The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-08-29
NO PRESENT RELIEF.

NJ fNEsENI NELIEf.
There is little hope Of better garbage
collections this summer. Citizens had
best equip themselves with wads OF
absorbent cotton, soaked In perfumed
germlcide and tied beneath their noses,
when the board of health gets up 'in
open meetin' before the board of fln-
ance, as 1t has done, to tell the mayor
1t would be impossible and lnadvlsable
to call the garbage contract now being
violated because no one else could be
found to do the work at the price now
paid. There can be no hope Of secur-
ing better service when the offending
contractors have read that statement
in print. They need fear nothing.
They need not give any service at all,
unless they fear the paltry fines that
may be imposed upon them for viola
tions,
The board has dsowned the wretch
ed garbage collections of the present
summer on the ground that It was not
given the necessary money for the es-
tabllshment OF municipal collection
department. II seems to have reason
ed that, because II has not been given
what It undoubtedly needs. It Is under
no responsibility to make the kind Of
collections that are available as good
as possible 1t knew It could have OBJ
talned permission to accept any bids,
even the highest-priced II had OBJ
tanned such permission on several &C.
caslons before. Yet 1t chose to award
the contracts to men who had no repu-
tatlon and little or no equipment for
the work at the time and who have
less reputation. II anything. and little
better equipment now. The board can
not reasonably dlsclalm all responsible
lty In this way.
Since there can be no hope for the
present according to the boards way OF
thinking what of the future? The es-
tabllshment Of a municipal department
Of garbage collection Is OF prime i'm
portance and more stress should be
put upon that department than upon q
plant for doing away with the garbage
Furthermore, II the plant selected is
to be of the moderator variety. II will
provide for the consumption of both
garbage and ashes at the same time
the unburned ingredients OF the latter
burning up the former. In that case a
municipal ash collection system would
be necessary. economical and advisable
in connection with garbage collections
and II, too, should be had. The city, az
| II outgrows some of It's lingering pro.
vlnciallsms must get to such ash col
lectlons some day and when better thar
now?
As to the kind of plant TO be finally
selected, we are glad to be able to up-
hold the board Of health in its request
for an immediate appropriation OF
money with which TO investigate the
n ri md .f ala M
to little belief in the abilities of AL
derman Miller as sanitary engineer
His committees proposal of ridicul.
ously low-priced plant suggests tn,
truth of the old proverb: penny wise
pound foolish" The city has evidence
enough of this sort Of false economy II
the present garbage collection system
When Mr.. Miller and his committee
have delved into the eub1ect as deepl'
as Dr. Maher and the health boart
have given evidence on several occa
sion OF having done they, too, may sec
the wisdom OF seeking an appropria
ton for investigation purposes solely
More knowledge Of technical natur,
Is required. 1t would be quite as In
advisable to build plant that woult
soon be outgrown by the city as t.
build one that would prove inefficient
We continue to believe 1t Is an under
taking for an engineer to investigate.