One of the remarkable features of the handling of the relief work at Dayton was the entire absence of red tape, the lack of conflict, and the universal evidence of harmonious co-operation between the various organizations at work, notwithstanding that there was no complete centralization of direction and that some of the organizations were proceeding practically independent of the others. “Results, not credit,” was the watchword, and the results were such as to reflect the most lasting credit upon all engaged in the work.
The Dayton Bicycle Club showed wisdom in volunteering to remove the dead animals from the street. Nearly every horse in the more than seven square miles of the city that was under water—and this area contained all the important livery stables—was drowned, and quick action was needed to remove the bodies to prevent serious results. A sanitary department was organized, and as rapidly as automobile trucks and wagons were volunteered, they were pressed into service. Over 100 vehicles and about 600 men were engaged on this work. A rendering company, which handles all the garbage collected in the city, agreed to take care of the horses and did so as fast as they came for a time. When the carcasses came so rapidly that it was necessary to heap them up on the grounds of the plant, and then on a vacant field nearby, the plant was a grewsome place indeed. Up to the night of March 31, 1,002 had been received. A number were picked up the next two days, so that the final total was probably in the neighborhood of 1,100.
At about the time this work was started, a reconstruction department was organized, under the Citizens Relief Committee, with divisions, each under an engineer, assigned to street cleaning, sewers and drains, streets, and levees. By March 31, the removal of dead animals had been practically completed, and the organization and equipment of the sanitary department were merged with those of the street cleaning division of the reconstruction department. Sanitary notices directed that all mud and rubbish be deposited at the curb, the city was divided into districts and collection progressed rapidly, considering the wagons and trucks available. More wagons could have been put into service, but horses were lacking. All mud and rubbish was hauled to one of the half-dozen city rubbish dumps located in low outlying sections, or was dumped off bridges into the river. The employes of the city water works department were able to get into the pumping station on March 28 and the following day pumping was resumed. Dayton’s water supply comes from a number of deep drilled wells along the Mad River. It is pumped direct into the mains without storage, by means of a Holly vertical, triple-expansion, crank and fly-wheel engine. This pump has given rise to the local name of “Hollywater” applied to the city supply. It was feared at first that the distribution system had been badly damaged, but investigation showed that only three small mains had been broken. Water, at reduced pressure, was therefore possible, except in one or two small sections.
AN IMPROVISED COMFORT STATION
Dayton water is exceptionally pure, but it was feared that there might have been leakage of flood water into the pipes while the pressure was cut off and so notices to “boil all water, even the Hollywater” were posted. Samples were promptly taken for analysis from various portions of the distribution system by the chemist of the National Cash Register Company, the bacteriologist of the city Board of Health, and by the State Board of Health, but the injunction to boil water was continued, even though the first analysis was favorable.
The catch basins and storm sewers throughout the city were badly clogged with wreckage and filth, and early cleaning was imperative. The city was divided into seven drainage districts, and gangs of men and wagons assigned to shoveling out catch basins and hauling the rubbish to the dumps. At the same time systematic inspection of the sanitary sewerage system was begun. It had been expected that the sewers would be clogged, like the storm drains, and the early sanitary notices issued contained these warnings:
IMPORTANT
Sanitary Notice
FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH