The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-01
$71,696.98 SPENT BY STREET DEPARTMENT McCartin's Report Reviews the
 Past Years Work GARBAGE EXPENSE S9493 Complaint Made About Running Hot Water Into Brick Sewers on Ave
 nues c and D-Extracts
 From Report.
GARBAGE EXPENSE S9493

Street Commissioner John Mecartins annual 1906 report to the Mayor reviews the work of the department in detail. The report shows that the street sprinkling during the year amounted to an expense of $7492.5e.
 The expenses of the department for the year amounted to S71, 696.sS. Receipts amounted to $5799.91.
 The expense and receipts are itemized as follows:
 Street expense, $S7, ,S47. "A; receipts, $22S 67.
 Street material, expense, $14sS17; re- ceipts. $127.25.
 receipts, $115.
 Street paving and Sprinkling. expense, s7492.56; receipts. $1045.61.
 Street paving and repairing, expense, $5S5S .36; receipts, $SSS5. 99.
 Garbage, expense, s9493.49; receipts, ss52 2.s9.
 Twenty-frst street bridge. expense. s449s.
 The valuation of the property of this department is given as $s5, ,7Ss.7s.
 A portion of the report follows:
 costs 3I,4Sz.oo 10 Spflnkle.
 At the present time there are 406,675 square yards of paving which we are Bprinkling and sweeping at a cost of $7492. .56. To do this work we have five sweeping machines and five sprinklers, and to say the least, we can compare our streets for cleanliness with any other city in the country that uses exclusively the machine cleaning method. The health and comfort of the people of city de- bends so largely upon the properly lay ing of the dust by proper sprinkling and cleaning of it's streets that the residents of Highland avenue, at their own ex- pense, bought a sprinkler and team and harness, at a total cost of about s9OO
 "As the city contemplates doing great amount of paving during the coming sum- mer, especially in the esat end of the city, near the new depot, upon which there will be no doubt great amount of travel, I would urge the necessity of purchasing two more sprinklers to keep the dust on these streets and avenues laid. The expense of maintaining these sprinklers would not be grea. as the Railway, Light and Power company have trackage on nearly all of these ave- nues and streets and they bear one-third of the expense for sprinklng where they have tracks. This arrangement was made last year on My l, since which time we have collected s1045.6
 "On the 16th day of July we had gen. eral cleaning up day in which 1ss loads of trash were hauled. AS in the year 1905 we confined our labors mainly to the alleys and districts thickly inhabited by negroes. Under the direction of police and sanitary officers, in advance of these wagons the people were required to thor oughly clean in and around and under their houses. We have endeavored with the aid of the sanitary department, to keep these particular districts free from any accumulation of filth since that time. The beneficial effects can be appreciated by the board when I inform you that in the years previous to 1905 we have re- moved from these districts to the pest house large numbers of cases of small pox. In 1904 there were 357 cases. In 191o there were thirty-two cases. In 1906, I am happy to say that there was not one case, which originated in these alleys.
 Investigate Crematorles.
 During this year I accompanied the police and sanitation commission to sev- eral cities to investigate the working of crematories, both reducation and destruc- tion plants. In Atlanta and Memphis we found two distinct types of Instructions that were doing excellent work under the fierce heat generated in those furnaces all trash and garbage was soon reduced to ashes. Each plant did this work thor oughly and well. The main question for the committee to determine would be which type could do the work with the greatest economy of fuel and labor. An other very important question for the committee to determine would be which type of plant would require the least amount of repairs for given number of years. as it is well known fact that nearly sany type will work successfully while it Is new and in good order but unless properly constructed of the best material, the most approved method of drafts, after few months it might be- come very expensive both for fuel and repairs.
 Your committee went to Jacksonville. Fla, to investigate a reduction plant which l am sorry to say was burned down on the night of our arrival in that city and we had no opportunity to in- vestigate its merits. This plant, how ever, we were informed by officials and citizens of Jacksonville mad been con- structed by company holding patents. The idea~was the reduction of dead ani- mals and what Is known here as garbage to grease and fertilizer. As the plant had been in operation only a few months they were unable to tell us whether if could be run at a profit or not. The refuse known as trash, that is, rags, pa- per. bottles, etc, were to be sorted out bailed or packed and sold to dealers as such articles. I believe that 1t is the unanimous opinion of the committee that this type would not do for this city for several reasons. There are no paper mills close enough to Birmingham to make the shipment of paper. rags. etc., profitable and if there were the committee is of the opinion that 1t would not be good pol Icy to make small profit by handling, sorting and bailing and shipping articles of wearing apparel, bedding, etc.. that may have come from homes where there had been contagious or infectious dis cases For these reasons we are of the opinion that a destruction plant of some