conditions and must also learn the experience of other cities.

77. The Disposal of Sewage. Disposal of sewage is a much more difficult problem than either street cleaning or the removal of garbage. Sewage consists of waste from the human body, offal from slaughter houses, laundries, and similar establishments. Great quantities of it must be carried away every day; and it cannot be left aboveground at all if the health and comfort of the city is to be cared for. Sewage is carried away by water through sewer pipes. We have seen that a city handles daily something like a hundred gallons of water for each inhabitant. This means that great quantities of water filled with disease-laden matter must be disposed of. If the city has one hundred thousand inhabitants, nearly ten million gallons of this water flows through its pipes every twenty-four hours. This sewage must find some outlet, but there are not many places near a city where it can be discharged without danger. One may safely say that the city government has no problem which tests its efficiency more fully than does the disposal of its sewage.

78. Discharging Sewage into Waters. So long as cities were far apart it was thought proper to let sewer pipes empty into rivers or into the ocean. One great city for a long time used the headwaters of the Mississippi River for this purpose; but the cities further down the stream complained bitterly. Their complaint, however, was not heard with much patience, for many of them were guilty of doing the same thing. There are few cities on great waterways which have not at some time in their history used this method. New York and other cities on the ocean front discharged their sewage into the ocean, as it was

supposed, far enough from the land to avoid danger. But it was found that the oyster beds were injured by it, and many people avoided the bathing beaches because of the refuse which floated near the shore.

79. Sewage as Fertilizer. Some progressive cities in this country and in Europe maintain what are called sewage farms. Large tracts of land are procured some distance from the city limits. The sewage is carried to the farm by pipes and is distributed over the farm by a system of ditches. The land becomes fertile and produces large quantities of forage crops and fruits. Even desert land may be thus treated, for there is constant irrigation. In the winter, when the land is frozen, the sewage is stored in tanks until it is possible to use it. Such a plan may at first seem foolish because we have in America such great quantities of fertile farm land. But as our country becomes more thickly settled it may be that we shall find it a useful undertaking. One difficulty in the way of trying it is the great cost at the beginning. Land must be bought and a plant erected with a large outlay of money as an experiment. Few of our cities are willing to plan as many years in advance as this kind of an undertaking requires. Later we may manage our cities on a more business-like basis than we do now.

80. Other Methods. Another method of getting rid of sewage is to separate it from the water, and then to dispose of the solid matter in some sanitary way. One way is to use what are called septic tanks. The sewage is discharged into enormous tanks and either treated with chemicals or allowed to rot. If there are enough tanks some of them may be left closed for a long time while others are being filled. The contents of those which are closed rot and

disappear. The main cost of such a system is the first building of the tanks, which is considerable. It is said that some of the methods of separating the waste from the water which flows from such tanks are so scientific and complete that the outflowing water is pure enough for drinking purposes. Most of us, however, would be prejudiced against such a supply, and it is nowhere so used. The argument is made merely to show that it is safe for such water to run away through the ordinary streams.

81. Allied Problems. At least two allied problems may be mentioned here. One is related to the organization of the city government. It is clear that the whole government should be under one head, for leadership is necessary in such large undertakings to bring about coöperation among the departments having charge of the finances of the city, the building and repair of streets, and the disposal of waste, so that all will work together without friction or loss of energy. The other is a matter of coöperation between cities. As the country becomes more and more densely populated, and as cities grow up closer together, space for all of these undertakings becomes more and more limited. Even where cities have home rule they cannot be permitted perfect freedom in the use of the neighboring land. It will be necessary for the government of the State to aid them with its authority in their coöperation.

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS

1. Are the streets of your city as clean as you would like them to be? If not, what do you think is the reason?

2. Whose duty is it to keep your streets clean?

3. Who appoints these people?

4. Are they appointed because they know a good deal about street cleaning, or because they help the party to win elections?

5. Are your street cleaners protected in their positions by civil service rules?

6. How is the garbage from your house taken away? What is done with it?

7. Does the city pay for its removal? If so, how much?

8. Has any effort been made in your city to use the garbage for any useful purpose, such as feeding hogs?

9. How is the sewage carried from your city?

10. Who appoints those who have charge of the removal of garbage and sewage?

11. Does the head of the city government contrôl all of these people so that the different kinds of work may be coördinated? 12. Are there any other cities near yours which might object to the way you dispose of your sewage or garbage?

13. Do the policemen of your city have anything to do with seeing that the streets are kept free from garbage and rubbish? 14. Do you yourself try to keep from throwing paper and other rubbish into the streets?

15. If a friend of yours threw a paper in the street why would you call his attention politely to the fact that the city has to pay for cleaning the streets and that you have to help the other citizens pay the expense to which this puts the city?

CHAPTER IX

PROTECTION FROM FIRE AND DISORDER

82. Danger from Fire. In the country it is not necessary for people to coöperate in protecting themselves from fire. Fire cannot spread from house to house, and therefore one house is not endangered by carelessness in the next. But in the city the carelessness of one family may destroy a hundred homes. In America we permit great quantities of property to be destroyed by fire. We have three times

as much loss from this cause, in proportion to the number of people, as France has; and five times as much as England. New York and London may be compared. London has about as many people as New York; it employs only about half as many firemen; yet it has only about one-fifth as much fire loss as New York. This is not because of the inefficiency of the New York firemen; for they are among the most skilful and courageous in the world. It is because of our bad in