The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-05
TURNING UP THE ISLAND.
SANITARY ASPECT OF THE WORK
TO BE LOOKED INTO.

Health officer Drummer VIII Make
an Inspection and Report to the
Sanitary Board-MayOr Myers Does
Not Believe There lis Any Cause
for Apprehension-Spec Atten-
ton Has Been Given to sanitary
Precautions. President MaclNnIl of
the Georgia Construction Com
pany Says-The Health of the Men
working on the Island and the
Dredges Is Good. and This Is the
Best Indication of the sanitary
Conditions There, MIR. MackaH
Says.
Some comments is being made by the &c
cupants Of the business houses along the
north side of Bay street on the sanitary
aspect of the work on Hutchinson Island.
Some apprehension is expressed that the
depositiug of river bottom soil on the is
land to be dried out by the sun may not
prove the best thing ia the world for/the
health of the city during the heated pc
Rod Some Of those along the Bay claim
that unpleasant doors are sometimes watt
ed across the river
There is no desire to Interfere with an
important work. however. and so far no
complaints have been made 10 the health
officer. The latter, however, has determin-
ed 10 investigate for himself and yesterday
announced his intention Of making an in
specton in person OF the work on the is
land at an early date.
Mayor Myers. when spoken to upon the
is any ground for apprehension. so long
as the winds continue to come from the
south, as they do al present said Mayor
Myers there is little if any danger Of
any undesirable effects from The upturning
OF the mud upon the islaud though it may
not be of the purest quality Should the
winds change 10 the northward so as 20
bring the unpleasant odors from the river
mud into the city it would probably be
necessary to take some action"
President w w. Mackall Of the Georgia
Construction Company when seen in refer
ence to the complaints said; The greatest
attention has been paid TO che sanitary as
pect of the work and no preCautiOn has
been neglected which might iuure 10 the
protection of the city. our engineers have
been instructed to give special attention TO
the sanitary features of the work. In order
TO prevent the accumulation of stagnant
water on the island large quantities of fresh
water are pumped every day in order to
force the old water off and prevent the wa
ter from becoming stagnaut So long as
the water does not become stagnant there
is no danger. The best evidence that
there is no danger to the health Of the
city from the work is the fact that the
white men engaged in this work are all en-
joying good health. The men on the
dredges are all Northern men. They have
been at their work since May and remain
on the dredges night and day and yet they
enjoy the best OF health. They would GER
tanly be the first to show the effects were
the conditions unsanitary."
1T should be borne in mind said Mr.
MackalI, that we are now placing the isl
and i'm the best sanitary condition il has
ever known. A large dyke around the en-
tire island is nearing com pleiion. Here
after il viii not be possible for the island
TO become flooded was the case in the
storm of last September when the large
bodies Of water emptIed upon the island re-
manned there for weeks and months. The
island will not only be protected from
floods but it viii be well drained as Well
THE stoppage of the work would not
only mean serious loss and Inconvenience
90 the company" said Mr.. MackaA, but
it would mean that hundreds of men
would be thrown out of work and that
the business Of the city would suffer. We
shall spend during the present month not
less than SlO0,O 00 the greater part of
which will be to labor, practically every
dollar of which viii go into circulation
here"
MIR Warner Of the Babcock-Lary Dredg
ing Company said a few days ago that the
health of the men had been unusually
good, much better than ne had expected.
He had nticipated, he said. thet a sum-
mer in Savannah would be unpleasant
and unhealthy, but he had found the con-
trary to be the case.
one of the inspectors employed in the
work on the island, in speaking casually
of the matter said that when dredges
strike a new spot and the black mud is
brought up the olor is very unpleasant.
but as che dredges go deeper and sand
is reached the black mud is covered with
sand and the odor disappears. The sand
acts a seal upon the mud he said,
shutting il out from the sun and air.
Health Officer Brunner viii. doubtless be
able to report the result of his investiga-
tions TO che sanitary board at the meet
ing of that body Tuesday. His view VIII
undoubtedly have weight with the board.
ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT CRIME.