Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-04-25
A HOUR oFTHE BACK YARDS
Sanitary Inspector Harry Moses Takes 2 Democrat Reporter With Him on Hi Rounds. e

Sanitary Inspector Harry Moses TakeS Q Democrat Reporter With Him on His Rounds. ,ses A reporter of the DEMOCRAT started out this morning on tour of inspection with Sanitary Inspector Moses, which turned out to be @ real game of follow the leader and resulted in giving the reporter all the experience he ever wants in connection with the work of the sanitary inspector. MT Moses knows the private entrance and exit to every cellar and back yard in the city and if he should ever be thrown out of his present position he would make a most successful burglar, should he decide to engage in that profess sion. The only thing that would incon- venience him in the latter business is that every man, woman and child in the city seems to know him. Even his footsteps are immediately recognized in the dooryard of some houses, and his appearance in any locality is heralded all over the place in few minutes. This is the reason that the inspector does most of his work in the early morning and some people often ask why he has not visited their street, when he has been all over the place before they were out of their beds. -.
 Inspector Moses had list of about fifty places to visit this morning, but left some of them until this afternoon, when he saw his companion was begging to give up the chase. When wading- through a pool of stagnant water or .poking around an over- flowing cesspool the inspector takes hold of his trousers at the knees and in this manner succeeds in passing through the worst places in thescity without soiling his clothes. This has become such habit with him that he often catches hold of his trousers in stepping over the smallest little stream of water that appears on the side walk. The first place visited was in the rear of West Main street house where the yard contains large amount of ashes and other refuse which the inspector informed the proprietor must be removed at once. At another place on the same street, large open cesspool was. discovered. The owner of the slace assured the inspector that he had already commenced the work of putting the place in proper shape. Then the inspector led the way to George street. the scene of one of the re- cent smallpox cases, where a stream of drainage water flows across the street, having its source in a cesspool in the rear l of North Main street house.
 Summer street in the rear of several houses was found in bad condition, but as the owner of the property had commenced the work of abating the nuisance, when he met with an accident which confined him to his home, the matter was allowed to re- main as it is with the understanding that | the place would be cleaned up as soon as possible.
 The rear of another North Main street | house was next on the list. Here the | water closets and yard were found in a l shocking condition, and no signs whatever l of anything being done to remove the ob- | jectionable matter. The house is rented but the inspector has the name of the | owner and unless the place is cleaned up at once legal complications will soon fol- low.
 Then Hill street was explored as fal as the city line, and not finding anything the matter the inspector called it goose" Several places along North Elm street l were looked into, but tho people had con- menced cleaning up.
 The rear of an East Main street house presented a dilapidated appearance. The | number of broken wagons and other old material thrown in reckless confusion gave the place the appearance of a carriage fac tory that had just been visited by a terrific cyclone. A privy in the yard. which the inspector designated as a 'cuckoo," was ordered attended to tonight.
 Baldwin street and that section of the l town, with one or two exceptions, gives
 
 in the city. Each tenant owns a little gar den which is tiled up to the back steps of the door, and walk through these gar dens about 5 o'clock in the morning is an agreeable sight, when the thrifty husband and wife can be found at work attending to little plot. everything about the place being scrupulously clean. But there are exceptions to the rule here as elsewhere, and the inspector found it necessary to caution the owner of one place to discon- tinue using a drain pipe from the house into the lot in the rear, even though prop erty be all his own.
 Another bad place was discovered beside the track of the Meriden road, on River street, and sign is posted up at the cor her of Mill and Liberty streets warning people against using the place for dump ing garbage.
 On James street a large we'll about twenty feet in diameter, and no one could tell how deep, stands uncovered. It is one of the most dangerous places in the city, filled with stagnant water, the scene of the drowning of all the kittens and puppy dogs in the nelghborhood. No wonder it has become the trysting place of a nest of reptiles that are t.rror to the residents in that vicinity.
 Green and Riverside streets were ex- pIOLCu 1Ouuu dS ototCN HI thOoO columns the other day. The line of march was then taken up along Bank street and through Jackson street, where things were found in good condition.
 When the reporter thought the ordeal was over MT Moses led him into the rear of 52 Canal street where about fifty Italians were enjoying themselves in an open lot. This place beggars description and there would be no use trying to convey any idea of the condition of the place in the col umns of newspaper. But the inspector says the owners of the property have com menced to clean it up. There are about two hundred Italians and Jews living in this locality in two or three houses, so that it is an utter impossibility to keep the place in proper shape. The inspector crept in under a shed in a'little alley way farther down the street and invited the scribe to follow him but the scribe had had enough already and turned from the place in disgust refusing to proceed any further.
 Jones' Army ID Trouble.