The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-06-09
HOW CITIES HANDLE GARBAGE.
interesting Report from American
ConsuIs ON Methods EN-
ployed Abroad

mi ment became interested in the
stadv OF the disposal of garbage, sew
age, etc, in foreign cities, and solicited
the aid of the state department in OBJ
tanning information. The department,
saws the st. Louis Republic, directed
the consular officers of the United
States to forward all information OBJ
tainable. Among the first to respond
was the consul at Marseilles. To
Frenchman's mind there was some
thing very like in our words garbage"
and "cabbage," FOR the one to whom
the consul applied gayly responded;
"Garbage is ono Of the finest dishes OF
the place. Well cooked and nicely pre-
pared, as they do It in this country, II
is something very exquisite"
Writing from Santiago de Cuba, Con-
sui Hyatt draws lively picture Of the
unique way of disposing OF matters in
that place. He writes that dead cat
tie. horses, mules and large dogs are
hauled to the suburbs and dumped by
the roadside the same as garbage. All
other matter is thrown into the streets
or on the neighbor's roofs, to be de-
,youred BIZ buzzards. Before throwing
dead cat or dog into the street 1T Is
customary to tie cord to the tail of
the animal; this insures having IT
hauled away from the door, as the
children will play horse by dragging
1t around the streets, and seldom de-
liver it again to the owners.
An uncanny tale comes from Consul
Fowler that makes the reader feel
creepy. He says:
"The cleanest cities in China are
Hang-Chow and Ning-Pox. In the cen
ter Of these two cities / have myself
seen dogs eating bodies Of babies; the
rotting corpses Of cholera cases, snakes
slowly winding in and out; many dogs,
slime. dead cats; i'll fact, the most hor-
rible filth on one side, while across the
way the glitter OF gold, pomp and lux
ury; such are the principles Of Chi
nese street. The garbage collector is
the beggar or the starving dog
Consul Ragsdhle writes from Tien
Tsin that ''all animal food is compara-
lively costly and the mass Of the people
are poor. The methods are from
bouse-to-house collection. The work
IS done BY private enterprise and the
material deposited on vacant lots and
IN front Of houses where the owners
do not employ the collector. Tin cans
are much priced by the natives and are
regular article Of commerce. When
beyond use as a bucket they are flat
tened out and made into anything from
a candlestick to bathtub-the latter
being used only for foreigners, Broken
glass Is reheated and made into lamps
ana cnrios, snuff bottles, etc. All OF
this material is collected by private
enterprise and the sorting is done IN
any place most convenient to the col
lector. Household waste waters are
thrown into the empty pools at the
I side Of the streets and eventually this
water is fused for street sprinkling.
The streets and the passers-by are
sprinkled by means of long-handled
! ladies.
''rhe street refuse collectlons are
made by men and boys with a basket
and small long-handled ladle or shoy-
el. The basket hangs on the back from
the left shoulder and great skill is
shown by some collectors in scooping
up everything and throwing itsinto the
basket Without loss. This material is
taken to some bright, sunny and con
venient locality, mixed with two parts
of street dust and made into cakes, the
size of an orange. These cakes are sun
dried and sold as fertilizers. The mos'
convenient place for foreigner tC
study the details of these methods !:
the stone bridge on Legation street Il
is only few hundred yards from thu
two foreign hotels and the French
+, German, Japanese English, Russian
and American legations. The bridge
being thus centrally located with
wind-swept stone floor exposed to thu
sun. possesses all of the requirement.
of first-class fertilizer dryer. 1t j
in daily use. The sewage system O
Peking is certainly combined system
Everything combines in the streets
No filters are used. The supply o
street sweepings exceeds the demand
bv about three inches in depth"