Arizona republican., 1899-10-04
CASE or a CAT
Relief OF its Presence Is Less Than
Two Weeks Off.

| Yesterday afternoon stranger
stopped a reporter for The Republican
! in front of the Ford hotel and pointed
to dead cat which lay at the junction
! of Second avenue and Washington
] street. THAT cats been there two
days that know of, and / don't know
! how much longer. noticed it as I
came in on Sunday morning, and I
imagined it had a ganley smell then
It's gamey enough now to suit a Digger
Indian, but it dlon't Stem to have come
up tc the Phoenix standard yet. What
are they going to do with it when it
gets good and ripe? Why don't you
roast 'e1l about ft?''
Il don't believe you are an expert
eneed journalist replied the reporter
Newspapers are net instituted for the
purpose of roasting people blindly and
without proper cause. A roast should
always be preceded by careful investi-
cation. One should first ascertain if
fault exists, then he should learn who
is responsible for the fault, after
which it becomes his privilege, nay
even his duty, to address himself &c the
parties at fault, and demand of them a
correction
Now that cat, crushed under
horses hoofs and wagon wheels, looks
to me like somebody's fault and smells
like the offense OF many. Like you, 7
noticed it first on Sunday morning.
The odor was then being released.
Later in the day it was given still.
greater freedom. 1t seemed to me that
somebody needed roasting, but who?
There wasn't peg to hang that cat on.
THE next day observing that the cat
was still present in greater force than
ever, my duty seemed clear. There
were several persons who, I thought.
wore undoubtedly to blame. First. |
was the scavenger, then the members
of the city government, the streets and
alleys committee, the health depart
mant, the city treasurer's office and the.
chief of the fire department, individ- |
ually and collectively. There wasn't I
a man in town who could plead ignor |
ance of that cats presence. They /
could smell it at Tempe when the wind I
was from the west.
You'd have found somebody to !
roast, wouldn't you? I thought SO +
cooked You would have had an i'm.
Now let me show you how i
you would have done somebody Q
grave injustice.
"That night I went to- a council
The scaVenger was there and
called the attention of the council to
a serious defect in the ordinance gov
erning his business. 1t does not com
pei people to put any other kind OF
refuse except ashes into boxes ready
for delivery to him. Householders
throw garbage of all kinds, cats, dogs
hoop-skirts, copies of the Police Ga
zette, tin cans and such things on
pile outside of the rear gate. The
said he had been exceeding i
his jurisdiction in gathering the un- +
boxed refuse up, and now he wanted
the people compelled to put it in
proper shape for delivery. The coun-
ell thereupon instructed the city at
.orney to draw up an ordinance COW
ering this glazing defect. So you seq
the removal of this cat is nobody's
business. You can't blame a man for
neglecting business that doesn't be-
long to him.
THAT ordinance will be passed at
he next meeting of the council. 1t
will become effective ten days later. z
say in about two weeks from now.
You'll be here then? No? Well, if {
ycu wait you'll see that cat boxed up
md carried off and there won't be any
such smell as this. There won't be !
any excuse for it. The responsibility
or it will be placed somewhere
n