Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-07
BETTER GARBAGE
LAW IS DEMANDED
WOMEN OF FEDERATION ASK
COUNCILS AID
Petitions Urging That All Refuse Be
Collected at Night Presented
to the Clty's LegIs-
lators

Will the garbage question never
down? This is the question council
men are asking each other. A short time
ago when the lid was pulled of the gar
bage deal for a short time the council
chamber rang with the words, special
committee on garbage" After things
had been we'll sooted UP all bids were
declared off and the lid clapped down
again with several councilmen sitting
on 1t, but internal rumblings with in
cessant eruptions have blown it off sew
era1 times and various things have
escaped before 1t could be fastened
down again.
Yesterday a committee from the
Women's Civic Federation called at the
city hall, backed by a petition signed
by thousands of householders in Los
Angeles and letters from the Municipal
league and chamber of commerce to
ask the council to pass an ordinance
providing that all garbage shall be col
lected from the streets at night.
CounclImen Promise Support
The representatives of the fedora
ton were assured by the councilmen
who happened to be in the committee
rooms that they were heartily in accord
with the movement, and that the ques-
ton would be taken up together with
the city garbage destruction plant and
the new wagons to be employed in the
work of collecting the refuse of the
city.
The women said that under the pres
ent rule many of the residence streets
are lined with garbage cans Of various
kinds, sizes and stages of dilapidation.
In many cases they say the collectors
do not call for the garbage until late in
the afternoon and so the curbs are lined
with the ill-smelling receptacles
throughout the day.
The foulness of the wagons now enl-
ployed was mentioned and used as an
argument for night collection, as they
would then be off the streets during the
day time.
For Clean City
1t is the desire of the federation to
make Los Angeles clean city and In
this they have the support of all the
councilmen. The members of that body
who were present at the interview as
sured the committee from the fedora
ton that when the city owns its gar
bage destruction plant it will also own
its system of collection, and it was pro-
posed to have special steel, water tight
wagons for such service, which would
not allow any foul odors to escape,
and which would be perfectly sanitary.
The question Of the collection of
garbage occupied the attention of the
board of health the night before and
the fact was brought out that the city
ordinance covering the point prescribed
10 o'clock a. m. as the latest hour at
which garbage might be collected, but
the contract specifies IL o'clock. 1t was
also shown that there had been 222
complaints for non-collection and that
in certain sections of the city the refuse
was not gathered until late in the after
noon.
For some time the health department
has had inspectors secretly watching
the garbage contractors crematory, and
while it is estimated that there is at
least eighty tons of garbage day put
into the cans in Los Angeles. but about
five tons a day reach the crematory.
The contract was let on the basis of
eighty tons a day. What becomes of
the other seventy-five tons is the ques-
tion with which the members of the
board are now wrestling.
Do the many wagons owned by hog
ranchers which can be seen about the
city at night get this seventy-fve tons
and turn 1t into good pork? is the
question the board is asking.