The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-16


 commend that some arrangement De made by your honorable body Tor an
 adeduate supply of gravel rom some
 source. We constantly find use Tor
 quantity of gravel and on account or
 the exhausted condition of the city
 gravel pit. are forced to obtain it from
 different sources, and probably at a
 greater cost than could be arranged
 "The keeper of Oak Park can be re-
 ouired to take charge of and superin-
 tend the work of. the force there. un-
 der the supervision of the City Engi-
 neer, thus dispensing with the services
 of a landscape gardener. In cases of necessity, one could be employed for
 short time.
 "A number of matters of general
 and special interest may be found in the Engineers report, and l invite careful persual thereof, by the people, that more thorough knowledge of their city be Sanitation.
 From q perusal of the reports of this department, 1t will be seen that the sanitary condition of the city IS excellent. This may be accounted Tor by the- lack of any epidemic during the year, and the precautionary meas
 ures adopted by this Department Tor the prevention of such.
 "A very successful war has been waRed against the mosquito by the Department, and in this way the spread of disease has In a measure been checkeo. All stagnant water has been oiled, and unusued wells covered over thus putting an effectual end 10 the breeding places of these dangerous m sects. In fact, the work Of this De- |. partment has been carried on m manner which reflects credit upon US head, and which has brought anout great results.
 ."It~is my opinion that the work Of this Department could be handled quite as satisfactorily as heretofore witn smaller force. The city should gauge
 its expenditures by its receipts, and,
 with this in viow, there are several de-
 partments whose force can be reduced
 without serious detriment, this being
 among them. Two inspectors for the
 Sanitary Department are sufficient, un-
 less we should experience serious ep-
 idemic of some kind, which Is quite im-
 probable when the excellent condition
 of the sanitation of the city Is consid~
 cred. However. in thsS event, tne
 force could hs increased temporarily
 as might be necessary.
 Two meat inspectors can perform
 the duties required by the city--one at
 the slaughter house and the other at
 the laboratory. .-{..
 .Ry reference to the sanitary report
 you will note that only nineteen pa
 tients with contagious diseases were
 consigned to tho Emergency Hospital
 during the year. eleven of these being
 smallpox cases. This cannot pc con
 strued otherwise than as a testiHo- niai of the excellent health conditions
 which now prevail.
 'aThe expense of maintaining this iri- stitution is entirely disproportionate to the demands made upon It. The seryices of a competent man, to take charge of the building and grounds, | can be secured for, say, $bO.0o per month. He could care Tor limited number of patients, and in cases or emerxencv where his services, alone. were inadequate, the city could employ nurses, paying them only for the time ! employed. The keeper should' unoer | all circumstances, Do allowed compen- | sation for provisions and other neces- | sary expenses while patients are unoer l treatment. and not otherwise.
 q would ask your carefui consIueIa - \ tion of this matter. as 1t Is one means | of reducing the expenses or ehe cisy' | without serious results.
 Police Department.
 | arhe services rendered by the Police | r1aca rtyient during the year has been | very satisfactory. and take this means | of commenting the officers or that oe | partment for their efiiciency.
 "The many. duties iallins Io .HS 6ave been discharged in an expiditious man ner. and great good is resultant From their vigilance. :. aDurinr the year an active and ef- fec{ive campaign has been tnaugurated n aainst violation of the Sunday law the results of which are being made apparent by the decreasing numoer oi arrests for this offense.
 .aThe increase in the number Of ar rssts and the amount of fines collect ed ia the Recorders Court would seem indtcative of increased crime. This bas however in a large measure, peeh brought about through the rigid en- forcement of certain ordinances here- tofore allowed to lapse.
 apce t6 the vagrancy law. In this Connection I would call attention to the number of arrests made for that or- fenae. same being two hundred ana ninetv-two. Too active an enforce ment of this law cannot be made, ana if is the purpose of the City or Mont aomery to either drive out or put 10
 s1ort< that class of it's inhabitants given to the practice of this unworthy pro- fession. .h
 q would. also call attention to the number of arrests made during the wear for lettering. Three hundred ana forty of this troublesome class have been made to account for themselves. This Is, indeed, good showing TOT fine efforts of the Police Department. "The purchase of two adoI1lonai horses for use by the Patrol Wagon has greatly facilitated the handling; or tha aver increasing business or that branch of the servica
 Lease All COnvicts.
 "On January 8, 1908, the present con tract for women and boy labor VIII expire. It might be we'll to mention here that the compensation reeeived by the city for this class of work mas been comparatively small
 with a view to increasing Fhe
 revenue of the city from this source and decreasing the operating expenses
 of the city prison, I would recommend that your Honorable Body pass sucn ordinance. or ordinances. as well as authorize the executive to hire all men,
 women and boys, who are to serve time for fines imposed upon them, leav- ing it optional with him as to the num- her to be hired out. Heretofore, only women and boys have been hired out. and as hiring men would be new de- narture. I recommend that this matter he riven your attention immediately
 in order that a definite decision may be reached prior to December l, 1907. "By so doing, the executive would he enabled to enter into contract for hiring men, as well as women and