The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-11-30
PROPER DISPOSAL OF REFUSE.

NV. Francis Goodrich in Casters Magazine.)
notwithstanding the extraordinary advances made
within the past few years In the production OF power
from town refuse burned in Instructors there are still
many engineers who doubt the value OF such refuse as
fuel The old maxim, "ErOm nothing nothing IS pro-
dueed is as true today it in the beginning, and
as this is too often the text of the unbeever, the
writer would say at once that it is msapphed, so far as
refuse Is concerned. Far from being nothing, or
vaueess town refuse has certain fuel value, varying
of necessity and also fuctUatng according to season
and locality; but that it has fuel value, is quite be-
yond all dispute.
Even if refuse possessed no potential energy be-
vond that necessary for its cremation, the de
structor would still be necessity, if only from the
sanitary standpoint. The waste of a community con-
tains much that can be finally disposed OF only IN one
way-by fire. 1t should be quite unnecessary to labor
on this point to any exent-even the ancients recog
nzed fire as the great purifier, the sanitary sine qua
non and the Greeks, Romans and Jews all thus dis
posed Of their refuse History records that IN the
valley Of Genhenna the ancient Jews burned the re-
fuse Of Jerusalem but strange to say, the Jews have
lapsed, and if a modern map of Jerusalem be exam
med the site of the present lash heaps" may be
indicated lust beyond the olive groves to the northwest
of the city leaving by the Damascus gate. The latter
day Jews build these monuments of municipal wisdom
which are such ugly feature of our boasted civza
ton Although the accumulation of filth in this
ner stands condemned by santarans and medical men
all over the world it Is strangely persisted in by hun
dreds of thriving communities everywhere
Perhaps one of the best methods employed in
America for dispose of refuse Is that known as the
municipal hoggery," which system of disposing of
garbage IN operation at Worcester Mass. The over
seers of the poor collect the city garbage and feed
swine with it at the city farm, average of $500
swine being maintained by the garbage collected The
cost of collection for the year 1900 was $4,000 re-
cepts from the sale of pork S11 800; net expense of
the department s. ZOO This is truly very business
like statement, but there pause comment is needless
am pleased to be able say after having interviewed
the chief medical officers of health for New York the
leading cities of Australasia and the continent that
they all are quite unanimous as to the refuse de-
strucor aordine the only real practical and sanitary
solution
The more one looks into the matter, the more
forcibly is this brought home. Even in some remote
parts of the Indian empire the natives mix their
kachera," refuse with their night soil and burn it.
and further, mark this ye who doubt these despised
people the heat produced herefrom for the burn
ing Of bricks; thus showing, If only in an elementary
way, that they recognize the value of refuse as fuel
as well the necessity for destruction by FIRE Again
even away up in the Andes where fuel as We know it.
is not available and the vegetation is rare or sseaed
the native values the animal excFeta matter more than
silver gold; it IS practically his only fuel he de-
stroys it by fire, and it yields fuel value.