.
The city could extend its jurisdiction, or
the-e NAV be some other way 10 reach the
cause of such germ Of disease as Is iur-
nished bv the existence of the cattle-pens,
where tney are al present located, ana abate
the nuisance that is carried through the
heart Of the city by the branch and Shockoe
Creek"
ABOUT THE PAST.
DIR. McCaw said that good many years
ago he had urged the importance OF tunnel
ing Church Hill, and changing the course OF
Shockoe Creek by emptying 1t into Oills
Creek. This was not done, and IN lis stead
a large appropriation was voted by the ciiy
IL tunnel the hill and give the Chesapeake
and Ohio railroad an outlet from the city
10 the sea. ShOckOe Greek rises about
eight miles from the city, and if the cattle
pen nuisance was abated its waters would
be harmless on the state Of health IN the
city. The course of BacOn's Quarter Brancn
should be Strengthened, and this would
facilitate matters. Now the stream Is slug
gish and extremely crooked in its path
through the valley. II the tunnel had been
cut through Church Hill, the hygiene eject
ON the city would have been great, ana the
valley bordered on two sides by >hockoe
creek and BacOn's Quarter Branch could
have been converted into pretty park.
COUNCIL ACTION.
"These matters have frequently been
called to the attention OF the City Council,
said the Doctor. IL have appeared at times
before that body, and the gentlemen gave
me a patient hearing, but that was the end
of II. Nothing that can think of is more
needed than action in this matter and the
establishment OF a city hospital. There Is
not "A city i'm the world of $4,000 inhabitants,
in which there are no provisions Tor
the sick except Richmond. Talk about
stretching out our population, I'D
the census returns; why, IT seems to me
shame ought to want us 10 contract II, draw
il up. Charleston, not hali so rich as Fitch
mond. has two city hospitals and four dis
pensaries, and here we have no hospital,
unless the person Is so poor that he has 10
be sent 10 the pOOrhOuse. II man has
lee broken. he does not want YOU 10 give
him pill, and that is all that our city dis
pcnsaries can do
CITY NEEDS.
1--WE need great many things here. We
have i'm course OF construction new City
Hall. which, when finished, Will cost over
one million of dollars. \ ct IN sight OF II
there is a jail that il disgraccful. The City
Hall will bc a magnificent building OF It's
Kind. and will be big advertisement for
Virginia granite, but the necessities OF
Richmond. i'm the shape Of a hospital, and
advanced methods Of health improvement,
would almsst stamp the new CITY
Hall as RichmOnd's folly. shortly
after the war, the dispensary at the
Medical College Of Virginia was offered the
city for hospital purposes. The building
was then in very different condition from
its present state. IL had been used during
the war as an officers hOspitel, ana was
finally adopted for hospital purposes. IL was
shown 10 the City Council that II would cost
small as the expense was the city refused 10
accept the offer, and we have no hospital as
yet"
THE NEW COUNCIL.
The new City Council has appointed on
the Committee ON ShOckOc Creek number
of gentlemen, some of whom live in the inn
mediate locality. These gentlemen have
met and organized by the election Of George
r.. Bowden as chairman, and nave held no
meeting sence. on account of the fact that
the time set for their regular meeting
has not rolled around. At the 0rgani-
zatiOn meeting, however, the committee
showed that they fully realized the necessi-
ty for action. There is large amount OF
the unexpendcd appropriation to their
credit, and they will proceed to spend this
in abating some OF the nuisances tnat
abound on the banks Of ShOckoe creek, near
the Old Market. Ii will come properly
within their province 10 take into cOnsidera-