The herald., 1895-10-10
THE RIVAL CITIES

In the matter of rapid growth and bust
ness enterprise Los Angeles closely re-
semblss Chicago. In fact, this city is
often alluded to as the Chicago of the
Pacific coast" 1t is to be hoped. how
ever that in one particular Los Angeles
will never become a formidable imitator
Of Chicago, and that is in the matter of
loud" offensive and unhealthful odors.
Evidently there is danger that Chicago
may soon have the Angel City" as
rival in the stencil manufacturing bust
ness. Chicago has long enjoyed CD the
reputation of furnishing the community
with not less than 365 distinct, clearly
defined odors, or one for each day in the
year. This mum Der, of course. Includes
tbs very strong odors sent forth by the
slaughter houses, the so-called river and
the city council. These three are the
most powerful in the long list, but the
remaining 1862 are possessed of much
vitality and industry. They never take
q day off on account of bad weather. nor
do they sleep al night. They are peren-
rial, far-reaohing and au-pervading.
But right here in this charming
CANCEL City" we are lately having odors
variety and penetratIve powers those of
gigantic Chicago. These odors float
around through space chiefly at night,
though most of them are by no means
idle in the daytime. They seem to be
acquiring strength with age and per-
tinacity with experience. They fit in
beautifully with dusty, unsprinkled or
half-sprinkled and poorly swept streets.
and thus form a partnership OF physical
conditions we'll calculated to prevent the
community from getting an overdose of
sleep, comfort or happiness.
II is easy enough fer the Inquiring
Mind to ascertain the causes that produce
these ooors. All one need do is to make
application to the health department,
and there be referred to the street super
intendent. At that Office the Inquiring
Mind will probably be advised to call on
the city engineer or his assistants, who
will perhaps vouchsafe the suggestion to
interview the smelling committee of the
city council, which committee will very
likely refer the applicant back to the
health department. Having thus been
hilariously successful in discovering the
causes of the odoriferous conditions, the
lnquiI ing Mind can with equal ease find
out what the remedy is and when it will
be applied. He can do so by simply
starting at the smelling committee and
swinging around the circle the opposite
way from that which he pursued when in
search OF the cause. During each circuit
the Inquiring Mind will hear considerable
about the outfall sewer, and he may per-
haps ask the question: Does the out
fall sewer outfall?' The answer to this
interrogatory will doubtless be as clear
as mud. OF course every reasonable tax
payer would and should be satisfied with
the results of such Investigations and
wonder how the rate of taxation in this
city can be so low as it is this year!
The gaseous odors in some of the sew
ers in Chicago occasionally become so
FESTIVE under close confinement that they
explode and burst open the covers of the
'manholes' in the streets. In few
such instances several persons were killed
and others injured by the explosions. 1t
is for the taxpayers and voters of this
city to determine whether Los Angeles
shall rival Chicago in the modern mu-
nicipal industry of creating and dis
tributing disgust-prom citing odors.