The San Francisco call., 1899-01-09
CAPITAL OF
CUBA REEKS
WITH FILTH
Garbage Dumped in
the Streets.
THE CITY A PLAGUE HOLE
CONDITIONS AS FOUND BY THE
LATE COLONEL WARING.
Warns Americans to Beware of the
Death by Disease That Threat
ems All Who Are Not
Immunes.
CONDITIONS AS FOUND BY THE
LATE COLONEL WARING.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

Auh SSAOpSIS VI the Iate colonel George
A. Warnings report of his visit to Ha-
vana under the special instructions of
the War Department given him early
last autumn to thoroughly inspect the
sanitary condition of the city and to
make such recommendations for the
future improvement of the town as
might be suggested by the inspection.
Colonel Waring says he found the
street cleaning without adequate or
ganization or funds, the markets often
s1Ve and dangerously filthy for the dis
trlbution of human food, with the ex-
I ception of two, the Tacon and Colon
markets. He found the machinery used
Tor sweeping the streets ineffective, the
garbage being thrown into the streets
in entire disregard of the ordinance re-
| quiring it to be sent out in proper re-
ceptacles. The work of the contractor
was all done in the latter part of the
night and absolutely in the dark. Any
obscure sidewalks were freely used for
purposes of dumping rubbish, and no
attempt seemed to have been made to
cover or remove it.
Foul pools We're found in the streets
into which rubbish and filth had been
| deposited, which the contractor was
not required to clean. This filth was
turned over to the buzzards Some of
lAlS Sl1CClS III lIlC COllpdCl part VI Lie
city are paved with large stone blocks,
others with Belgian blocks and the re-
mainder are unpaved. These streets are
filled with dirty holes which in turn are
filled up with house garbage. There is
practically no sewerage. In many cases
households connect their private vaults
with loose brick or stone drains just un-
der the pavement along their frontage.
These allow the filth to leak out into
Z hA a1n +n IA crfr on
abling the householder to get out of
much hiring of night scavengerS.
Slaughtering pens. while superfcially
clean, are brutally disgusting while the
work is going on. Blood and offal are
washed by copious foodings from the
water supply into an adjoining creek
and harbor reeking with putrid filth.
( There is no systematic disposal Of gar
bage and sWeepings. 1t is deposited on
the surface in and near the town, where
the buZZards feast upon 1t to their full
satisfaction. Dead dogs, cats and
chickens are left in the streets until
the buz2ards pick them to the skeleton.
And all this is done under an intense
sun.
Bad as these conditions are they are
not comparable with the disgusting
conditions of the domestic life. There
are fewer than twenty thousand houses
y
story, 200 of three story and very few
are four stories and none higher. AT
least twelve out Of every thirteen of the
inha bitants live in one-story houses, the
total population being over 100000 The
average population of the houses is
over ten.
In all the compactly built parts of the
city the entire lot is crowded by the
house. there being one or two courts
included in the building. In the better
class Of houses the entrance hall is
quite commonly the standing room of
the carriage. 1t opens into parlor at
it's side and into the reception room at
it's rear. Beyond this is a court, their
dining room then a smaller court, the
kitchen, stable and private vault, prac
tically all in one. Sleeping rooms are
in the rear of the parlor and at the side
of the court she dining room. The con-
spicuous feature of every house is the
private vault anu sometimes second
vault for kitchen wastes. These vaults
OCCUPY a space practically under and
almost in the kitchen. It is rare, indeed,
that they have ventilating pipe. They
belch forth nauSeating odorS through
out the house, which pervade the
streets.
Lest the conditions above set forth
should fail to do their appointed work
of destruction. the broad marshes at
hand to furnish their quota of malaria.
Into these marshes flow a number of
water courses which bear upon their
surface the offscourings of very poor
quarter of the town, the efTluvia of the
slaughtering pens and other foul
establishments, while large portion of
the flat is used as a dumping ground
for garbage.
The water supply Of Havana. Mr..
Waring says is of the purest and most
excellent character. This, with the
winds of the gulf, saves the city from
being absolutely and unQualifiedly bad.
The city is a Veritable plague spot. Its
own people, largely immune though
they are to yellow fever, which has pre-
vailed in Havana without interruption
for 1853 years, fall constant victims TO
the pernicious malaria and depressing
influence to which they are always sub
jected. 1t needs only the immigration
of fresh material which the enterprise
of an American population is sure to
bring in, to create a sacrifice such as
has not been yet known.
Commerce, says Colonel Waring, will
carry the terrible scourge of yellow
fever to our shores until we rise again
in a war of humanity and at all costs,
wipe out an enemy with which no mill
tary valor can cope.
Colonel Waring suggests the follow
tial to make Havana a healthy city:
l. Organize Immediately a department
of public cleaning under the full control
of a single commissioner experienced in
the conduct of such work and with au-
thority to do all that the occasion may
require.
Q. Construct system of sewers to re-
ceive the liquid wastes OF all houses of
the main city as far as Belaseoin. These
sewers should serve separately the diff
ferent districts into which the various
slopes divide themselves, and each should
discharge directly into the gulf or into
the harbor, as the case may be.
3 Fill up all the private and kitchen
waste vaults and supply every house
with an adequate water closet connected
with the public sewerage system.
4. Pave or repaye all the streets in the
| best manner with asphalt.
5 Provide a completely appointed
| abbattoir for large and small animals
adequate for all the needs of the people
s. provide a suitable and sufficient in
cinerating furnace for the complete and
| inoffensive destruction of garbage and
| other refuse.
I. Reclaim all the marshes-at least