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Show BEATTY CONDEMNS HAVEN OF VAGRANTS Basement of Old police Station Called "Black Hole of Calcutta" by Health Commissioner. The basement room of the old police station, the haven for many a penniless vagrant on cold winter nights during the past several years, has been characterized by Dr. T. B. Beatty, state health commissioner, com-missioner, as a "black hole of Calcutta." Cal-cutta." Since the city jail was built and the basement of the old city hall is no longer in use as a jail, the place has been devoted de-voted to the accommodation of men who made application for lodging at police headquarters. It is always warm, but without beds other than soft places in the cement floor. Dr. Beatty' s condemnation of the basement base-ment as filthy and a disgrace to the city is included in a report submitted by the health commissioner to the city commission commis-sion on the recent clean -town contest. He recommends that more sanitary quarters quar-ters be provided for the unfortunates who are dependent at times upon the charity of the city for a place to get in out of the cold. Recommendation is also made in the report that the old incinerating plant northwest of the city should 'be replaced 1 by a modern one. The commlsioner suggests sug-gests that the city should endeavor to get a law through the legislatwe that would provide for assessing the cost of clearing weeds from streets and highways high-ways against abutting property. He condemns con-demns the use of stiff brooms in restaurants res-taurants and other places where food is exposed to the dust they raise and suggests sug-gests the need of legislation for better attention to the cleaning of streets and sidewalks. |