Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-31


Council and the Health Department.
And unless these people assert them
selves it is believed there will be no
improvement in the situation.
One authority on the question of
garbage disposal says many crema-
tories and incinerators have been
built and some of them prove to be
as odorous as a hog farm. Gar
| bage contains from 75 to so per cent.
of waste and it is as impossible to
burn it without fuel as it is to lift
oneself by ones boot straps.
, Makes Wholesome Pork
BY feeding garbage to swine not
only the grease and the nitrogenous
materials are utilized more profit
ably, but other elements are con-
served so that the gross value OBJ
tanned from garbage by reduction is
much less than the value obtained
by feeding the hogs. In one city
the value of the hogs sold amounted
| to four or five dollars per ton OF
garbage fed.
1t is insisted by those who have
made an expert investigation of the
matter that the feeding of garbage
to hogs makes wholesome pork and
pork of a good quality which brings
a good price and does not cause dis
ease. This same authority declares
that 1t is the most economical way
Of disposing of garbage and with the
impending shortage of food it is the
only way.
Profit Instead of Loss
From 1907 to 1911 Springfield,
(Mass.) disposed of it's garbage by
turning it over to farmers for feed
| ing to hogs, the city receiving for
this an average of $4,263 a year over
and above expenses. From 1914 to
1916 in the same city the garbage
was disposed of by reduction by a
private company under a contract
that netted loss to the city aver
aging SS,971 a year. 1t is interest
ing to note in connection with the
change from the piggeries to the re-
duction system at Springfield that
that city had an experience some
what similar to Harrisburg, an in
junction having been secured by
property owners against the unsani-
tary and offensive reduction plant,
resulting in closing its operations in
the middle of last year. The COM
pany went into bankruptcy and early
in the year the plant was bought
by the city for $5,453.37. For sew
eral months after the closing of the
plant June, 1915, Springfield buried
its garbage on the almshouse
grounds and public dump! This
aroused public sentiment and was
discontinued at the end of the year.
Since then the, garbage has been
given to farmers outside the city. I'm
der the present plan the garbage is
hauled to the city limits, in city
wagons by city teams and the farm
crs there hitch their own teams to
the city wagons and remove the gar
bage to thei" farms, the city horses
bringing back the city wagons re-
turned at the same time, by the
farmers.
Garbage Commodity
In short, scientific investigation
has demonstrated that garbage is
a commodity for which in it's rare
state there is a demand and for
which purchasers are willing to pay
d price. 1t should be realized, says
the same authority, that city that
gives away garbage is giving away
that which is of value.
one suggestion by an expert in
the matter states that "a method
that abates a nuisance in one part of
the city and creates a nuisance in
another part of the city is a waste
of money"
AS to reduction plants, the official
report states that lin theory reduc-
ton plants should be operated in a
sanitary method without creating a
nuisance and without carrying offen-
sive odofs. In practice they are not
80 operated"
The Bureau of Municipal Re-
search at Springfield has recently
made public report upon the con-
duct of disposing of the garbage of
that city which ought to be of great
service in the discussion here, es-
pecially as this report is based upon
Investigations OF methods and results
in number of other cities.
Operate Pig Farms
After citing the experiences of
number of cities in selling garbage
to farmers or others who use it in
feeding hogs, and especially the city
of Denver, in which the company
receiving the garbage collects it for
nothing, it believes it possible for
Springfield to obtain at least 81 per
ton for its garbage. Worcester and
Rrockton, Mass, and New Haven,
Conn.,, are cited as cities that oper.
ate municipal farms, where garbage
is fed to hogs, and it is stated that
Worcester derives from It's pig farm
revenue of $6.S5 per ton of gar
bage, based on present prices. An
estimate based on prices of year or
two ago gives S3.65 per ton.
Among the cities which turn the
garbage over to hog raisers the fol-
lowing prices are received for the
garbage delivered: Grand Rapids,
45 cents per ton; Lowell $125 a
load; Somerville, 80 cents per cord
foot; Cambridge, 20 cents per cord
foot. Colorado Springs garbage ia
collected and S1,440 paid for the
privilege, estimated at a total value
of $11, ,040; Denver has the garbage
collected for nothing, service es-
timated to be worth $64,500.
In conclusion the report suggests
that the city might advantageously
dispose of its garbage by fncinera-
ton, by reduction. by selling to farm
ers, or by feeding to hogs on a mu-
nicipal farm. Whatever the method
of disposal. the city should realize
that it can receive a revenue from
the garbage rather than paying for
it's disposal. and at the same time
can insure that the process shall be
sanitary and inoffensive. This means
that the garbage will not be incin-
Grated, because no city has been
found where the revenue of an in
cinerating plant has met even the
direct cost of operation. without con-
sidering charges fer interest and de-
probation. 1t means also that the
city will discontinue giving to farm
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