Evening star., 1896-08-06
GARBAGE MYS RIES
The Conveniently Arranged scows That
Garry Away tie Surplus.
Regulations That Have Never Beeu
Carried Out-A Gfematory That
Has Not Been Erected.

District of Columbia prepared specifcat tion
and regulations to govern the collection
and destruction of the garbage of the city
Among other things two crematories wer,
provided for. one to be selected by the con
tractor with the approval Of the Commis
sioners; the other to be selected by tn,
Commissioners. They were to DE located il
different parts of the city, in order tina
the garbage could be readily disposed O.
and the nuisance Of foul-smelling carts
vending their laborious way through the
city reduced to a minimum.
The garbage contractor protested agains
the Commissioners selecting a crematory
and finally won the fight. The result was
the erection of a small crematory at the
foot of South Capitol street, where a por.
ton of the daily output of the citys gar,
bage is cremated. All that the crematory
cannot take charge of and it is big pile
Is loaded upon scows at the foot of & street
and taken down the river. What becomes
Of it IS matter of conjecture According
to the contractor. the garbage is sold te
farmers, who spread 1t upon their land FOR
fertilizer. According to the river men, the
garbage is dumped overheard, polluting
the river water for miles.
A Convenient ScOw.
A reporter of The Star, .hearing of these
complaints. investigated one of the scows
used in the transportation Of garbage to
see If the stories concerning them were
well founded. The scows used in this busi-
ness are great cumbersome affairs, decked
over, with a hatchway in each end. There
is difference of about two feet between
the bottom of the scow and the deck, which
gives II great buoyancy, and thereby en-
ableS the contractor to pile many tons of
garbage upon it. Looking down through
the matches at each end you find two big
plugs which successfully stop as many
big holes which communicate with the riv-
er. When it is desired to sink the scow,
these plugs are withdrawn, and the water
rushes in. The scow sinks to the deck line,
and If there is garbage piled there it will
all be washed off So it seems an easy
matter to get rid of garbage. If such a
thing were intended. After the load ON the
scow is released, the scow comes to the
surface. and IT is then an easy matter to
insert the plugs and pump out the scow
Nothing has been done for months look
ing to a betterment of the situation. Since
the crematory at the foot of South Capt. ol
street mas been remodeled, word comes
from the District inspector there that it is
dolng the work in a satisfactory manner
but is wholly incapable of dispoSing of ali
the garbage.
The Commissioners, after spending much
time and money in travelling about inspect
ing garbage crematories, decided that the
smith crematory was the one of their
choice, and ordered the contractor forth
win 10 erect one. Several sites We're pick
ed out. but no crematory ever materialized
~ Is hlnted that the cost of a new crema-
tory would be too great an expense for the
contractor at this time, and, as there are
no complaints,it is better to let well enough
alone.
All Arranged by the Contractor.
A gentleman who understands all about
garbage matters. In conversation with a re-
porter of The Star today, said:
mat garbage contract is one of the
softest snaps l ever heard of. You have a
contractor getting $6, 600 year for COL
lecting and doing what? Surely he is not
crematlng the garbage, was intended
and for which he is now being paid. Oh, no.
his task is an easy one. He erects small
crematory and burns little garbage for a
niue while in an offensive manner. Then
the owner of the crematory shuts down. and
repairs are made. In the meantime the
contractor is allowed to transport the gar
page from the river. and nobody knows
what he does with 1t. Capt. Blake told me
he dumps it overheard At any rate, the
garbage goes down the river, and does not
come back. The farmers protest, but they
don't live in the District, and their protest
doesn't count: But, mind you. the con-
tractor is getting full pay right along for
collecting and cremating the garbage.
And then the question arises. after the
crematofy goes to work once more, and 1t
is found necessary to keep on shipping
down thu river, Where's that other crema-
tory we heard SO much about" Well that
Crematory will be erected, just when the
contractor wants to put 1t up. He is mas
ter of the situation. The health officer
fined him for poor service in the early days
of his contract, and then graciously re-
mftted all the fines when the contractor
asked it, and threatened to go into court
and make the District pay for his mistake
In awarding the temporary contract. Sucn
deplorabie condition of affairs does not
exist In any other city in this country"