Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-09
THE LATE COLONEL WARNINGS RE-
PORT on HAVANA.
CONDITIONS ARE EFRIeHTFUL
STREETS, HOUSES AND MARKETS
UNSPEAkABLY FOUL.
Colonel Wnring Reported That 1t
Would Require s1O,OOO.OOO to
RcSenerate the City-How
He Would Make Havana
n Healthful City.

WASHINGTON. Jan. S.-The war depart
ment, division of customs and insular af--
fairs, made public to-day very full syn
opsis of the late Colonel George
A. waings report of his visit to
Havana under the special instruc.
tions 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 sus-
gested by said inspection.
Colonel Waring says he found the street
cleaning without adequate organization or
funds, and the markets offensive and dam
Eerously filthy for the distribution of hui
man food. with the exception of two,- the
Tacon and Colon markets. He also found
the machinery used for sweeping the
streets ineffective; the garbage being
thrown into the streets in entire sdisre-
gard Of the ordinance reauiring-it Ito be
eet out in proper receptacles. The work Of
the contractor was All done in the latter
part or the night, and absolutely IN the
dark! Any obscure sidewalk was freely
used for the purposes of defecation. and no
attempt seem ed to have been made to cover
or remove the rubbish. . = -,-ge n
Four pools were found IN the streets, into
which rubbish and Nth had been deposited,
which the contractor was not required to
clean. This filth was turned over to the
buzxards. Some of the streets In the COM
pact part of the city are paved with large
stone blocks and the remainder are un-
paved. These streets are filed with. dirty
holes. which. in turn, are filled UP with
house garbage. There is practically no
sewerage. In many cases, households con-
meet their, private vaults with loose brick
or stone drains Just under the pavement
along their frontage. These allow the liquid
nth to leak out into the ground close to
the surface. enabling the householder to
get out Of much hiring of night scavengers
TO bail out and carry away Accommodations.
Slaughtertng pens, while specifically
clean. are brutally disgusting while the
work is going on. Blood and offal are
supply into an adjoining creek and harbor
reeking with putrid filth. There is no
systematic disposal Of garbage and sweep
ings. 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 buzzards 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 condi-
tons OF the domestic life. There are fewer
than 1000 houses in the city. Sixteen thou
sand are of one-story. 200 are of three
stories. and a very few are of four stories,
but none higher. At least twelve out OF
every thirteen OF the Inhabitants live in
one-story houses. the total population be.
ing over 100000. The Average population OF
the houses 10 over ten. 80, -e.
&. In all the compactly built parts of the
city the entire lot is covered with the
house there being one or two courts in.
ciuded In the building. In the better class
of houses. the entrance hall is quite com.
monty the standing room Of the carriage
1t opens Into a parlor at its side and into
the reception room at it's rear. Beyond
this Is q court. then the dining room. then
q smaller court. the kitchen, stable and
private vault. practically all in one Sleep
ing 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 sometimes sec.
ond vault for kitchen waste. These vaults
occupy space practically under and al
most in the kitchen. 1t Is rare, indeed
that these vaults have a ventilating pipe
so that they belch forth nauseating odors
throughout the house.
Lest the conditions above set forth should
ton, the broad marshes at the southerl,
edge Of the harbor are at hand to furnish
their quota of malaria. Into these marshe.
fow number of water courses which bea,
upon their surface the offscourings of
very poor quarter of the town, the eff1u
ents OF the slaughtering pens and Of othel
foul establishments. while q large portion
of the fiat is used as a dumping ground fo
garbage.
The water supply of Havana says Mr.
Wartng, Is Of the purest and most excellen
character. This. with the winds of tn,
Gulf. save the city from being absolutel.
and unaualifiedly bad. The city is a veri
table plague spot. Its own people, largel,
immune though they are to yellow fever
which has prevailed In Havana without In
terruption for 1sS years. fall constant vic
TINS to the pernictous malaria and depress
ing influence to which they are always sub
5ected.
1t needs only the immigration of fresl
material. which the enterprise of an A1neri
can population is sure to bring in, to Great
q sacrifice such as has not yet been known
Commerce. says Colonel Waring. will carr,
the terrible scourge of yellow fever to on
shores. until we rise again In a war Of hu
manity, and. at all costs, wipe out a.