El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-19
SNELTERTOWN
NEST Of FILTH
County Health Officer,
Pressing for Cleanup, I'm
covers Disease Spot.
d ID. hi. RIERHORsT.

/ Until late in the 18th century the
great city Of London was a mass of
/ filthy huts huddled together along
! narrow streets and lanes and the
storehouse of filth accumulation
Of centuries; but in 1856 there came
a great fire that. although terribly
and painfully disguised. proved the
greatest blessing in the history of
the great metropolis, for on the heels
Of the conflagration grew up a Clean
and healthful city.
Today, in the goth century, there
is to be found in FL Paso county a
narrow strip Of land about a mile
and a half in length and populated
by about 5000 people in such a state
I Of filth that old London could not
| compare with it. 1t is not right TO
| say there ought to be great fire
Tor this section, and so the health
laws of the state have been called IN
Z to bring about the reformation
1 The section in question is that in
/ the smelter precinct, lying between
| car line. For years and years the
population Of this flat stretch Of filth
has been increasing and dirt has kept
/ pace, so that a point has been reached
/ that brought county health officer
/ DR.. VIII Rogers to the conclusion
that, cost what it may. the section
must be cleaned up.
Puzzle How They Live.
To show the nature Of this com
plex problem. DR. Rogers escorted a
Herald reporter over the section Fri
day afternoon Deputy sheriff c. N.
Litchfield and VIII Hoard, one Of Dr.
| Rogers's assistants, Joined the party.
. a COMEDIAN ora tim 0T human beings.
cows, hogs, chickens, dogs and per
hapS other organisms, was found hud-
died together in a mass of adobe huts
grouped together with no idea of wide
streets or anything but filthy lanes.
To the reporter, seeing little A.sxican
children playing about the dirt and
filth and displaying the best OF
health, it was puzzle how the hu-
man race had succeeded in the fight
for existence under such tremendous
handicaps.
Living Contract Is Peculiar.
The Mexicans living in this strip are
all tenants, under a peculiar con-
tract of land tenure. Each rents
piece Of land for a period of five
years and agrees to erect l house
This and other improvements revert
to the landowners at the termination
Of the lease. The result has been
that the improvements on the land
consist entirely of what has been
done by the Mexicans themselves, the
land owners having done little by
way of street grading, waterworks or
the like.
Mass of Manure and Garbage.
Consequently, there is no sewage
system. Human offal is necessarily
emptied into the narrow pathways
that wind between the adobe huts, or,
when the health officer gets busy, IS
carried 20 the rivers edge and
e-T- 49, ea~
state law. The edge Of the river is
one mass Of manure and garbage from
one end OF the settlement to the other
and flourishing in this mass are nu-
merOus fat hogs.
Water High; No Baths.
While il cannot exactly be said that
there is no water system, it is a fact
that the number of homes greatly
outnumbers the water faucets, and in
some cases the Mexicans are COM
PEELED to walk several blocks for wa
ter and then wait hours for their turn
at the faucets. The ancient water
carrier system was natural pro-
duct of this situation. No one can
wonder, therefore, that baths are not
popular in this section. It is said
that il would cost some residents 81 to
get enough water to battle the family
on Saturday night
There is absolutely not q trace OF
a drainage system in the entire sec
ton, so that residents are compelled
to empty their dirty water into the
lanes and alleys, in many Of which
are large puddles that even the great
and continuous sunlight Of the south
west cannot dry up
Mexicans willing to Clean Up.
The owners Of the land titles are
Americans, and il is said that two FL
Pasoans hold the fee simple to prac-
tically the entire section. from which
a monthly revenue OF about $500 is
derived The residents are entirely Of
Mexican origin. Dr. Rogers decided
not long ago that both own
ers and residents must do their
share Of the general cleanup
Inat is TO take place. Strange
10 say. the Mexicans are already COM
pletIng their share Of the work. Yards
have been neatly swept and premises
made clean. but the streets, with
their clogged up water puddles. re-
main.
Diaries Ruled Out.
There were seven or eight diaries
in the section. Each occupies a space
smaller than the average backyard
Of an American home and the refuse
from each has made the streets
Whereabouts one mass of filth, there
being absolutely no outlets The or
der TO go was given these dairymen
and each was allotted so much time
leave HEaCLlcdl4y AL nave HUNtu
to other sections and the stencil OF
,nelr corrals is already beginning
to disappear.
The Mexicans have not completed
their work entirely. however. and Dr..
Rogers is not being too strict with
"a because he feared a sudden
revolution OF their mode Of living
would be disastrous
Slaughter Animals I'm Lanes.
The work Of the American owners
has not been started yet, in Dr. Rog-
er's opinion. Streets must be grad
ed and a drainage system installed
There must be some provision fOT
water, also. Further changes neces- !
sary to be done by the MeXicans in
cludes such things as the abolition
OF tables in the open streets on which |
meat is sold AS a matter Of fact, |
animals are slaughtered in the open
lanes and one would run into the /
offal of butchered animals near any ]
Of these meat stands. at which. Incl /
dentally, pork can be bought for 10 /
cents a pound and veal for 20 cents. |
Sunshine Prevents Death.
Dr. Rogers is satisfied with the /
progress Of the cleanup as regards the 4
Mexican residents. The truth of the /
matter" he said, lis that these peo-
pie have not been given a chance. I
You Will see from their yards that /