Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-10
DUMP IS IN IOWA
Sanitary Officer, Sent Out to Make Arrests
Makes a Discovery.
CITY ATTORNEY DIGS UP OLD ORDINANCE
IL that Policeman May Arrest
Anyone Caught Hauling Garbage
"Upon the Territory of an
Adjoining State"

The Board Of Health and the police de-
partment sustained q shock yesterday
when Sanitary Officer Gibbons returned
from the environs of the East Omaha bridge
to say that the carcasses of dead animals
which have been so extensively advertised
OF late are not in Omaha, not even in Ne
braska, in fact, but on Iowa soil. Can an
Omaha policeman go into Iowa to make
an arrest?" was the question he asked.
Reader of riddles, tell me true, how are
we to know?' was tho answer he got.
The police department passed the ques-
tion to the Board of Health, the Board OF
Health passed it on TO the city engineers
department, and the city engineers de-
partment certified 1t to the city attorney.
The latter dug up an old ordinance (which
has once been declared unconstitutional,
which says in effect that an officer may
arrest any one detected in the act of haul
ing garbage, offal or other refuse toward
the city limits, or upon the territory of an
adjoining state, with the evident intention
Of dumping 1t within a distance of three
lniles of said city limits"
Mr.. Connell said that he thought this
ordinance could be enforced and Ofhcer
Gibbons was sent back TO watch for sus-
picious looking wagons, northward or east
ward bound. He was directed to inspect
the cargoes OF all such wagons, and II
found to consist Of offal, to arrest the
driver, either going to or coming from the
Illicit dumping ground. This entails an
unforeseen difficulty. According to the
statements of men employed at the Burt
street pumping station, 1t is the habit of
those who have dumped on the Iowa ex-
crescence" to cross the river on the East
Omaha bridge, returning to Omaha, pre-
sumably, over the Douglas street bridge.
This is another OF the numerous tangles
in state and city law caused by the vagaries
of the Big Muddy. There was a lime when
the river. between the East Omaha bridge
and the loot Of Grace street, made a loop
out into Nebraska, enclosing a tract OF
land Of approximately FIVE square miles.
This peninsula naturally belonged to Iowa,
since il was on the east side of the river.
But one morning, after a freshet had sub
sided, the fishermen along the banks were
surprised to find that the river had ECU;
cross lols," as 1t were, looping on the pen
lnsula as "A butcher lops OF a link OF
bologna sausage, and the result was that
five square miles Of lows were left on the
Nebraska side Of the river.
Like Link of Wienerwurst.
All that is left now to attest this anomaly
OF the river is Cut on lake, which, on the
map, resembles nothing so much as 9
gracefully curving link Of wienerwurst
with creeks for strings dependant from this
ends. This e~ncloses the north boundary Of
that part Of Iowa which is in Nebraska
The old peninsula. a peninsula no longer
is known as the Iowa excrescence."
A well known attorney said yesterday
at is very doubtful II the city will be able
10 secure a conviction for dumping garbage
on this tract. The police court Judge may
sustain the city ordinance by imposing
fine, but the chances are that the man 81
convicted would take an appeal to the dis.
trict court, where the lower tribunal woulC
be reversed. 1t may lead to a deal between
the Nebraska legislature and the Iowa leg
~islature whereby the 'exerescence' will b
ceded 20 the former state"