Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-21
DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE.
More Light on the Question-Methods Ap
proved BY Sanitary Science.

| bage collection. "But whatever" he goei
on to say, "may be the method used in tht
collection of waste from n community the
final disposal of this waste is q matter which
compels serious attention"
| There are only two methods Of garbage
disposal which have received the approva
| OF sanitary science. One is the manufacture
| of garbage into commercial product, the
other the destruction of all waste by fire
| and the utilization of the ashes for n reve
nue.. The first method has been used in sew
| eral OF the larger cities for four years past
By means of heat the water and gases of gar
oage are expelled, the residue treated by
| chemicals and the residuum used as basis
for the manufacture of a fertilizer.
This process is adapted to only one clas:
| OF the city waste-the vegetable and animal
garbage. 1t does not deal with inorganic
waste, which is 20 PEI cent of the whole
amount produced, nor does it take account
of night soil or of dead animals; conse
quently, this process does not cover the
whole field of garbage disposal, but limits
its work to about Is or 20 per cent of the bulk
product, and this must be furnished sepa
| rately from ali other matters. The work:
required are large and expensive, the royal
ties upon the patents costly, private com
panies are organized to carry on the work
and they require long contracts at prices far
above what other systems are willing te
guarantee.
Plants That Were Unsuccessful.
THE operation is attended with risk from
fire, because OF the materials used; the man
ufactured product is OF variable and uncer
tain value. OF the eight plants erected by
the company, there are now only two in
operation. Two have been given up as un-
successful, two have been compelled to stop
an, ~f Atr4o And
against them as public nuisance, one is
treating garbage at a cost of ST. 50 a ton, that
can be destroyed by fire at IS cents ton.
and one is running under very serious dis
advantages.
There remains to De considered the de-
bodies o. animals and excreta Of al. kinds
by the agency of fire. Can it be done with
out offense and with reasonable expendi-
ture? The answer is emphatically, yes.
For more than II years it has been done in
England at 80 places. For 16 years the
United States Government has DESTROYED
the waste of military posts in special fur
mace, and the three to five years experience
of more than 80 cities iu the United States
and Canada have proved this statement COR
rect. In this length of time cremation of
waste las undergone the severest tests pos.
sible and tho results can safely be regarded
as conclusive.
There are four styles of crematories now
In actual use and each can be depended
N.
known are the Rider Garbage Furnace, in use
for four years in Pittsburg and Allegheny,
and the Engle Garbage Crematory, of which
there are % in operation and four more now
building.
Continuous Combustion the Best.
COLONEL MORSE has had more expert
ence with the Engle than with the Rider
crematory, and the statistics which he cites
relate to the former, though It is only fair to
state that the friends OF the Rider furnace
can furnish testimony exactly parallel In
the furnaces which Colonel Morse has OBJ
served the action Is continuous and has
been carried on for six months together
without cessation. Usually the whole gar
bage collection is daily destroyed, and at
night tho night soil is consumed.
The body ofa horse Is consumed In one
hour, dog IN six minutes, and cubic yard
of garbage may be destroyed in Is minutes
or less. If it contains but little liquid. The
cost of operation depends mainly upon the
quality and cost of fuel. Under ordinary
conditions, with the labor of three men and
n good quality of fuel, garbage can be
burned at from 30 to so cents n ton. The
ashes of garbage, especially of animal mat
ter, have q positive value. Chemical an
nalysis shows that they contain to II per
cent of potash and Dhosphoric acid. The
practical application of the ashes to land by
farmers shows the value to be even more
than is claimed. Under favorable condf-
the cost of the fuel used in combustion.
When large cities adopt this method two
or more furnaces are built at different loca-
tions to save transportation of garbage.
Their cost is governed by the varying condf-
tions of the price of material, labor etc but
may be said to be extremely moderate when.
compared with the large sums necessary to
build works for the other method of dis
posal.
Sanitary Value of Crsmatories.
r1x- IL.
is beyond question. In all places where
they have been tried, and managed as di-
rected, there has never been any complaint
against them as q nuisance. The testimony
from health officers and authorities on this
point is very convincing.
In the heart of the city of New York a
crematory destroys without offense, and
with no chance for the escape Of disease
germs, infected articles from persons sick
with contagious diseases, as well as the
waste from hospitals. The apologists for
the dump-boat scheme claim that under the
new plan the garbage furnace nuisance will
be removed beyond the city limits, down to
Brunot's Island. Colonel Morse's answer to
this argument is very clear; there can be
no nuisance when crematory is properly
managed. There certainly could be no nui-
sance greater more jnsanitary than the
series of dump-boats which would be re-
quired to carry all the city's garbage to
BrlnotS Island.
The new garbage company is reported in
one ofthe daily papers as saying that it will
take charge of the city refuse, such as street
sweepings, ETC., at q lower rate than that
required by. the crematory. 1t is possible
that the city treasury may be saved few
dollars year by this plan, but is the rate to
the individual to be lowered?
What tho Charges Are to Be.
APPARENTLY not, for the same report
makes the company say that there will be
no interference with the present method of
garbage. That is to say, there
will be the same collection twice a week, at
the rate of $ls a year from the well-to-do,
and no service at all for the poor.
The company is further reported as COM
the Health Protective Associa-
tion by saying that the precautions recon-
mended by that organization have already
been taken, and that their suggestions will
be acted upon.
The ladies of the Health Association ap-
preciate the compliment, and, that there may
be no mistake, take pleasure in reiterating
their suggestions: A municipal system Of
daily garbage collection from every house
hold odorless sanitary steel carts, as many
garbage furnaces rs may be required, and Mt
such loca tions as will involve no intermedi-
ary dumpboats.
If these are the suggestions which the gar
bage company proposes to act upon, There is
nothing more to be said.
MRS. JOHN NJ. OAKLEY.
BETTER NAME WANTED.