The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-24
IHB SANITARY INSPECTOR.
Much Dissatisfaction Caused by
Mr.. Showell's Methods.
SERIOUS CHARGES MADE
His Competitors Said to Be Great.
Handicapped.
Does the Inspector Consider His Office q
Private snap9-He Is in the Field as
Contractor-The Pernicious
Warrant system.

Sanitary Inspector Shovel evidently
belongs to that class of politicians who
consider a public Office to be private
snap.
Heretofore the inspector has had clear
sailing, but just now he appears to have
been squeezed into 2 very tight corner,
from which he will find it exceed
ingly difficult to extricate himself.
Mr.. Showell receives salary of some
thing like S125 month for his arduous
duties, but this is said to be mere baga-
telle compared with lis ''rake OF. =
The city pays between $l6, 600 and S17, 600
g year Tor the public sanitary work, and
now much of this goes into William s
capacious pocket he alone knows. Con-
eldering the small area included
IN the garbage district, and COM
pared with the expense of similar
service in other cities, this sum
that In addition to being sanitary in
spector, Mr.. Shovel composes a com
Pany'' whose business it is to remove
garbage, clean out cess pools and do
general scavenger work at the prevailing
prices. As the necessity for any work of
this kind is reported to MIN, naturally
lie has the inside track, and gets
business. The inspector is well paid and
1t would seem that he could devote his
time to public duties instead of entering
Inc field as q contractor 10 remove ashes,
garbage and clean closets for citizens at a
stipulated price per year. In this latter
capacity he is and has been doing Hour
jsning business, and'it is charged that his
teams are always allowed to unload irst
at the crematory by his brother in law
to the injury of other citizens who are
competitors in this line OF work.
Prom the pay roll of his department, 1t
appears that the following men are en-
ploysd under his direction: Beckwith,
Connolly, Gibson. Hagreen, Human,
Jones, Scates, Shoemaker, Sears and
Sputzsngar, teamsters; Davis and Solus,
cartmen; Argyle, Cope, Carr and Nc
This makes ten teasnsters and two cart
men to take care of the little garage dis
rrict of nine block. It is asserted that
these teams, which are paid for by the
city, are not engaged exclusively for
municipal work, but occasionally do a
job for which the inspector is
paid, and that the cash goes
10 more. Now when it is reported
that citizens cesspool needs cleaning
out or when his COW dies and the carcass
must be removed, the inspector appears
on the scene with due regularity and
makes bid for the job If it is accepted
team calls around, the work is done
and the inspector gets the the pay.
II his offer is declined the job is
open to any one who wants it,
subject to such petty obstacles as may be
thrown in the way when it comes to I'M
loading at she crematory.
But whether or not the inspector en-
ploys city teams to do private work, il
cannot be denied that it is improper fol-
him to enter the field as a contractor for
such work. As well might the engineer
take contract for the construction of g
gravity sewer, or Mr.. Haines award him
self a contract for street paving.
IL is said that that part of the inspectors
bureau which is under his absolute con-
troll is rotten to the core, and that if It's
affairs are investigated, the stencil OF his
crematory Will be as perfume COM
pared with it Enough has certainly
been shown to justify an investigation Of
that department, and it is hoped that the
council win meet the wishes of the public
in this matter and look into it.