One city government position that we don’t appear to have seen in Marion since the 1950’s was that of City Scavenger. The job was an appointed position and according to Marion’s Laws and Ordinances for the year 1919 didn’t collect a salary from the city but rather controlled garbage and waste collection throughout the city and was able to receive specific fees for such.

Section 3 of Ordinance 30 reads, ”It shall be unlawful for any other person, except the duly authorized city scavenger or his agents, to haul night soil, dry garbage, cans, slops, offal or any other rubbish, or do any other scavenger work, within the city limits of Marion.” 

Just to be clear, the vast majority of buildings in 1919 didn’t have sewer connections and would have utilized outhouses or privies that required cleaning out periodically, many times at night using buckets which is what “night soil” pertains to. Also, the term “offal” pertains to the left over, inedible parts of a butchered animal such as intestines. In 1919, there were still many people raising and butchering their own meat within city limits.

Ordinances of the day required each homeowner and shopkeeper to maintain a “suitable tin or galvanized iron receptacle with a proper covering” in a place that may be readily found by the scavenger. A requirement not dissimilar from today’s waste haulers.

One principle duty of the scavenger was the use and maintenance of the city’s incinerator which is where waste and carcasses were disposed of. City ordinances specified charges for the hauling and burning of carcasses. Cow or horses cost $4, calves or colts $2, dogs $.75, hogs, sheep or goats $.50 and fowls or cats were $.25. Carcasses hauled by the owner were half these prices to use the incinerator.

The charges for hauling off and burning slop, per 10 gallon can was .15 cents. For hauling and burning cans and dry garbage and other refuse was .25 cents per barrel. Hauling off and burning cinders or wet garbage was $1 per wagonload.

The charges for cleaning privies and burning the refuse was .35 cents for a box the size of a cracker box and .75 cents for a No. 3 size tub and worth every penny I am sure. Section 8 of Ordinance 30 specifies that no privy vault shall be opened, nor the contents disturbed or removed before the hour of 8 PM from November 1^st to March 31^st and before 10 PM from April 1^st to November 1^st each year, nor after 4 AM. Definitely a job occurring during the night when the fewest people would be offended or disgusted and when the chances of street spills would be diminished.

By the 1950’s the last of Marion’s outhouses were beginning to disappear and commercial trash haulers were beginning to take over the city scavenger’s job of trash collection. I’m just guessing here, but I think that we’re probably all thankful that we don’t have to make a trip out behind the house in the dead of night anymore much less deal with having to empty it periodically.

(Sourced from 1919 Marion City Ordinances & Wikipedia, posted 8/10/2018, by Sam Lattuca)