Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-06
GUARDING THE CITY
Against the Possibility of an
Invasion by the Dreaded
Asiatic Cholera.
A UNITED EFFORT MADE.
Coal Men, the Chamber of Commerce
and City officials at Work.
THE GARBAGE QUESTION RAISED,
Charges Are Made Against the Plan for Dis
posing of 1t.
A UNITED EFFORT MADE.
THE GARBAGE QUESTION RAISED,
CLEARING ALLEGHENrs BIG SEWERS

community can, by their industrious efforts,
construct a barricade high enough and
strong enough to keep the pestilence away.
The officials of the two cities met in
Mayor Gourley's Office early yesterday
morning. They discussed the sanitary con-
ditions of the two cities, reported the con-
dition of the Streets sewers and rivers, and
recommended that prompt steps be taken
and active measures applied at all points
under suspicion. Later in the morning the
Coal Exchange held a well-attended meet
ing, at which the condition of the rivers
was discussed and a committee of five mem
bers was appointed to confer with and assist
q similar committee from the Chamber of
Commerce. At 2:30 yesterday afternoon
the Chamber of Commerce held special
meeting, and they, too, appointed q COM
mittee of five to act with the committee
from the Coal Exchange and the officials of
the two cities.
Many Prominent Citiz.ns Present
AT each of the three meetings marked in
terest was evidenced ana the Cham
Der of Commerce meeting attracted
many of the most public spirited
men of the two cities. Those
present were President George A. Kelly,
Secretary McHenry, James B. Scott, Cap
tain w. B. Rodgers, Chief Murphy, of the
Department of Public Safety, Allegheny;
Chief Brown, of the Pittsburg Department
Of Public Safety; Mayor Kennedy, of Alle-
ghenv; Superintendent of Police O'Mara,
DR.. Allison, of the Presbyterian Banner;
Colonel 7. P. Roberts, Captain Logan,
Reuben Miller. Captain Edward bravo,
Captain Harry Brown, Captain W. H.
Hatch, James H. Murdoch, Morton Hall,
j. j. Donnell, Captain O'Niell, A. B.
Wigley, City Physician McCandless, Cap
tain Martin, of the Davis Island dam;
Lucien Scaife, Moses Atwood. Captain
Bachelor, Morrison Foster and George II.
Anderson.
Nearly every man present made q speech,
and spirited discussion was provoked by
the proposition to lower the wickets at the
Davis Island dam. Each of those present
had decided opinion on the subject
ADivision of Opinion.
The necessity of draining the river Just
at this time, as was originally pointed out
in Sundays DISPATCH, was heartily en-
dorsed BY many, and it was just as yigor-
ously opposed BY others
DR.. McCandless was fearful that to drain
the harbor would expose the accumulation
in the river bed to the sun, which he argued
might breed diseases just as deadly as
cholera
Colonel Roberts ind orsed what DR.. Nc
Candless said. He believed, however, that
to lower the wickets and have the stream
thoroughly agitated by steamboats, and then
open the Monongahela Navigation Com
pany's docks above the city might drive
out much of the accumulation in the river
beds.
Captain Rodgers argued that to drain the
rivers might be dangerous. "Receding
water will not carry anything with it,"
Captain Rodgers said ''In fact, as the
water falls it will leave the garbage on the
wharf. 1t will not even carry lemon peel
with it
George II. Anderson wanted to know
why the garbage from the two cities was
dumped into the rivers. He contended that
the citv had recently been supplied with
garbage furnaces and he believed that the
city authorities should see to it that all the
refuse be burned.
Chief Brown Accepts the Challenge.
Chief Brown, who accepted Mr. Ander-
sons remarks as reflection upon the citv's
management, said that the city had but
one garbage furnace with daily capaci v
OF Is tons. The city, he said, had refused
or failed to make an appropriation for any
additional furnaces. 'It would require six
furnaces such as the one we have to con-
sumo the refuse of the city," Chief Brown
said.
Captain Herbst, trife indignant, asked |
why the garbage of the city was dumped |
into the river. 1.-THE city is in eyerv way |
CAPABLE of taking care of her garbage |
There is something wrong about this en- |
ployment of garbage boats. There is some |
thing back of the whole thing. We found |
great difficulty in forcing those dump boats |
from their former moorings near the Expo |
sItlon building. Every time we would turn |
around we found some city official there to |
protect the boats, and it was not until we
threatened to take an ak and cut the boats
loose that we got them to move We are
going to appeal to the State authorities to
prevent the city from communicating the
rivers"
Reuben Miller, who returned recently
from New York, told of the strife and con-
tentlon between the State and municipal au-
thorities at the New York harbor He said |
there was but little executive ability dis
played on either side. He knew personally
of one steamer arriving in New York last
week, and it was refused landing for five
hours because the physicians said they did
not have the time to examine the passen-
gers. He believed there was either q
scarcity Of physicians or determination on
their part to shrink from their dutv,
Cruel Treatment of Passengers
''The people coming into New York har-
Dor Just now are subjected to horrible
cruelty" Mr.. Miller said. THE idea of
driving the vessels with all their passengers
back into quarantine is preposterous After
they are driven back the sick and dying are
taken off the boat and the people in good
health are compelled to remain on the in
fected ship. Imagine physician in this
city in a case of scarlet fever or diphtheria
taking the afflicted ones away from the sick
room and leaving the well children lust
where the disease could not escape them.
There is no cholera in New York now, and
the people OF that citv are not alarmed at
lis approach. They are more alarmed for
some of their citizens who are scattered
about in other parts of the country"
Mr. Miller then argued that some active
measure should be applied to the train
loads OF immigrants now coming into Pitts
burg. The immigrants are our only
ianger," Mr.. Miller went on ssThey
should not be allowed to enter Pittsburc.
They should be dumped at Walls station or
some other point outside OF Pittsburg, and
hose who are west bound should be COM
oeiied to go around the city,"
Dr.. McCandless thought there was more
ianger from impure water than any other
'ause. Impure water is the cause Of most
# the diseases in Pittsburg," he said.