The Washington herald., 1912-01-05
LOBECK AGAINST
GARBAGE PLANT
ITEM IN BUDGET
Believes Other Plans Should
Be Considered.
HAsvIsITEDTW TWOPLANTs

When the District budget for lSi2-3 is
reported to the House by the subcommit-
tee on District appropriations, Represen-
tative Charles o. Lobeck. of Nebraska, a
member Of the House District Committee,
will lead a fight TO prevent the imme-
date selection of a garbage reduction
plant for the District OF Columbia
The item upon which the attack viii be
made is practically assured Of reaching
the House, according to reliable fnforma-
tion as to the attitude Of the subcom-
1nittee on appropriations. IL provides a
$4,000 fund to be used for the preparation
of plans for a municipal garbage reduc-
tion plant. The Commissioners have been
assured that this item will be left In the
budget by the subcommittee and they
have practically engaged the services OF
the expert who constructed the success
ful garbage disposal plant at Columbus.
Ohio. This expert has been asked to
superintend the planning Of the local
plant with the understanding that, upon
its completion, he viii be appointed per
manent superintendent.
Trip to New York.
After a trip to New York, where he
investigated plants for garbage reduction
and garbage and rubbish destruction. Mr..
in the latter plan Of disposal TO call for
2 thorough investigation into the relative
advantages of the two plans by a sani-
taryl engineer. Mr.. Lobeck will seek to
have tie $4,000 appropriation diverted to
this purpose.
Mr.. Lobeck said yesterday he was not
prepared. as a result of his trip, TO con-
denim or commend either plan unquali-
fiedly
-gWn
PLAN" he said. But / want a sanitary
engineer to go over and report on the
most approved plants of each type in
this country, and then let Congress and
the Commissioners decide what they
want. 1 would not pit my judgment in
the matter against that Of a sanitary
engineer.
i visited first a municipal reduction
plant at New Brighton, Long Island.
New Brighton has a population Of about
g0,O00. and the present plant has ca
pacity OF sixty tons daily. The method
Is Incarceration, and there is no odor from
the process.
Plan in Metropolis.
Il then went down to the garbage re-
duction plant where all the New York
City garbage is handled. This is a pri-
Eate plant with a capacity Of about 5000
tons daily. II is on Barren Island. OF
Long Island, the garbage being towed
TO its destination by barges from the
New York dock. The City Of New York
pays $4,000 annually for the handling of
its garbage by this plant. There is very
little odor from this plant
In the first place. it struck me as
questionable whether Il would be wise to
attempt the running of a reduction plant
by the unskilled and constantly changing
labor, which would be furnished by the
workhouse at Occoquan. as is planned at
present. About One-third OF the oil de-
rived from the garbage Is taken out by
the use of naphtha, high explosive. The
handling Of this in other plants is in
Trusted only to old and experienced work
men and other plants make special ef-
forts TO retain such men in their serv-
ice. This would not be easy IL the in
mates of the workhouse were depended
upon to do the work. The plant would
be in constant danger of explosions from
the naphtha.
A 100000 Profit.
The estimates submitted by the
Commissioners for the reduction plant
say that the sale Of the oil derived from
the garbage would mean a profit to
the District of about 100000 a
year. Granting this to be a fact. II is
possible that an equal or greater saw
ing might be accomplished from the
destruction or incineration method.
The destruction method results in
two residue products-steam and cIink-
er. Both OF these could be used to
advantage in the District The steam
could be used to run your water and
sewage pumping plants which would
mean a saving of about $4,000 in coal
alone. The clinker has been used with
great success in other cities for cement
construction work. In New Brighton
practically all the cement used in side
walks Is based on clinker from the re-
ducuon plant, and a number of cement
buildings have been constructed with the
same material The incinera tion is ac-