THE DIRTY PLACES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10278, 13 May 1919, Page 4

THE DIRTY PLACES

CLEANING-UP WEEK

EPIDEMIC INSPECTORS POSITION IN CITY. A meeting of the epidemic inspee. tors who co-operated with the city’s inspectors during the influenza epidemic was held yesterday to consider the sanitary conditions of the city. The Mayor (Mr J. P. Luke), who presided, said that he wished to have something to lay before the council when it met. The health of the city should be a paramount, consideration. There was an impression that the sanitary staff was not large enough to cope with the work. In a dozen years sanitary inspection of the crty had led to 187 houses being pulled down, 30 repaired, and to 108 going out of use as dwellings. He was in favour of a clean-up week in Wellington. During the year, 39,557 inspections had been made, and 4704 notices had been serv«d, of which 4550 had been complied with.

A question was asked as to bow many inspectors there were. The chief sanitary inspector: Five. The Mayor: Are five enough ? The inspector: Well, no; because wo cannot guarantee more than, four over the city. Then there is the outlying districts man. Mr P. Green said that the conditions in the houses he visited were deplorable. At one bakehouse there had not been a cleaning for three years, and the rubbish sent away was nine dray loads. At a lolly shop he found enough for three dray loads. In some of the places there wore dead rata. Tenants said that if they spoke of complaining the landlords said they would eject them. What had the city inspectors been doing all this time? One of the speakers said that some of the places needed to be dealt with in the most drastic manner, and among those were houses owned by the city corporation. The Mayor: They are the worst offenders, are they not? . The reply was that -hey .were, and that a. certain avenue in Wellington South should be wiped out. ' There were about twenty houses in the street, and not one of them was fit to live in. Mr W. Kirker said it had struck him that the council had not sufficient inspectors to do the work. They needed two or three times as many inspectors, and some women should he put on for the work, because there were places where men could not enter. It was suggested that the inspectors should get together and make some recommendations to v, the r, council. Mrs Hulbert said that'the conditions at some of the refreshment rooms m the city were disgusting. She hoped that the stables would he removed from a locality in which the headquaiters of the city milk supply was to he carried on. , Mr A. C. Lawrence, who had had some experience in the north end of the city, said that-the council did not seem to have wide enough powers. The power seemed to 'he' ’centred in the Health Department, and it should not be so. There were many buildings here which iwere insanitary, hut they stood because the Health Department would not condemn them. The great tnuig they were up against, however, was personal uncleanliness. “You might do some good,” he said, “by increasing the number of inspectors.” The • meeting agreed that the city authorities should have every power possible for the carrying out of the work of keeping the " city in-a proper condition. - It was also decided to express ih* opinion that, it was' desirable that the City Council should institute without delay an active campaign of cleanmgup throughout the city.