The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-01-09
Report Of the Late Colonel George
A. Waring.
Havana Is Denounced as averitable Plague
Spot.
Graphic Description Of the Condt-
tions He Found Existing There
We Will Have to Guard Our
Shores From a Worse Danger
Than War = Expenditure for
Costly Sanitary Work Now Will
be Less Than It Will if Delayed.

Costly Sanitary Work Now Will
be Less Than It Will if Delayed.
WASHINGTON. Jan. S.-The War
Department, Division of Customs and
Insular Affairs made public to-day q
very full synopsis of the late Colonel
George A. Warnings report of his visit
to Havana under the special instruc-
tions of the War Department given MN
early last autumn to thoroughly inspect
the sanitary condition of the city and
to make such regulations for the future
Improvement of the town as mlght De
suggested by said inspection.
Colonel Warning says he found the
street cleaning without adequate organ
ization or funds and the markets often
sive and dangerously filthy for the dis
tribution of human food with the ex-
ception of two, the Tacon and Colon
markets. He also found the machin-
cry used for sweeping the streets in
effective, the garbage being thrown into
the streets in entire disregard of the
ordinance to be set out in proper recep-
tacles. The work of the contractor
night and absolutely in the dark. Any
obscure sidewalks were freely used for
purposes of DELEGATION and no attempt
seemed to have been made to cover or
remove the rubbish.
Foul pools were 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
the streets in the compact part of the
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 under the pavement along
their frontage These allow the liquid
filth to leak out into the ground close
to the surface, enabling the household
er TO get out of much hiring Of night
scavengers to bail out and carry away
accommodations.
Strengthening pens, while specifically
clean, are brutally disgusting while
the work is going on. Blood and offal
are washed by copious floodings from
the water supply into an adjoining
creek and harbor reeking with putrid
hlth- There is no systematic disposal
of garbage and sweepings It is de-
posted 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 buZzards pick them to the
skeleton. And, all this is done under
an intense SUM- Bad as these condi-
tons are. they are not comparable with
the disgusting conditions of the domes-
tic life There are fewer than 10000
houses in the city Sixteen thousand
are of one story, two hundred of three
story and very few are of four stories,
and none higher. At least twelve out
of every thirteen of the inha bitants live
in one-story houses. the total popula-
ton 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 covered with
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 a parlor
at its side and into the reception room
at its rear. Beyond this is a court
then the dining-room, then a smaller
court, the kitchen, stable and private
vault, practically all in one Sleeping
rooms are in the rear of the parlor and
at the side of the court the dining
room.
The conspicuous feature of every
house is the private vault and some
times a second vault for kitchen
wastes. These vaults occupy a space
practically under and almost in the
kitchen. 1t is rare indeed, that these
vaults have a ventlating pipe so that
they belch forth nauseating odors
throughout the house which pervade
the streets. Lest the conditions above
set forth should fail to do their an
pointed work of destruction, the broad
marshes at the southerly edge of the
harbor are at hand to furnish their
quota of malaria. Into these marshes
flow a number of water courses which
bear upon their surface the off-scour-
ings of very poor quarter of the town.
the effluents of the slaughtering pens
and of other foul establishments, while
large portion of the fiat is used as a
dumping ground for garbage.
The water supply of Havana, says
Mr.. Waring, is of the purest and most
excellent character. This with the
winds of the gulf save the city from
being absolutely and unqualifiedly bad.
The city is veritable pla que spot. Its
own people, largely immune though
they are to yellow fever, which has
prevailed in Havana without interrupt
ton for 1853 years, fall constant victims
to the pernicious malaria and depress-
ing influence to which they are always
subjected. 1t needs only the immigra-
ton of fresh material which the enter
prise 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 ter
rible 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 military valor
can cope.
In conclusion Colonel Waring says:
Would it not be wise to accent at
once the fact that we are confronted
a -