Seattle’s Rotten Garbage Problem
A health official warns that the city's sewage scow is falling apart, proposing a permanent incinerator.
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.
James Marshall, sewer inspector, informed Health Officer Sparling last evening that the garbage scow needed a new hull. The present hull is so teredo-eaten that the bottom is liable to fall out at any time. Dr. Sparling declares that at the next meeting of the board of health he will recommend the construction of a crematory as a means of making way with the city's garbage. 'This would be far cheaper,' said he, 'and will do away with towage and repair expenses at present necessary in maintaining a garbage scow.'
“The present hull is so teredo-eaten that the bottom is liable to fall out at any time.”
Teredo worms are a classic PNW nautical nuisance. The transition from dumping garbage in the bay to building a 'crematory' (incinerator) marks an early turning point in Seattle's long, complicated history of waste management.
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