throughout the country. Since it has been done in other cities, 

 there is no reason why San Diego, with a comparatively small 

 initial outlay of money, probably not more than $20,000, could 

 adequately take care of the whole refuse and garbage question. 

 If this could be done entirely without the interference of politics, 

 the city might even make money at the enterprise. At present, 

 it costs the private citizen at least 50 cents per month to have his 

 garbage alone taken away. Under proper city management, this 

 could be done at an estimated cost of not more than 15 cents per 

 month per family. Now the garbage-fed hogs are largely infect- 

 ed with tuberculosis, and the people are paying for their garbage 

 collection, and then paying again for pork from tubercular hogs 

 fed on that garbage. 



The Health Department 



San Diego as compared with other cities of its size has a good 

 Health Department. It is not, however, receiving much attention 

 from the public. Even intelligent citizens know almost nothing 

 about its w^ork. 



Organization 



There are defects in the present form of organization. The 

 shaping of the policy of the department is given to a Board of 

 five members, while the health officer of the Board occupies to 

 a large extent only an executive position. Modern health prob- 

 lems demand an expert knowledge and experience combined with 

 a free rein to carry out measures which cannot be expected of 

 any Board. Fortunately, the present Board is composed o" broad- 

 minded scientific men, although the influence of politics in this 

 department has been a handicap. There is always the danger 

 under the present form of control that when matters go wrong, 

 the health officer can put the blame on the Board and vice versa. 

 Progressive cities have given up the idea of a Board of Health 

 and have appointed one man for a long term of office who is re- 

 sponsible for the health of the city. In this way there can be 

 no shifting of responsibility. If the health officer desires an ad- 

 visory board he should have t>3wer to appoint it. Moreover, 

 the present department is said to lack financial support from the 

 Council, because, in the present form of city government, it is 

 under a Board instead of being directly under a member of the 

 Council. 



San Diego's sanitary assets are on the w^hole, good, but her 

 controllable sanitary conditions are not yet at the highest prac- 

 tical standard — not to mention an ideal standard. This is be- 

 cause of the city's recent very rapid growth. Moreover, in the 

 past few years municipal sanitation and new methods for pre- 

 vention of disease have been so rapidly developed that these 

 methods have not been used in most cities of San Diego's size. 

 The municipal health department is naturally the organized ef- 

 fort upon which the city depends for the vigorous pushing of 

 measures for the prevention of disease and death. The presejit 



