The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1901-02-28
THE NUISANCE" QUESTION

Judge Warbass and others are desir-
Gus of the passage by the Legislature OF
a bill vesting county boards of health,
through the health officer, with au-
thority to abate nuisances that are a
menace TO health in uuincorporated
places. 1t seems that the powers OF
the commissioners as board of health,
under the present statute, are decided
~ limited, if they can be said to have
any powers at all. Judge Warbass has
for years been greatly annoyed and the
value of his home, naturally most de-
lightful spot, as a summer residence
has been greatly impaired by the stench
arising from the fish offal dumped into
the water at the cannery. There is no
tidal current at the cannery to carry
the offal away and it merely settles to
the bottom and drifts along the shore
to and from the judges place, rising
and falling with the tides. The ac-
cumulations are stirred up by passing
steamers and the stencil arising is often
extremely offensive, to say the least,
not only along The water front, but
back n considerable DISTANCE, especially
if the wind blows from, the north or
north east. The ofial could easily be
effectually disposed of by putting it in
scows and taking it out and dumping
il i'm the swift tidal current of the San
Juan channel The managers of the
company owning the cannery are con-
sidered very reasonable and fair-minded
men and if the matter were presented
to them i'm frank and candid way it
does not seem likely that they would
insist upon continuing the present
manner of disposing of the fish offal if
1t is really a nuisance" within the
meaning of the law, or menace to
public health.
1t is hardly to our credit here that
the county seat of so thriving county
as this is not incorporated and has no
more local government than back
woods school district. fit had, such
a matter as the one complained of
could readily be regulated by ordinance
and many little street and other inn
provements could he made at small ex.
pense that would add mate rally to the
attractiveness of the town and to its
desirability as a place of residence.
There are other "nuisances' besides
that arising during the summer months
from the cannery offal and it hardly
admits of question that they constitute
a greater menace to public health. Too
little attention is paid to sewerage, to
the disposition of garbage and to closets
and cesspools located in close prox
unity to sources of water supply. A
very large percentage of people who
would resent any imputation that they
are lacking i'm public spirit or in con.
sderation for the welfare of their fam
lilies or their neighbors are almost
criminally negligent about breeding
places of disease on their own prem
ises. 1t is an old saying that "what
is everybody's business is nobody's
business" and it seems to us that there
ought to be some legally constituted
authority for making proper sanitary
regulations in as large community a.
this and someone duly empowered Il
see that they are enforced. And il
seems clear, too, that the duties and
powers Of county boards of health anC
health officers should be defined b,
statute and:the nuisance question be
made easier of determination and reg
ulatior.