RAG-PICKING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 99, 20 January 1908, Page 11

RAG-PICKING.

STRONG REPORT ON SANITARY

CONDITIONS,

. PURCHASES FROM DESTRUCTOR. (»T TSLIGEAnt —SPECIAL CORBESrONDENT.) ' : ■ ' Auckland, January 18. An important municipal .matter was before the City Council last night, involving a question of public health in connection' with a rubbish-sorting business. 1 The matter cropped up in'the .form ofV letter from tho District Health Officer (Dr. J. S. Purdy). He enclosed a memorandum on tho subject from the Inspector of Factories (Mr. James Shanaghari), and also a report furnished by Mr. Grieve, Inspector to. tho Public Health Department. Dr. Purdy (not for the first time) urged upon the Council'tho advisableriess of installing a steam disinfecting plant for tho city and tho,port. In tho meantime), he hoped that the Council would see that' some super* vision was exercised over the premises concerning, which the report had been made. Mr. Shanaghan, in his letter to Dr. Purdy ; callcd attention to certain premises in which all kinds of rubbish were handled. The stuff, ho said, was never very clean, and was sometimes offensive. Ho was not awaro that;, there was any check as to where tho material came from,' and it might possibly exposo the workers to danger of infection by disease. - He - thought _ that this wasto material should he' fumigated before being handled in the factory, and. that buildings in which this trado was carried on. should have concreto floors and walls so constructed that 'they could be easily swept clean 1 of fluff and dust. "Hitherto," he added, "any old shed has been considered good enough for this 1 kind of work, and tho people always work up to their neck in dust, Huff, and dirt." Mr. Grieve, in his report, referred to the fact' that girls wore employed picking rags in'the factory in question on the occasion of his visit, in company with Mr. Haynes (Inspector to the City Council). Tho business, had quito outgrown the dimensions of the''sb'ed, tho amount of .clear floor space Hing very limited indeed. Three girls, who ere picking rags, were orowded into' a kind ,f loft which ivas already almost full of bales • -.nd bags of scrap cloth, etc. He was surprised to hear that the firm were in the habit of buying waste material from those in charge of the destructor'at a rate that ran into hundreds of pounds a year. ' "I know for a fact," Mr. Grieve continued, " that infected bedding and clothing is often sent to the dcstructor, and, although I havp no/proof that in any particular inBianco any of it has escaped destruction, at tho same time I cannot see how those in charge can discriminate between stuff which is harmless and that which is infected. If a householder sells any infected article ho is liable under the Public Health Act, yet it seems probable that the employees of tho City Council aro doing so. Again, is it fair that local bodies aro charged by weight for tho destruction of refuse if a portion of it is pickcd - out aftor being weighed and sold? The only fair and safo way (as things aro at present) is to bum everything as received, and as money could bo made out of the pickings, it seems a pity to havo to do that.' 1 He qxpressed the opinion that a steam disinfector was what was required, and that the factory in question was not a fit place for girls to bo employed in. The City Engineer, in a memorandum to tho City Council, stated that he had given tllo chief sanitary inspector instructions to undertake an independent supervision of tho handling and the disposal of waste products. It was dccided to reply to the communication 1.1 ■ accordance with the City Engineer's report.' ■ i The Penzance Education Committee has initructcd its clerk to furnish a return of tho •lumber oj boys in tho borough who would benefit by 'a course of lessons in cookery. It 13 considered that cookery will be useful to boys likely to follow a seafaring life or amizrate.