The San Francisco call., 1904-04-07
POLICE MUST
ENFORCE Law
Commissioners Direct the
Chief to Resume Arrest
ing Scavengers of the City
MAYOR OI.NEY EXPLAINS
Points Out That the 0rdi-
nance Covering Garbage
Cremation Is a Live Act
Oakland Office San FranciscoFCail
n NIL 6

Ills ErOaQWays AH11a o.
The Board of Police and Fire Com
missioners this afternoon issued orders
70 chief OF Police Eodgl1ins to enforce
the new garbage incineration ordin-
auce. and 20 arrest all scavengers con-
tinuously who shall keep on collecting
refuse in violation OF the law. This
action was taken because the police
s.opped making arrests after two scav-
engers had been taken into custody.
Attention Of the Commissioners was
called 10 the cessation Of police en-
forcement Of the ordinance by repre-
sentatives Of the Pacific lncinerating
COMPANY. which, under the ordinance,
has the exclusive right TO collect and
70 destroy the city's garbage Despite
the order of the Board of Health clos
ing the dumping grounds, the scaVen-
gers continue TO make their accustom-
ed rounds and 10 gather and deposit
heir collections at the same old place
on the West Oakland marsh. The
c-ematcry company insisted upon Its
legal rights TO take the garbage and
uurn it At its works on Wood street,
which were opened on April /.
Il
-ist the new company and TO continue
fr business. The members declared
they would fight the ordinance through
The courts. and would neither stop col
lecting nor emptying their garbage
carts at the forbidden place. The order
Of the Board Of Health WAS not recog-
nized, because the scavengers said they
were dumping their collections on pri-
vete property with the permission Of
the owner, Whyte GrondOna. They fur
ther asserted that they could not be
stopped from emptying their wagons,
because the new ordinance did not
specifically prohibit garbage dump
ing.
The first day Of the new company s
operations was signaled by the taking
Of names Of many scavengers who
We're not obeying the order, but war
rants were not issued for any Of these.
A doubt was raised whether the situa-
ton could thus be met. BY change
OF tactics the police made TWO arrests
Of scavengers for collecting the gar
bage. TIE new ordinance specifies
that only. authorized agents Of the city
shall collect the refuse, and under the
ordinance the Pacific Incinerating
Company is the only authorized agent
Of the city But for some reason not
vet apparent the Chief Of Police quit
enforcing the ordinance after arrest
ing only two of the scavengers.
This was the situation when an infor-
NAL conference was held this after
noon, Mayor Olney and City Attorney
McElroy sitting as Police Commission
ers.
The law is a sound one, and aims
TO take care Of the city's garbage in
a modern sanitary way" explained
Mayor Olney after the conference
The ordinance is on the books. and
it. like all ordinances Of the city, must
he continuously enforced. There is nc
reason why the police should relax in
this or any other ordinance that is the
law Of the city. II the scavengers
shall continue to collect the garbags
in defiance of the law the police must
arrest them. and the Chief Of Police
has been so instructed"
In the Police Court this morning tbs
cases Of the two scavengers arrested
Yesterday were continued until Apri
il. The scavengers say they viii forc'
test of the ordinances validit,
through the defense of these cases.