Year: 1873




and War Departments it is to be hoped the
new service will reflect credit on them both,
and prove a great boon to our shipping and
commerce.


lis-Our Negligent and Tcmporixing


City Authorities.


We are warned by the oppressive tempera-
ture of the last two or three days Of the near
mer and of the inevitably fatal consequences
to the occupants of the swarming tenement
houses and of the filthy and malarious districts
of this densely populated little island. We
are warned from Nashville, Memphis, Cincin-
natl and Washington that the cholera is COM
ing and that this dreaded pestilence at any
moment may steal in upon us like thief in
the night; and, In view of these impending
dangers, the question still recurs, Are our city
authorities and the people Of New York pre-
pared to meet these dangers, or, good or bad,
or half-and-half, what is the sanitary con-
dition of the metropolis?


OnSaturday last we published an instructive
budget of the proceedings of the Beard of
Health, from which it appears that Manhattan
Island is in on excellent condition, not to repel,
but to invite and give liberal feast to the
cholera, the yellow fever, or any other pesti-
lence. For instance, the Sanitary Inspector
Of the North River line between 1O4th
and 109th streets reports those dumping
grounds in disgusting condition, and he
secures an order for the regulation of the
dumping Of garbage of all kinds in said To-
cality under the directions of said Inspector.
Again, the Sanitary Inspector of the First,
Third and Fifth wards, after weeks explora-
hons therein, failed to find 80 single street, or
even single block, that bore the evidence of
having been properly cleaned" The appear
ance Of some Of the streets in this district he
compares to ''the floor Of neglected pigsty."
DR.. James, Assistant Sanitary Superintendent
on the condition of the booths Of Washington
Market, reports that they ''encroach largely
upon the public thoroughfares," and that
their presence is detrimental to health from
meath the floors are constantly filthy with
organic matter in state Of decomposition,
presenting distractions to the flow of water in
the cutters and causing the collection Of filthy
water in pools where it remains until it
becomes stagnant and offensive and gener-
ates noxious and poisonous gases" Further
more he deposes that 'these cutters cannot be
cleaned without first removing the floors of
the booths, which is seldom done that. con-
sequently, the filth is allowed to remain there
and generate its poison from week to week."
and that the booths themselves are old and
saturated with filth and ought to be removed.


We should think SO, and are gratifed that
the Board have decided upon their removal;
but this Washington Market nuisance, though
utterly disgraceful to the city, is only one Of
our many hotbeds Of poison and pestilence.
DR.. James, from reconnaissance Of West
oyster shells are continuously burned from
which 'sthe smoke and dirt penetrate the
sleeping rooms of the houses adjacent, or COM
pei the occupants to keep their windows
closed" In addition to this, the hundreds of
bushels of oyster shells stored in lot adjoin-





carried on without permit. But, again, all
the slaughter houses on the east side of the
city are reported in filthy condition, and all
the sickening denominations so far recapitu-
lated ore but tithe of the cholera and fever
breeding streets, dens, slums, pools and
sewers of our shockingly filthy Manhattan
Island.


And what have our city authorities done,
and what are they doing toward the abatement
Of these abounding nuisances and hotbeds of
disease? From o superficial reconnaissance
of our infected districts it cannot be seen that
our cleaners have made any impression upon
the general masses of decomposing garbage
in our filthiest streets, and so far as we can
learn they are doing next to nothing in the
practical work Of general publication of
the city. From the meeting OF the Board Of
Health tomorrow we may have better re-
port but we fear that they will present us
rather an enlarged budget of newly discovered
nuisances than on encouraging abatement Of
those Of five, ten or twenty years duration.
The trouble lies in the temporizing ''masterly
inactivity" Of our Street Cleaning Department.
These enterprising officials, under the spur of
public agitation, bring out their detachments
of street cleaners and make an imposing
parade Of them in some Of our most conspicuous
streets with their noisy sweeping machines,
their hoes and brooms and shovels and carts
but, from the boldness Of the attack, they soon
become exhausted, and after the lapse of
day or two they mysteriously disappear, leav-
ing only the passing impression upon the
filthy streets they have traversed which
steamboat leaves on the water in crossing
the bay.


What then, are we to do2 We can only
suggest that if our Mayor and City Councils,
chosen on the new departure Of city reform,