Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-01

A truly serious condition of affairs Is that
to which The Star yesterday directed atten-
ton In It's announcement that the garbage
contrsctors-the National Sanitary Com
pany-were unable, by reason OF Ice In the
river, to remove from the city limits the
great quantity Of garbage which Is daily
gathered and. under ordinary circum-
stances, dumped away down the river.
The situation makes prominent two phases
of local importance-the inability OF the
garbage contractors to carry out their con-
tract during a spell of cold weather and the
comparative helplsssness of the District au-
thorities: the latter condition due In this IN
stance to congressional failure to provide
this city with an tce-boat. The fact that
several hundred tons of notwithstanding
decaying matter are now piled up SO near
to the heart Of the city that breeze from
the vest would scatter odors and germs
ali over the District of Columbia Is a pow
erful argument against the present system;
a stronger argument cannot easily be
found. The Star has insisted and continues
to IN sist that anything like satisfactory
removal of the eity's garbage will not be
possible until other methods of disposal are
adopted. Experience here and elsewhere
has shown conclusively how extremely
weak and unnecessarily expensive Is the
method here in vogue. Other cities have
tried 1t and have given 1T up In disgust;
some of them to put up ircinerating plants,
others to encourage bright business men
who sought and found profit In garbage
reduction and In the sale Of the products.
That garbage reduction Is a lucrative &C.
cupation when properly conducted has been
proven very conclus,vely: so large ara the
profits that in at least one city In the
United States the proprietor OF the reduc-
ton plant collects every pound of garbage
free of charge to the municipality or the
Individual taxpayer, and could really az
ford to pay a bonus for the privilege Of
collection. Surely that which Is possible In
Detroit should be capable of application
here. Washington is the center OF large
agricultural area, much of 1t In need OF
the soil stimulants that modern chemistry
so readily extracts from the matter which
here Is permittet to &C to waste.
This, however, may not be the time for
urging upon the authorities the adoption
of the most modern and most economical
method-the season for that will be here
when the present contract has about ex-
pired-tut it most emphatically Is the time
to urge Congress to give instant attention
to a matter that cannot be neglected with
out gravely threatening the public health.
The collection of garbage from the homes
of the city viii continue--but even that Is
likely to be sighted whenever sighting Is
possible-and in the course of two or three
days more the G street wharf will be un-
able to accommodate the great mass of
filth that will be piled upon It. OF course.
IL Is the duty of the National Sanitary
Company to keep Its agreement and to re-
move from this neighborhood all the gar
bage 1t collects, and the company has no
right to fall back upon the District Com
missicners for assistance in the fulhlment
of contract pledges, but in view of the
company's apparent inability to break the
Ice blockade. the Commissioners-as the
conservators of local health-are compelled
to solve the problem with all possible rapid
ity. This would be comparatively easy II
the District of Columbia owned an ice
boat-such a craft as has often been asked
for-but under present circumstances it Is
likely to prove difficult and costly. That 1t
will be done Is. of course, certain. for the
present board of Commissioners has a way
of reaching results when there Is great pub
lie necessity, but the doing of 1t will almost
surely cripple some much-needed reform
which could possibly be wrought with the
funds that will be diverted by reason of
the garbage exigency.