The New York Herald Newspaper, May 25, 1875, Page 3

THE HARLEM PERFUMERY. \Hot Weather Horrors of the Reeking Flats. AN ANALYSIS OF THE SMELLS ‘The Ingredients of «‘McQuaid’s Cologne” and ‘Disbecker’s Bouquet.” THE STREET CLEANERS’ PIG BONANZA. 2 Interviews with the Boss Perfumers of the Health and Police Boards, Dump Stenches--Scow Nosegays-- Garbage Salads, WHAT. THE CONTRACTS DEMAND. How Public Health and Decency Are Outraged. The interest awakened by the HERALD’s articles on the Harlem pesthole is universal and intense. ‘The people who have so long suffered trom this Strocious outrage are surprised and delighted at the prospect of relie/, and hail with pleasure bor- ering on enthusiasm the bold attack of the New | York HERALD on the crime and the criminals. A corresponding alarm and contusion has seized the oMiciais Who are mainly responsible for the fearful \ condition of Harlem, and there 1s a decided dispo- Bition on the part of tue Boards of Health and Police to lay ail the blame on other than the right shoulders. In justice to ali involved in this conspir- acy against the health and welfare of New York it | 4s only proper to show how much responsibility Figttly ‘belongs to the city departments Which have had control of this work. @nd to point out, when possible, where efforts bave been made to stop the evil, ‘The sanitary laws of New York clearly define, in ‘unmistakabie language, what shail and shall not constitute proper filling for any area witnin the eity limits. - It is evident that these laws were honestly framed to protect the city from pestilence, and | thatif they are strictly carried out, in letter and | spirit, the utmost effort of the city government Will have been exerted to thatend. But when it can be clearly demonstrated that these sanitary Jaws have been violated by the departments charged with their execution, it becomes @ duty of the most vitai gravity to our citizens to seek the readiest means of relief that can suggest itself to an outraged community. The Board of Health, as every one 38 aware, is clothed with the most ample powers in matters afecting the health of the city. It has the right to say what must and must nos be done | to secure for New York cleanliness and ireedom from epidemics and to regulate witn an iron band the details of our daily lise, so far as they affect the general sanitary wellare of the city. THE SANITARY CODE. ‘The sections of the Sanitary Code prescribe the manner in which the refuse of the city shall be dealt with, where it can be nsea, and how, the manner of its transportation from point to point, and every siage of its progress trom the moment 1% comes under the jurisdiction of the department as refuse to that of {18 fingl disposition in accora- ence with law. Section 112 of the Sanitary Code reads as fol- jows:— That no pile or deposit of manure, offal, dirt or fe, hor any accumulations of any offensive Or nauseous subsiance shall be made witnin tne built up portions of the city. or upon any open space enclosed within any portion thereot, or upon the piers, docks or buikheads thereto, or uvop any open grounds (or upon any ‘Vessel or scow otherthan those to be speedily and according to the duty of any person rewoved, lying atany such pier, wharf or bulkhead) cept accoraing to @ resolution of this Board es- cially authorizing the same, and a permit ob- jainea from this department and according to its regulations, and no person tribute to the making of any suc’ nee which has been used for bedding tor yn im: be placed or dried upon any street or idewalk or roof af any building; nor shail any raw, bay or other substance or the contents of y mMatiress or bed be deposited or burned, nor shall aoy accumulation thereof be made within zz. 9g of any street without a permit from this ard. The foregoing section of the law, which empow- ers the Board of Health to act in all cases where 11s functions become operative, i a clear preserip- ton of the duties of the department as well asthe Peopie. Now, it has been proved beyond a ques- Mion that the work of ‘filing in” the Hariem fats ana the adjoining low grounds is tn the most di- rect violation of this section of the law of its let- ter and spirit, of its every clause and sentence, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CLAIMS some immunity (rom blame, on the grounds that the co-ordinate Department of Police selia this garbage to contractors, and ts, therefore, gatity of the breach of the law complained of; but the Health Board admits its kuowledge of the fact and that it possesses the necessary powers to stop the evil, The etiquette of the departments must be very exacting indeed when the weliare of over ®@ million of people 18 jeopardized to maintain tt. It 1s @ tacit admission of complicity in the crime, whether by omission of duty or a positive co-ope- ration. No way that we can look at the case ad- mits of any excuse for the Health Board, the use of garbage was frst complained of the Board of Health stopped it peremptorily; but dar- ing the winter months the Board of Police received permission from the Board of Heaith to dump this stad on the Harlem fats, on the ground that the matter was innocuous during that season and ft for use, but when the spring opens we find tne quan- tty increased, and the evil, 1! possible, aggravated im every jorm, under the very eyes ot the guar- dians of the health of New York, + he most ABSURD AND DANGEROUS FEATURB im the excuses of the Health Board is the bola assertion that this garbage is not garbage at ail, and that it becomes harmiess in time when coy- ered with earth, The officials claim that the filing has been carefully analyzed, and found to be very free from organic matter. This analysis took place last year, Whata monstrous piece of ebeuraity this is—fliing analyzed ayear before it haa an existence under that form! The Department of Police, which sells this garb- age, takes very hign ground tn discussing the suv- fect. Mr. Disbecker, chairman of the Street Cleaning C ommittee, says that the HERALD articie 1s somewhat exaggerated in tone and expression, He knows that there is no garbage used. He has endeavored to dispose of the filling in many ways, SUCH a8 sending it to sea, &c, He bas advertised for the saie of the staf many times—twice alto- gether, ne thinks—and has finally given it to the present contractors at $10 per scow load of 260 cubic yards per scow, JONES, M’QUAID AND GARBAGE. On an examination of the books of the Police Department the writer made the interesting dis- coveries that the ledger page was headed, es, garbage, &c.,” and thatyones and Mcquaia had paid over $14,000 for “ashes, garbage, &¢.."” and owed & little balance to the department, which made their account foot up $14,045, This sum Tepresents 1,464 scow loads of “ashes, garbage, &0,,"’ at 260 cuble yards per scow; so that from the official records we find that over 350,000 cubic yards of putrid ith have been deposited on the “Harlem fate’ between February 9, 1874, and January 9, 1875 Turning to an oficial copy of the contract of Jones and McQuaid with the Depart- ment of Public Works for draining and filling “the ulation; nor shall any straw, hay or other | beta: When | NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, firm contracted to fill 290,000 cubic yards, between Ninety-second street and 106th street, and be- tween Third avenue and the Harlem River, at sixty-five cents per cubic yara, WHAT THB CONTRACT DEMANDS, The specifications of the contract are very plain and explicit, Section 9 of the spectfication pro- vides that the filing is to be “good loam, gravel or sand,” and that ‘coal ashes, perivctiy free from ail garbage or other impurities may be used as filling up to within one foot of the whole height of the proposed filling,” amd in section 12, “the earth filling in all casea snail be of kind and quality specified for embankment in section 9 of these specifications,” This contract was entered into by Jones & McQuaid, with Robert Pettigrew and David Babcock as sureties in the sum of $80,000, and was completed, it would appear, to the tisiaction of the Department of Public Work. But how? By the use of garbage which cost the contractors two aud a half cents per cubic yard, delivered at the ground by the Police De- Partmeat, THE PEST PROPERTY OWNERS. * The following named property owners are among those benefited (?) by tis profitable operation :— Solomon Mehrbach, President of the Second Avenue Railroad; Spoford and Tileston, Gebnard. Allen Hay, Edwara Roberts, George J. Hamilton, “The People’s Gas Light Company” and the Rhine- lander estate. These are the few among many who have had their lands filled in with the city filth, and who at some future day will sell “de- sirable building lots suited to people of limited means,”” The Engineer Bureau of the Department of Pub- Ne Works denies that garbage or any offensive material has been used; but states that Mills & Ambrose are now using Milling for the lots at 106th street which has been rejected by the Department of Public Works; but how can this be so? The filin ; used Is collected from day to day in the streets and back yards of New York, and could not have been offered before coliected or rejected belore offered. Mils & Ambrose pay the Police Department fifteen cents per cartioad for the filth—a great ad- vance on McQoald’s price. They have already given cash for 772 cart loads, and owe the aepart- ment for 1,111, This latter quantity has been supplied them since April 30—over 1,000 cartloads of dirty garbage m less than vhirty days. Let Har- lem rejoice. THE CONTRACTORS HASTE TOO LATS. The energy displayed py these enterprising con- tractors is immense. During yesterday horse and man were driven to the utmost of their work- ing capacity to cover up with @ thin layer of fresh earth, the fithy garbage filling of the past week | orso, Tne HERALD has inspired these people with a wholesome fear of the consequences of their acts, and their first and natural impulse is to hide the horrid eviaence of their breach of the sanitary laws of New York, THE BOARD OF HEALTH. it was ascertaiged by a HERALD reporter yester- day that the Boatd had taken the subject already into consideration, and that decisive steps would be determined upon by the Board of Health to-day to prevent the further propagation of tue germs of | disease and deathon these fats. Failing to find Dr. Chandler oF Dr. Janeway, the reporter con- | versed with another tmportant official in the to know the facts of the case and the views enter- tatued by the Board, This gentleman hinted even that arrests might be made in consequence’of the HERALD’s disclosures, as the contractors who li dumped garbage on the Harlem flats did soin | violation of the plain provisions of the law. WHO 18 TO BLAME? ‘The oMcial referred to said taat the Police De- partment was not so much to blame as were the contractors to whom the garbage was gold by them, During the winter there was so little | garbage, being almost entirely composed ofasnes, that the Board of Health had permitted the dump- ing on the flats; but no such permission was given for the spring, when the refuse was natu- rally of quite # different character, being so largely composed of decayed animal and vegeta- ble matter. “Ig there any anjhority under which the Board. of Police is dumping thegarbage now on tne Har- lem flats?” asked the writer. “{ am in @ position to know,” was the reply, “that no such permission bas been granted by the Board of Health for the last two months. The | contractors who dump the stuff, and the Board of Police, who authorize them to do 80, are both vio- lating the law.”” VIEWS OF THE HEALTH BOARD. “The Board of Health, then, does not approve of the manner in which the fats are filled up t” “Oh, there is no question in their minds as to the | impropriety of depositing this garbage there, | although itis questionable whether the malaria | and other diseases supposed to have been caused by the noisome exhalations of these mars! Would nos continue in those districts without You see there for filling up purposes?’ “I think this an open question. 00d soll, just as even nightsoul be- arth in due course of time.’ ve no complaint# about the stench and al effects been made to the Board ?”” was ever made about it was two months ago. President Chandler at that time went “pest beds,’ found 80 ashes that be did Bot deem the practice very “ad: eterious to hei more especially as the ashes woud be sure to act as & disinfectant upon the | garbage.” AX OLD SORE. there been no investigation since then?’ 0, with the exception of the daily rounds made by the regular sanitary inspector of tuat district, Dr. Vieme. You remember, by the way, that this matter of dumping the city's refuse on the Harlem fi was once before the cause of great trouble, and thatthe Health Board had to prosecute Charlick before he would stop damping | there. The aiMculty is by no means a new one." “What is the proper course for the Health Board | to pursue if the Police Commissioners do not obey its bebest 7 “We tain warrants from any police Justice for arre: abyoody found dumping garbage on those premises, although the pon might make arrests lor this offence wiinout warrants, However, I do not anticipate any resistance of the Police Commissioners, I think they will defer to the decision of the Board of Health, whatever | that may be.” So much for the Board of Health. Dr. Day, the Sanitary Superintendent, went up to the flats yes. terday Morning to satisfy himself formally of the condition of things in those delightiul regions. He will report on the subject to the Board, who will then act without any furtoer delay, COMMISSIONER DISBECKER’S VIEWS, The Police Commissioner who is at the head of our Street Cleaning De ment, Mr. Disbecker, Was also questioned on the suoject. Mr. Disbecker | had just returned from Albany, where he had, no | Bats,” dared January 19, i874 we fod thas the . doubt, devored much time and thought to the subject of street cleaning ana the dumping on the Harlem fats, Albany being an excellent feld for such studies, Mr. Dis- becker, however, assamed a deflant attitude. id that the Board of Healtn haa given no order to stop dumping there; ergo, if any one was to diame that commission, and not the great and good Police Board, Was to blame, Furthermore, e denied that the deposits were garbage, except in infinitesimal quantiti that could do no harm, to the naked eye, In- spector Thorne was present at this interview and — agreed to rything uttered by his el “Have you received orders, Inspector, vo sto; dumping on the Harlem fate : d “NO, sit,’ was t! eply, “we have received no such order, we have nothing to do with the dump- ing anyhow, for we give—not seli—it to the con- tractors, on condition that they take the stuit irom out scoms a Tarntad their own lavore “The hea uthorities #ay you Dave no per- mission to do that.” ~ os Weil, the permission that was given tous by the Beard of Health was never revoked, and why should tt be? poisonous gases of which the HERALD Complains arise not irom these deposits bus from the black mad, SuD-soll of the swamps that is forced to the jace by the filling ‘ocess.” And then the Inspector went on praising in glowing terms the suitability of this offal ior filling. He was evidently fuil of his subject ana Went on in an irresistible fow of eloquence. Dante was not more fluent in paint- ing the glories of Paradi: 0 Inspector Thorne was in descanting upon beauties and wonder- a pers ie: of this garbage on the Heriem jabs. THE CHIRF TO THR RESCUR. At this point, however, the Onief came to his Tescue and denied, in toto, that the dirt was “gar- bage’’atall. “Why, there's n0 more than five per cent of it garbage,’” id Police Commissioner Disvecker, who bad scarcely entered the room when he, With leonine learlesaness, plunged himself into the conversation, ‘In the winter, of course, the percentage of garbage ts #0 slight that it is not worth speaking of, and in tae summer we take great care to separate the garbage and the ashes, The first we send out to sea; the latver we dump on the fats and in otner places. What little @arbagwe there ig in these asics Which we Health Department yesterday, who 18 in a position | I think {t-| eak of, Tue only complaint that | dump on the Harlem flats is corroded in them, Gnd thus the stud. te periectly pure and harm- “Have you received any permission from the Board of Health?” ‘és, we have,” mr. Disbecker said, talking, ual, in his rapid, lively fashion, ‘During the winter appeared personally before them, and they made no objection to it, They have vever revoked vhe permission they then granted. Well, pe they have been round in the same building in which we are, If they have not discovered any- thing wrong 1m this matter we can’t ve blamed Jor not having discovered it.’? “are you sure, Commissioner, that the percent- age of animal and ble matter is quite as In- Anitesimal as you bi ted 9”? WHAY THE BUREAU CAN'T DO. “Certainly, was positive reply. “The con- peel can’t@ump any stuf? but what we give Of course we cannot employ people at every dock to draw out every potato 1 and every orange peel; we can’t do that, of cour: Allow me to suggest the advisability of a personal inspection of the flats; go Joursetl and see wasthen th is garbage or asnes.” “What over roof.could we give of the truth of this thai bib ver same fillung—tne very same, Das been at the foot of Caristopher street for. the pee of Docks, at Blackweil’s Island for the Department of Charities and Cor- rection and at the foot of Twenty-second street, Bast River, 9 poisonous miasma, no horrible stenches have arisen? The stuff does not smell; it's the swi mud which smells. Why, just go right upon t! ows, you can’t smell the stug. re these miasmatic marshes are you will find soil is ciean you won’t find it, beyond that stale smelj, which is for all the World like that of fresh earth, “But you admit that it is the filling process which forces the poisonous subsoil of the mars Up.to the surface and thus generates disease and vestilential miasma?”? WAITING THE HEALTH BOARD'S ORDERS. “Yes, Ido; but you must remember that any filling would do the same, and the fats must be Alled some time. The stench would be just as bad if you filled them with clean gravel, so tnuat the simple aueshae ig whether these flats had better be filed, or whether we had better take the stu out tosea. Of course we shall do whatever the Board of Health deems best; let the order forbid. ding any fart! dumping there only go forth and We shall bow to it at once.” and with this the lively young Commissioner rushed out, saying to Inspector Thorne;—‘ You Suis! ‘The wri! then inquired as to the extra cost of conveying th refuse out to sea, and In- spector Thorbe repli $400 a day (eight scow Joads each). Orders had also been given, he that each family and hotel put their refuse into sepa receptacles, one Lor ashes and the other for organic matter. He ad- mitted at the same time that this order would not be carried out until Saturday next, so that in the mean the lew potato peelings, &c., which the Bureaa Of pick out will continue to adorn she ung! the Bariem flats. While the sanitary authorit tnat no permission had been given for ome 8 the street cleaning magnajes de- clare vat the permission once given was never re- voked—which Would indicate that the latter went silently on dumping in the flats and with the tacit consent of the Hea!th Board. protested against the abuse there 1s no doubt that our docile Police Commissioner Disbecker would have obeyed its behest. TAKING THE GARBAGE ON BOARD. A HERALD reporter patd a visit yesterday afzer- East River, and jadging from tne quality of garbage there exhibited, the pestilential nature of the filling of Harlem flats ts underestimated, Viewed even from & distance the reeking ac- cumulations of the great city’s filth produced a nauseating feeling, and when closely ap- Proched noxious effluvia afflicted tne nostrils, The firat place visited was that at the foot of Rivington street, where three large scows lay in the river tied te the dock. Two were filled to overflowing, the third was almost half diled. On an average A cart Was emptied of its contents into tbe same every ten minutes, Crowds of ragged, ay children and women, whose sense ot smell had long since been blunted by reason of their habitual intercourse with dirt in its various forms gioated over eacn new addi- tion to the file, as they buried their tron hooks in the same, regardiess of everything but the protes- sional hope of finding something marketable in tue shape of iron, glass bottles, or rags buried the filtm On the top of one of the filled scows lay a Paantiey, of rotten appl ie sent up such a terrible stench that even the neh ened gamins shunned it, or if they did appr 1t took care to do so when the in an opposite direction. A num! of dead a and cats were visible in another of the scows in an advanced state of putrefaction’ Decayed vegetables of every sort and description ceuld be seen in sickening quantities, and old boots, broken glasses, batvered hats, bundles of straw and rubbish of a hundred digerent kinds made wu, the residue, In conversing with several of the employés on the dock the reporter learned that scow loads of this ga: bage were frequently carried away to fill ia she F ir flats, the balance going to Black- well’s Islana. For time last summer so intolerable dia the nuisance nd ble the c aroused to a sense of their duty, and the garbage was separated irom the ashes dnd street sweep- ings and carried to sea, as provided for by law; but, uniortunately for the commauity, their action | Was of short duration, ‘The reporter next visitea the dumping place at the foot of Hast Filtn street. When he | proached within @ block of the scows am unwel- come breeze gave unmistakable notice of their contents. The garbage and filtu bere were if any- thing more loathsome than at the previons place. Everything conceivabie in the pe of rubbisn could here be seen, The street aweepings asarule are comparatively clean, but everything, whether it was the ordinary inoffensive dust or ashes, or the foul swill of decaying animal and vegetable matter, was dumped into the same scow to be hurried when filied to McQuaid’s graveyard, there to do its share in poisoning the uafortuuate vic- tims who reside in the vicinity. A CHAPTER ON SMELLS. In Koh!n, a town of monks and bones, And pavements fang'd with murderoas stones nes, \d seventy stenches, id genuine stinks | Wi Jer sewers and sinks, | pur tell'me, Ymphs! What power divine »ball hencetorth wash the river Rhine t Coleridge's Table Talk, Tt is fifty years since the above lines were writ- | ten by Sam Coleridge, on his retarn from a trip | made in company with the poet Wordsworth to the Low Countries and the city of Cologne, Cole- | ridwe’s mind was essentially analytical and philo- sophical in its construction, but it is more than possible that he would find himself at fault, were he alive now, to separate, disintegrate and enu- merate the various stenches that foat ina gaseons pall between earth and heaven, after they have formed, combined and ascenced from that odo- uerous Gelenna— Harlem flats. ONE BAD SMELL is generally enough to satisfy even the most ex- acting nostril, ana Charies Baudelain, who wrote verses to glorliy annual deposits, nothing to ask for could bis shade revisit earth and stand witb nostrils compressed between two fingers on the southern and more romantic bank of McGowan’s Creek at 108tn street, a few steps west ol the Hast River. As the wind veers and shifts In this locality on a day with atemperature as moderately high as it was yesterday the air becomes foul, miasmatic and unciean, as if the biasts came from the Plutonian pit, and even a Charleston buzzard would hesitate to eater the perceptible circle of sach abyssmal odors. The place is only fit for those birds of night that haunt the battle feid after a bard fourht aay, to grovel and disfigure the corpses of the slain. THR DECAYED BUT ONCE FRAGRANT ONION. centrated foulness @ plainly visible mist, thick and Tepulaive, ascends forever, Clay and ashes may be placed in their layers to conceal its composi- tion, houses may nereafser be constructed on its fringes, but its smeils will endure for ail time. Occasionally @ quick and fitful breeze comes like the wings of an angel landward, and then the student of animal and vegetable matter—who, like the aeronauts of the balloon Zenith, may be willing to risk his life—will distinguish certain articular and peculiar odors that are emitted, just as the schoolmaster in @ crowded schoolroom Will Anally distinguish the voice of the most noisy boy in the class. Let us stand here, where the dirty scows are M at the foot of Ninety-sixth As little by ilttle the terrible cloud rises over these Vast vacant lots the first definable stench that greets the nose is that of the rotting and festering onion, abandoned to ite fate amid this wilderness of matter and waste Of the world, The associations connected with the onion even in its days of fresh jJuvenescence are not fragrant by any means, But the onion, scorned of the housekeepers or for- saken by the crue] Datch corner groceryman is a vegetable to be pitied and avoided with careful caution, The remembrance of the savory mutton stew and the equaxy luscious beelsteak and ac- companying onion thinly sliced ts no longer called to memory dear. Instead you think of & porous, ulcerated and dissipated Vegetable, whose only use henceforth 1s that of an emetic until it once again shall germinate, Like the deceased tom cat, whose spendtarift life was endea by the malicious shotgun, its stench would serve as a ‘Weapon in the hands of @ hostile foe and might serve admirably in Chinese wartare. THE MURDERED TOM CaT, Mey Wedged between @ lot of cobblestones ona bed Of shavings and composite matter, its peck protradiag througe the bars of a jaded ip skirt that once saw betier days, and that ma; have rustied in the foyer of the opera, and wit the greater part of its body visible from the opt mouth ofa Battered and dented milk can, ji mowniul carcass of @ muscular tom Had the latter | noon to two of the Chad places on the | id was biowing | logs Dad ap- | From these heaps of rabbish, garbage and con. | | bleached by weather and wind and water. | spices are cast in the inlerior shade by Limburger and out of these tomatoes, and ants are as | | mumgrous and ag industrious as operatives in a Lo factory. The pestiferous remains of scores of 4 are herded together among the slain reiugees of the household economy, but the odor | eyet it is that this unfortunate canine during bis MAY 25, 1875.—TRIPLE SHHET. Thomas! thy story could only be told in the mournfal bumpers of a churchyard elegy, and it isnot the province of the writer to chant thy virtues, however numerous they were during life- time, but rather ts it nis duty to speak of thy odor, unfortuate Thomas, which ories aloft to the immortal gods for instant removal or immediate Ne there with your entralis, that were, perhaps, impinge: fatally tne brickbat of some ruMan voy, one is tempte: to think of the moonlight nights that heard you | warbling Of love and passion and connubial diiss | as you clatvered boidly over the tin roofs of the | city, or irom close ensconcement behind some orick cbimney caterwauied glorlgusiy to your | bonnie Jean. But now, like the Merovingian kings who rode long-haired ob bullock carts through tne etreets of pre-medieval Paris, you ‘as Carlyle says, passed into night and all remains of you is that which te ry offensive and smélieth to heaven. Away, Thomas, away to Barren Island and be covered up! for see, these natives of sunny Italy, whose jor is as bad in life almost a8 your own Is iD death, pass you by with neglectiul contempt. HH! THAT LIMBURGER CHEESE!” While musing over the disgusting and loath- some odors that swept in from the scows the writer could not i 3 noticing an Italian who jumped on & cart to give impetus to a norse that seemed unwilling to start. The face of the man was @ magnificent one, the profile like that often seen on @ Roman coin, and his body was well shaped and lithesome as a tiger’s. To look at this splendid fellow one’s mind went away to other scenes and other rivers than that with Hell Gate for its foreground. The words of the poet came to mind, and dissolved the gaseous fabric asif it Was struck by 4 magician’s wand, Iwas in Greece. It was the hour of noon, ‘And the Egean wind had dropped usleep Upon Hymettus and the thymy isles Of Salamis and Bgina lay hung Like clouds upon tae bright and breathless sea. Suddenly this picture faded away as the tail- board of tie cart dropped down ana the cart shot, 8 disgusting and reeking mass of rotting Limbur- cheese, forth upon a kindred heap ol garbage. | presence of this smell all fancy must die, and | poetry no longer can sway the senses, Even in 1t# natural and healtoy state Limburger cheese is an indisputable fact the very apogee of realism. But such a stench as now arose would have routed even ® Prussian army corp im full uniform, with Steinmetz at its head. scend tO thy proper plane, as the Pantarch would say, O, decaying onion and torn tom cat! your frankincense and | 2 e = cheese. The Itallanu, as he jumped trom the cart, missed his footing, and, to use an expressive porase, he “squashed” straight into the cheese, and it exuded in @ thick liquid under the hot sun, The odor beggared descripuon, and a tidal wave could not have washed it away, Lie there Lim- burger cheese and assimilate and amalgamate with the refuse of the neighboring lager beer breweries, and you will find a substance almost brotuerly for the aroma tuat the July days will engender EARLY TOMATOES, Tomatoes when iresh and ripe are a delightful and toothsome vegetable for the breakfast table, and the listle rosy radish is @joy forever, But her@are myriads of these rotting and festering and Spotting the heaps of garbage with desolate and ed yellow jeverish ots. TI make you tnink o! the yellow flag floating over a pital aud there is watery, clammy smell trom them that ats ql Littié, Wriggling things may be seen c ling in | of these culinary bouquets is not nearly so bad as the stench from the tomatoes; and yet a tomato is nothing but @ rind enelosing some pulpy seeds and a globe of water. Tne carcass of a debaucned aog, Whose life, no doubt, was that of a bummer, liew here t00, and the stench from his body resem- bles that which is caught in the evening of a hot day from the purileus of a slaughter house bordering on a river where the entrails of animals may be seen floating in putrescent masses. The tail of the dog is the dest of all things m this Gehenna of filth and siime. It is scrubby and worn and attencated, Visible to all brief space of life had no home, habitation or hearthstone, He, like the tom cat, was prob- ably stricken by @ paving stone or ferociously flung brick, perhaps followee up by blows from & cruel cart rung, and now this vagrant’s carcass ie aece by the dispensation of the dumping con- ors tO serve &$ & contribution to the il of the citizens of Harlem, Many such dogs id in these garbage heaps, and their sepul- | chre is quickly made and soon forgotten, AN ABANDONED WATERPALL, But most curious and most diMicuit of all the smells here concentraved to describe is the smell | whiten oats upward like the smoke from the fires ot as Indian camp, and which has its birth in the Various waterfalls and hair pads thrown aside from the heads of ladies who have become en- mored of new coiffares. Some of these may have laim under the bonnet of @ Murray Hill belle and others may have come (rom that cemetery of t slams of the housenod economies—the Baxt nd shop. Here ts a vast and terfail with a close, musty odor that of @ bale of hemp that bas — on @ wharf under the beating of th ri and the burning rays of the s WY the wateriall of a mother-tn-law who carrted the keys of a Frenen fat jingling at ber | apron belt, tnrown fortn by aa fudignant wife seoretly and at dead of nignt? Was it the water- Hl fall of @ sister dear abandoned r the tury and frolic of am Se picnic at Jo! Woods? Was it torn from ¢ e ine jing the femimine para- phernalia of her maidenhood, or did it come from the lost uafortunate whose oody lay in the Morgue | and afterwards served as @ subject for the dissect- ing Knife in @ medical treatise? fhese be ques- tions that can never resolve themselves, {or the proof and evigences ave passed away and these different and noxious capillary frag- | ments are of no service excepting to sod tha tomb of the fadead horse whose brain is as clean as the handle of an ivory tooth brase ut Cologne itsell is a3 nothing to thts comoination of smeils, and yet the Italia: dig away right merrily, and go home to wives and children as (t were stench proof and plague proof, and ready for Work at each morning’s return. And yet they dio fast enough, for the tatal seeds of these horrii masses of putrefaction and corruption will ne langs of these uniortunate beings, and firesiies by the’ waters Jreek and the beds of the desolate | Hariem marshes, WHO_TS TO BLAME FOR THE NUISANCE? To tua Boiron or rae fnaty:— Your exposé of the quality of the ‘filling’ used atthe Harlem fats deserves the thanks of every man, Woman and child inthis community. But what shall be said of the police authorities, who | furnished this material to the comtractor, and of the Health Board, who allowed it to be used? By section 1, chapter 677 of the Laws of 1872 it is pro- vided “that the ashes, ditt, garbage and radbish < x | shall be removed from the city as fast as collected, | | sunkea lots.” would Rave | | imspect the same and except such dirt and ashes as in the judgment of the Board of Heaita may be snitabie to ll low or Did the Board of Police notiiy the Board of Health that they had sold @ certain amount of street refuse to Contractor McQuaid, to be used in filing in Harlem Fiats, and ask that Board to see if it was, in their judg- | ment, Suitable for the purpese? If so, woo Was the inspector and what his report? Is it not @ fact that this material is the same that bas accumulated in the city during the whole of the past winter, and which the Board of Police atone time <esigned sending down the bay aud out to se@ because that was deemed the ouly at &@ mass of stuf? his stuff to contractor Did not the company se: McQuaid for the sum of $10 scowload con- taining 2,000 cubic yards, the contractor recety- ing thereior from the city sixty-three cents per cunic yard or $126 per scow load? Whatever sum 1$ was sold for must been reported to th Comptroller, ior section 5 of the act alluded to re. quires that where any such sales have been made | tney shail be reported to the Compsroller semi- monthiy. Your admirable exposé, together with the fact that the fay od of tne upper end of this isiand are shoroughly aroused in this matter, Will probably doter the authorities irom iurnishing and tue n- Bat it is said = Correc- tor from using the fith surther. thas the Commissio of Ohari ton have set apart upper end o kwell’s Isiand as & fit damping ground fer this The ground assigned is just above toe Lunatic Asylum, where there between twelve and fourteen hondred inmates, Hence the authorities con- cluded to close this insutution, andin the manner indicated, W requires that the refuse collected from the yo Shall be removed trom the city. Biack- aR weil nd {6 @ part of the city and can no more | be made # dumping ground for roage, manure, | or any o organic Matter than Union or Mad | son squares, HARLEM, | ANOTHER NUISANCE, To THE EDITOR oP THR HERALD:— Your exposure of the Heaitn and Police boards | and the contractors for filling the Hariem Flats deserves the warmest thanks of the people of this locality and we hope that you will continue the good work until the unfortunate residents have fair chance for life and heaith, for we have only to look to your paper to do anything for us. (ne Health Board iorce this filling, done through ‘aeir sud- ordinates; of course they have reasons ior their actions, vut they are not likely sanitary ones, We woutd call your attention to a Milling jor roing on under “Bob Brown,” the contractor nie: the Police Department cleaning the streets ‘Tweifth ward, and the Health Board, at the bivvk formed by the intersection of Madison and fourth avenues and 134th and 135th streets. The accu- mulated filth and garbage of the wara ts being now deposited there unger the Board of Health for sanitary reasons. This job nas ali the disgast- img features of the Mariem Fiate outrage, inten- sified vy the fact that, while “‘MoQuaid's Grave- ard’? was done under the “Board of Public orks,” this is to be consummated directly under the Heaith and Police boards. Your action in ventilating the subject commends you to the thanks of all the peopie in the neignborhood; but don’t let ade A TAXPAYER, | all priate articles of assuctation for t! | to-day. | put down on the record as RAPID TRANSIT. The Husted Bill and How It Is Received. OBJECTIONS TO THE BILL. Siti | The Governor Asked to Consider Well Before He Signs It. Seen MAYOR WICKHAM’S VIEWS. Tne Husted Rapid Transit bill was the absorbing topic of conversation in moneyed circles yesterday. AS yet there was not enough authoritatively known about it to justify any very decided stand by any one; but enough was known to cause some objection on the part of men who were very much interested in the success of rapid transit. Many of the most powerful capitalists tn town had cast their fortunes with the Common Council bill, and when tt had passed the Senate and Assembly they vhought it was sure of receiving the Governor's Signature; but then the Husted bill came and with is the intelligence thi the Governor intended to sign it. It nad been said that the Common Council bill was uncon- stitutional; but euch men as Judge Davis and Judge Emott had declared it perfectly sound, Then, again, the Common Couneil bill Was a sweet, short one, and if signed by the Gov- erner would bring with it all the benefits and none of the objections of the Husted affair, The Husted bill by one of its clauses grants protec- tion to the rapid transit franchises already granted, and says that in laying outa route regard must be had to these as vested rights, It is not gen- erally known, perhaps, that West Broadway, Sixth avenue, Pearl street, Morris street, the whole jength offSecond avenue and New Church street are covered by the Gilbert ana other fran- chises, aud that as soon as these highways are sought to be used the bill steps in to prevent it, This one clause im the Hasted bill has made mapy rabid rapid transit men say curt if not sour things about the Governor. Some go so far aa to say that the dil) will be signed by the Governor just to take from Wickham’s administration the ¢éclat of having given the people rapid wansit, The Common Council bill said nothing about interfering with the other rapid transit franchises, and although this point was known to the supporters of the Dill they objected to make it an argument for the rea- son thas as soon as it was generally known all the “Black Horse Cavalry” and all the friends of the Metropolitan Rapid Transit and Gilbert Elevated road would combine to defeat the bill. Again, the moneyed men take exception to sec- tion 84, which provides that the Legisia- ture shall have power to dissolve any company or- ganized under the general act. Heretofore it has not been the custom to inserts qpy such clause ag this in the general railroad laws; but | of late, since the graigers began to conyulse the | | William S. Early, @ policeman, testined that politics of the West, it has become quite general. Now, the parties who object to this clause do not do so on account of any benefit thas may acerce to the people, but on account of th jount of in- convenience it so fairly promises them should they launch their capital into tt. THE BLACK HORSE CAVALR: They are sharp, surewd men who are not to be deceived by words, and one of them said yester- day, in conversation with the writer, “Do yon kaow what that clause means? it means come to Albany every winter and see the boys." the text of section 34:. any time annulor dissolve any under this act; bus such di given sgainst auy ok holders, or officers, or any laoility which shall bave been previously incurred.” Anosher point which is animadverted upon ti the condition imposed in section {, which reads e | a8 follows :— “The said Commissioners repare appro- the last section mentioned, in win Of association shail ve set forth ana eatodied as component parts thereof, the several conditions, requirements and particulars by said Commis- sioners determined pursuant to sections 4, 5 and 6 of this act, and which jurther shall provide for the release and forieiture to she Supervisors of tue county of all rights and franchises acquired Db; such corporation in case such railroad or rail- roads shall not be completed within the time and upon the conditions therein provided; and the said Commissioners sh: thereupon, and witn: 20 days alter their organization uitable book of subscriptis wock of such company to be opened, pur ch county. The objection predicated on under certain circumstances It between tne mill somes. The nm r one the county, the superior one the Shylock. The en. terprise might be started under the most fav« Pe a but nothing human 1s sure, and ¢ tances might make it Nnpossible to contin e investor | the construction, in which event all the work al- ready done would go to the county. THE LNSOLENCE OF CAPITAL. Severs! very large capitalists, who were spoken the subject, said that they did not the bandreds of thousands with which proves that rhousand |s ery particular as to whom he associates with, r. Huacred ara no Fecogmity mn from bin. ‘The bill, that is She draft of it pablished in the papers, was yesterday submitted to competent lawyers, whose opinions on it are fortucoming The men Who havo theic doubts about the féasibility of the Husted biil do not care to be ‘ing said so, for the | reason that they know ti is & possibility of their being wrong. Nothing, they say, would give them more pleasure tnan to see the facts prove their suspicions unfounded, Ali they want is Tapid transit, and they are anxious to see the thing started under the fairest auspices. Lf those who take the matter in hand develop suMcient strength to ‘y the scheme 6o a successful ciose tie growlers are bappy. It is tntendea to petition the Governor to consider well both the bils before he signs either. He ts to be asked to consiver which bill will produce the most money, which is most likely to prove successiul, and to decide on ‘Bis point not on any personal or political bias. MAYOR WICKI‘AM’S OPINION, A RERALD reporter yesterday called upon Mayor Wickham for the purpose of ascertaining his | views upon the Husted bill, snd in order to afford is Honor an opportunity of elucidating the several sections o! that document. mis Honor, at the moment of t eporter’s entry, had just con- | cluded the marital ceremony. In reply to the interrogations of our reporter, the Mayor at once gave eXpression to his views upom the matter, by stating thas he was very ed ncvess Which the friends t bad achieved. “You must know, | conttuned, “shat as yet I have | not seen @ certitied draft of the bill, and until thas arrives I am unaoie | and unwilling to take any steps in| the matter in so far as regards the appointment of the five commissioners as specified, to carry out the provisions Of the bill as passed. The Governor | mast first append ays signature to that document before it Decouies @ law, and then I presume | will have an opportunity of ascert i exactiy wherein J am empowered to act. “In connection with the appointment of the com- miss:oners | would like to state & rather amusing incident. If you remember waen the bill was first passed it contained asa proviso that tne five commissioners, when appointed, should receive | 63 40 annual compensation for their services the | amount of $10,000, As soon as the papers pub- lished this information { was overrun with patriotic aspirants jor the position of com- missioner—recewing @§ many as @ hundred | applications daily; in fact I had not time to read all the applications, Tne original | bill Was soon after modified so as to read that the commissioners should receive compensation at the rate of $10 aday for each Working day, and since the publication of the modification i am happy to say that I have been permitted to enjoy & little quiet | nave not had quite so many appli- cants jor the five commissionersnips, “In relation to the pill which Das just passed both houses permit me to say that I do not believe that we have been ear any opportunity to read vhe reai text of the bill. The extracts which have been published, as well as the documents which parport to be @ true copy, I think are in many par- Hiculars incorrect and replete with errors. 1 have just received # telegraphic despatch from a prominent member ‘of the late Legislature in Albany ailirmin the fact that the pubdlished copies the = biil are incomplete and iull of errors. So far as the appointment of the commissioners ts con- cerned, | intend as soon as | receive the oficial drait of the Rapid Transit law to confer with the most Tegpectanle representative citizens and to make the appointments solely with the view of obtaining the very best men to fill the positions. snail lay aside all party bias and appoins none but capabie and honest men. [| am determined to do everything that lies in my power to forward the interests of the citizens of the annexed dis- trict, and once the commissione ani e qualified I will see tha: me p it that the healthier habitations than can be foung at pr ent in this city, owing to the rapid infcrease © | the rate of it to due public notice, at @ banking oflce in | this section is that — places ti | Wednesday night when 3 transit once properly inaugurated, they will be ded the opportunity ofrealizing the thousand and one benefits to be derived trom having cheap and healthy houses.” In response to the query of the reporter as to whether or not @ body of citizens bad as yet made known to him the necessity of arapid tran road, a8 specified tn the Grst section of the gill, he replied that, outside of @ ‘ew private indivia- uals who bad called upon nim to converse upc the matter, no body or party of citizens had as yet made any such application, INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES H. ROOSEVELT. Our reporter then called upon Mr. Charies Ft. Roosevelt at his oMce,on the corner ot Fuiton street and Broadway. He also appeared to be in the very best of spirits consequent upon the passage Of the Husted bill, and showered compli- ment upon compliment upon that gentieman. Upon other matters, however, of a more essential character he appeared to be quite reticent of speech, When questioned by the HERALD reporter aS to what steps bad been taken by the citizens of Westchester county, where Mr, Roosevelt re- sides, initiatory toward the forming of an associa- tion backed up with capital, he replied that as yet no movement bad been initiated in thas direction, although he believed that there were any quantity of public spirited and progressively inclined gentlemen in Westchester county, Who nad any quantity of means lying idle aod anin- vested, which they would be only too glad to place at @ good percentage in any kind of a paying scheme, rapid transit included, He, stated fur- thermore, that be considered he had performed bis share of the work by getting up rapid transit meetings, and oy inciting bis neihvors and friends to do iikewise, The rapid transit plan which the Commissiouers must adopt when ap- pointed, Mr. Roosevelt says, must be @ rea- sonable one, and founded upon economy. The residents of Westcbester county | are desirous of obtaining the benofits | to be derived from being placed tn possession of | More suitable means than are at present provided of reaching their places of business tn this city; but they propoge to invest only in plans o! a feasi- ble character, and do not intend to squander their means by eutering imto any arrangements of a wild cat order, They have borne almost the entire brunt of the battie, aad tney feel that they shoald be rewarded by being permitted to nave & voice in rapid transit councils, Assemblymen Husted and State senator Rovertson, bora West- chester men, exerted themselves more than ber one else to aehieve the brilliant triumpa wit which their iavors have been rewarded. On being asked by our reporter in regard to what he considered the best route to be taken Mr. Roosevelt replied that he stuought when ail the preliminaries will have been arranged that the Commissioners having the matter in charge will. in all probaoility, ran their cars with double, ele- vated tracks im the centre of the strects; the tracks to be at an elevation of fourteen teet above the level of the street and to be supported by double pillars and double girders. The line of route wil, no doubt, begin at Printing House square, through Centre street, running up as far as Broome, then to Lafayette place, up Lalayetre place to Fourth avenue, and irom thence either up Third or Fourth avenue to the Grand Central depot. The road, { think, can be constructed at $250,000 per mile exclusive of lana damages. Nothing can be done, however, that he can see untilthe five Commissioners sal) have been appoinied. THE EAS! 3 NEW YORK TRAGEDY. DEGRADATION OF THE MURDERED WIFE AND REWARD OF THE MISTRESS—INQUEST OVER THE REMAINS—VERDIC? OF THE JURY. The ofMictal investigation into the terrtble double tragedy at East New York was held yesterday by Coroner Simms at his office, in the Kings County Court House. There was a very large attendance of the residents of the village where the crimes were committed. The first witness was Oliver Birch, & gravedigger in the Evergreens Cemetery. He testified to finding the boay of Jonn H. Joung, the murderer and suicide, lying across a grave 1m the cemetery on Saturday morning, as already | published, FINDING THR BODY. after the discovery of Joung’s body he met Oficer Newman, who said he had been to Joung’s house toinform his wife, but the place was locked up and he could not get in. Witness then went with Newman to the house, and gotin through @ rear window, which was fastened with a stick; saw that the rear room floor and kitcnen were covered’ with blood; searched al the rooms, but couid not find any person about; found traces of blood leading irom the rear door to the ceilar door; went into the ru tioned wood cellar and found a lot of rag carpet covering the body of the dead woman; rec- ognized the body as that of Mrs, Annie Joung; nad known Mrs. Joung about seven years; lust saw her alive on Menday, May 17, when she was arrested ana brought to tue station house; she was known a8 4 disorderly woman, and tt was ai- most an everyday occurrence (or a disturbance to occur between herself and soee she had often complained that be treated ber hardly; he was | pF a Ln peormescand man, but was easily excited when eran | “Christian “Schmidt testified that he was ac- aainted with the dead couple; the wife returned rom Europe on Monday night and ber husband would not receive her tuto the house ; they aid not live happily together and were FIGHTING EVERY WEEK; she was 8 hard-drinking woman; witness did not bear any disturbance on Thursday night; ved only 200 yards row the bouse. Justice Onaries Gertman testines that Mrs. Joung was brought beiore him a year ago for stewing @ carpet; she admitted tne truth of te charge, atid, asking lor au adjournment, was ai- lowed to depart on het Qwu recognizance; sbe FLED TO BUROPE, a returned on Monday last, when she was re. resied on the old warrant; the c was ad- joarned till Saturday last; Joun, to witness: on Friday and complained that his wile bad broken & pane of giass and cat her band in doin; 80; he said that the kitchen floor was covere; with blood from her wounded hand; he said thas room told hi e if she Was drunk; that was (he last ti Joung alive. THR HORRIBLE WOUNDS. Dr. A. W. Shepard, the County Physician, testi~ fled as to the nature of the wounds on ceased persons, John and Annie Joung: woman died from a fractured skull and wounds on. the bead and face; Dr. Shepi expressed the opinion that the fatal biows were inflicted witn a@ Deavy tatlor’s stick, Which was found by the police, Wilnetmina Peatzold, the housekeeper, testified that she had Known Mr. Joung about jour months; became acquainted with bim by auswering his ad- Vertisement for housekeeper; w aes * salary of $15 per month with him tlk bong: Joung eleven o'cioc it, returned and demanded admission ; sband refused to let his wife in, and shé burst open tre door with shoulder; put her out again and shut tne door; he told her to come tn the time, and she came the next morning and was mitted; Mrs. Joung ordered the witness to |i the house, dsoshe packed up her ciothes aud went to Mr. Peterson’s; saw Mrs. Joung alive oa came into Mr. Pet- rsons present; last » and had @ conver~ terson’s and treated the saw Mr. Joung on Friday nigh sation with him, The jury then retired, and tn a few moments re~ turned @ verdict that Annie Joung came to her death from injuries received at the hands of Jonn George Joung, ber husband, who afterward com-' mitted sui cide, In bis will Joung bequeathed his property (about $4,009) to nis housekeeper. Tne murderer and his victim will be buried to-day at we Ever. greens Cemetery. THE JERSEY WIFE MURDER, The tmaquest on the body of the murdered woman, Catharine Kehoe, wili be commenced this’ evening in Jersey City. The case will go to tha Grand Jury to-day. No indictment has yet beem found against Bianckmeyer, tile other allegea wife murderer, who has fed from the city. Owing + the miscarriage of justice in the latter case aris< ing out Of the extraordinary verdict of the Cor~ oner’s jury, Kehoe will be Kept in close confine~ ment, no matcer what verdict the Coroner's jury may rend MASONIO PRESENTATION. The members of City Lodge, No. 408, F. and A. M. assembied last evening at their lodge room in the new Masonic Temple, The earlier part of the ev ing Was devoted to the transaction of Masonic; business, and every one except those connected: with the lodge was exciuded. About half-past nine o'clock & deputation of the lodge officers: waited upon Alderman Edward Gilon, Most Wora shipfal Master of Ov ncord Louge, and him the room of tne Ay Loag the moment of capture Alderman was engaged in pleasantly chatting with several 01 bis friends {a a side room, and was ata loss to know the meaning of being waited upon sa Unexpectedly. Un entering the ity Lodge room he was received by tne members of that body and escorted to the chair, Grand Master Ellwood E. Thorne advanced a few feet in iront of the gue: of the evening and presented bim with a Ravd somely inscribed testimonial of honorary member~ snip in City ge as a tol which heis neid by that | An address of greet fo taken by surprise was unabie of bis military courag thanks ina applauded. sequent to the presentation cere~ monies the officers and members of icy Louge, accompanied by ae ir guest, adjourned to the Grana = Cireie t, Where # banquet awaited them. Al the removal of the cloth followed a feast of reason and @ flow of soul. Masier Thorne, Mack ant wom: if City Lodge. ‘tinged until the gray li present that it wae P returned t little speech, which was warm\y however, population, and, With @ Drover syst: devarture DO) sd