The age-herald., 1901-03-13
CITY INSPECTOR
 WALKERS REPORT
Work of the Sanitary Depart
 ment for Year 1900
THE SERVICE IS IMPROVED
Will Submit Special Report Showing Needs of the Department-Urges Present Laws Be Amended
 and Others Passed.

Chief Inspector R. W. Walker of the city sanitary department, has completed his report for 1900, in which he reviews the work of the year and makes several recommendations, which will be supple mented later by special report covering fully the needs of the department.
 The report shows that the work of the department as far as possible has been systematized, but that the force is en- tirely inadequate to the demands made upon 1t.
 Special attention Is called to the work of the garbage contractors, and he rec ommends that should another contract be entered into that 1t require the more frequent removal of garbage.
 The report, which will be presented at the next meeting of the City Council is as follows:
 Honorable Board of Mayor and Alder
 men:
 'T herewith submit my annual report for the year ending December 31, 1900 The work in this department Is so varied and the duties so numerous that 1t Is inn possible to go into details. Upon by induc- tion into office I found the sanitary con dition of the city deplorable; accumula- tion of filth piled in the alleys and upon vacant lots in many places the garbage
 
 boxes discarded by almost the entire pop ulation of the city. This state of affairs made 1t impossible for the contractors, with the limited number of teams em- ployed, to keep up the work of moving the garbage as often as the specifications of their contract prescribed, there being so much time consumed In taking up gar bage from the ground have, to large extent remedied this evil, but with only one assistant and the present deficient city ordinances 1t Is impossible to do more than has been done 1 have visited and inspected all complaints of nuisances made by citizens, exercised daily super vision over the work of the service rem dered by the contractors, posted all in- fectious diseases when reported by the county health officer used all precautions possible to prevent the spread of them, and performed many other duties too numerous to mention.
 "A regular force Is badly needed in the alleys to fill the many holes and low places, thereby preventing water from standing, which Is very unsanitary, and no doubt adds largely to the death rate of the negro population. l have had large number of low and wet lots filled and quite a number need filling, which hope to have done before the summer months,
 "A great many of the city ordinances governing the health department are in effective and should be amended and In some instances more rigid ones passed.
 Garbage Contractors.
 During the year many complaints were made against the garbage contractors for failure to remove garbage as required by the specifications of their contract with the city. Some of these complaints were found to have arisen through miscon- ception of the duties C the garbage con tractors; some of them were, however found to be justfable. In all instances where I found the complaint just one ordered the contractors to attend to 1t which was in most instances promptly done. I feel that it is only just to the contractors to say, to my personal knowl- edge, not a few of the most emphatic complaints made against them were un- der the specifications governing the ser vice utterly unfounded. Throughout the year I have kept this service under my close and daily personal observation and state unhesitatingly that considering the very low price paid the contractors the city has been kept as free from garbage as most cities in the south. The table below shows the service ren- dered by the garbage contractors during the year 1900: