A Neighborhood's Battle Against Filth
Tacoma residents at 11th and Sprague demand city action to clear stagnant wells and sloughs breeding typhoid.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Residents in the vicinity of 11th and Sprague streets are up in arms over the negligence of the city health department in not compelling the filling of four old wells and a slough, between Ninth and 11th and R and Sprague streets, which are breeding pestilence. W. D. Moffatt, who resides in the neighborhood, had a boy taken down with typhoid fever this week. Citizens have repeatedly complained. A petition of some 40 property owners went to the council recently asking for the abating of the nuisance, but nothing has been done. The old wells are breeding pestilence in the neighborhood and the slough is filled with garbage and filth all the time.
“The old wells are breeding pestilence in the neighborhood and the slough is filled with garbage and filth all the time.”
This neighborhood struggle over public health and municipal neglect mirrors modern-day debates regarding city maintenance and environmental hazards in urban spaces. The 11th and Sprague intersection remains a busy part of the Hilltop district today.
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