Quarantine, Health 
and plumbing 
Regulations 
CITY OF TACOHA. 
Ordinances Relative Thereto. 
Published by Authority of 
the City Council. 
DECEMBER, 1898. Ordinance No. 1343. 
AN ORDINANCE TO PROTECT THE PUB 
LIC HEALTH. TO PREVENT THE SPREAD 
OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES, AND PRE 
SCRIBING RULES AND REGULATIONS 
FOR THE BOARD OF HEALTH OF THE 
CITY OF TACOMA, PRESCRIBING A PEN 
ALTY FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF 
AND REPEALING ORDINANCES NOS. 40 N. 
T., 80, 104. 155. 211,384, 1.074, 1,314 AND 1,319. 
Be it Ordained by the City of Tacoma: 
Section a. That there is hereby created 
the office of commissioner of health of the City 
of Tacoma. 
Sec. 2. That the commissioner of health 
shall be a practicing physician and surgeon. 
Sec. 3. There is hereby established a board 
of health, consisting of the mayor, president 
of the city council, commissioner of health, 
chief of police and plumbing inspector. 
Sec. 4. The board of health may, at any 
time it may deem it necessary, employ assist- 
ance to aid the commissioner of health in case 
of any contagious or infectious disease. Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of every physi- 
cian, every householder, every owner or occu- 
pant of any house, store, hotel, boardinghouse, 
stable, or any building, and any tenant in any 
building, wherein any person has diphtheria, 
smallpox,varioloid, scarlet fever, measles, whoop- 
ing cough, chicken pox, cerebro spinal menin- 
gitis, typhoid fever, or any other contagious or 
dangerous disease or diseases, to give immediate 
notice to the commissioner of health in person 
or by writing, of the existence of such diseasc> 
particularly describing the place where the same 
exists. And whenever it shall come to the 
knowledge of the commissioner of health of the 
existence of any of the foregoing contagious dis- 
eases, it shall be his duty forthwith, when safe 
and practicable, if in his judgment the necessity 
of the case requires it, to cause such infected 
person to be removed to the pesthouse, and there 
properly provided for and taken care of. When, 
however, it is unsafe and impracticable to re- 
move such person to the pesthouse, it shall be 
his duty, forthwith, at the expense of the house 
or place where such infected person or persons 
shall be, to give notice of the existence of such 
disease in such place by placing a green flag 
and a green card in case of diphtheria, with 
the word “diphtheria” in large letters on said 
card; and a scarlet flag and a scarlet card in case 
of scarlet fever, with the words “scarlet fever’ 
in large letters on said card; and a yellow flag and a yellow card in case of smallpox or vario- 
loid, with the word “smallpox” in large letters 
on said card; and in all other cases a white flag 
where they may be seen by persons passing ou 
the street near said premises. Said flags shall 
be eighteen inches wide and twenty-four inches 
long; and said cards shall not be less than five 
inches wide and fourteen inches long; and both 
said flags and said cards shall remain until such 
person shall have so far recovered that no dan- 
ger of infection shall remain; and neither said 
cards nor flags shall be removed except by 
order of the board of health. There shall also 
be printed on all of said cards the following 
words: “This card shall not be removed except 
by order of the board of health.” 
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of any person or 
persons owning, running, operating, or having 
charge of any hospital, private or public, to re- 
port immediately any death that may occur in 
said hospital, the cause of death and any other 
information about such deceased person as the 
board of health may deem requisite and neces- 
sary. Such report shall be made to such com- 
missioner of health, whose duty it shall be to 
investigate the matter; and upon the request of 
any person, he may call together the board of 
health to investigate fully the cause of death, 
and in such case the city clerk shall make a 
record of all proceedings therein. 
Sec. 7. The board of health shall have the power to order the quarantine of any house 
and establish any pesthouse or hospital; and 
shall have the power to direct the commissioner 
of health t# provide medical attendance, medi- 
cines, and nursing to any person sick with any 
contagions disease in any private residence or 
public house, when, in the opinion of such 
board of health, the public will be thereby bet- 
ter protected than by removing such sick person 
to the hospital. 
Sec. 8. The commissioner of health shall, 
whenever in his opinion it becomes necessary to 
prevent the spread of smallpox, order any per- 
son or persons to be vaccinated; and any person 
or persons refusing or neglecting for three days 
to comply with such order, having it in their 
power to comply, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor. Persons unable to pay the ex- 
pense shall be vaccinated under the supervision 
of the commissioner of health, at the expense of 
the city. And for the purpose of carrying into 
effect the provisions of this ordinance the com- 
missioner of health shall be authorized to enter 
any house or building of any kind within the 
city limits, and search the same. 
Sec. 9. The commissioner of health shall 
cause all cases of Asiatic cholera or smallpox 
brought to his notice to be examined, and shall 
report the results of such examination to the 
board of health; and shall see that all persons violating this ordinance for the preservation of 
public health are duly prosecuted. 
Sec. 10. No person shall keep, or maintain, 
within the City of Tacoma, any public laundry 
or wash house where clothes or other articles 
are washed for hire, unless such public laundry 
or wash house is connected with the city sewer, 
or with any other underground sewer or outlet 
to tide water, by a good and sufficient under- 
ground drain. 
Sec. 11. No compound, for food or drink 
shall be offered for sale or sold under any fic- 
ticious name, label or brand. 
Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of said com- 
missioner of health to inspect, when called upon 
to do so by any person, or when in his or the 
opinion of the board of health, or any of its 
members, it seems necessary, all provisions, 
meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, bread, flour, pork, 
whisky, beer, wine, milk, and water, and all 
liquors, and any and all things ottered for sale 
in the city to be used as food or drink. 
Sec. 13. Said commissioner of health shall 
have the right to enter, for the purpose of mak- 
ing such examination and inspection, any place 
or buildii g where any of the articles enumerated 
in section 12 of this ordinance are kept for sale; 
and no person shall be permitted to sell or dis- 
pose of anything pronounced by said officer as unfit to be used for food; and all such articles or 
things shall be seized and destroyed by said 
officer. 
Sec. 14. That it shall he the duty of each 
and every pract:cing physicin in the city to re- 
port in writing to the commissioner of health 
the death of any of his or her patients who may 
have died in said city of contagious or infectious 
diseases, within twenty-four hoars thereafter, 
and to: t ite in such report the specific name and 
type of such disease. 
Sec. 15. Every physician, midwife, and other 
person who may professionally assist or advise 
at any birth, shall, within one week, make a re- 
port of such birth to the commissioner of health, 
and therein enter the time and place, ward and 
street, of such birth, and the sex and color of 
the child born, and the name and residence of 
each of the parents, so far as the foregoing facts 
can be ascertained. And every physician or pro- 
fessional adviser who has attended any person at 
a last illness, or has been present by request at 
the death of any person, shall, within thirty-six 
hours make a report to the commissioner of 
health of such death, stating the c ause thereof 
and specifying the date, hour and place of such 
death. Proper blanks for the above shall be 
furnished by the commissioner of health. And 
at the end of each month, when the commis- 
sioner of health makes his l’eport to the city council, he shall transmit therewith all reports 
of births and deaths to the city clerk, who shall 
keep a record of the same. 
Sec. 16 That no person shall, within the 
city, without a permit from the commissioner of 
health, carry or remove from one building to an- 
other, or from any vessel to the shore, any per 
son sick of any contagious disease; nor shall any 
person by any exposure of any individual sick of 
any contagious disease, or of the body of such 
person, or by any negligent act connected there- 
with, or in respect of the care or custody there- 
of, or by a needless exposure of himself, cause or 
contribute to or promote the spread of disease 
from any such person or from any dead body. 
Sec. 17. No persons, master, captain, or con- 
ductor in charge of any boat, vessel, railroad car, 
or public conveyance, shall knowingly bring into 
this city any person or persons diseased of cholera, 
smallpox, ship fever, or contagions or communi- 
cable disease whatsoever. No vessel, boat, rail- 
road car, or public conveyance, at any time 
covered by proclamation of quarantine, shall pass 
by any quarantine station or place without stop- 
ping, nor shall leave the same without special 
permit from the commissioner of health; and no 
person stopping in said quarantine, or received 
therein, shall leave the same without first ob- 
taining pei mission from the commissioner of 
health or attending physicians; nor shall any person aid or abet any master, conductor, or 
person in charge of any boat, vessel, railroad car 
or public conveyance, in violating, neglecting or 
evading any provision or requirement of this 
ordinance; nor shall any person interfere with, 
resist, neglect, or refuse to obey the orders of any 
physician, health officer, police officer, or other 
person in authority at any quarantine station or 
place of quarantine; nor commit any breach of 
peace, nor do any act calculated in any way to 
deteat or interfere with the provisions or re- 
quirements of this section, or of any regulations 
of the said commissioner, physician, or officer in 
charge of any quarantine. 
Skc. 18. That no person from any house 
where any person is sick or afflicted with any of 
the diseases named or provided for in section 5 
of this ordinance, shall attend any school in this 
city until the recovery or death of said sick per- 
son; and said person must be provided with a 
certificate from the attending physician or the 
commissioner of health, certifying to their non- 
contagiousness, which statement must be pre- 
sented to the principal or teacher of said school 
before said person will be allowed to return. 
Sec- 19. It shall be the duty of all physicians, 
upon discovery of any contagious or infectious 
disease, to instruct the parents or guardians of 
any child or minor who may be residing at the 
infected premises, of the provisions of the above section, and at once report such cases to tire com- 
missioner of health. And it shall be the duty of 
any principal or teacher of any school in this 
city, to report at once in writing any violation of 
the above section. 
Sec. £0. That the commissioner, manager, 
principal or other proper head officer of each 
and every public or private institution in the 
city, keepers, lessees, tenants, and owners of 
hotels, boarding houses, lodging houses, shall, 
within six hours after the facts shall come to his 
or her or their knowledge, notify the commis- 
sioner of health in writing of the fact of any 
person lately from any steamboat, or vessel, be- 
ing taken sick at any such house; and shall in 
such notice state where such sick person may be 
found, from what vessel and when he came, to 
the best of the knowledge of the person or per- 
sons giving such notice. 
Sec. 21. That no principal or teacher of any 
school shall admit any child or minor who shall 
not have been vaccinated within seven years 
next preceding the admission or application for 
admission; nor shall any principal or teacher re- 
tain in or permit to attend any school any such 
child or minor who shall not have been so vac- 
cinated. 
Sec. 22. The evidence of such vaccination 
shall be a certificate signed by the commissioner of health or any physician duly licensed by the 
6tate board of examiners. 
Sec. 23. The commissioner of health is here- 
by empowered to visit any and all public and 
private schools in the city, and to make or cause 
to be made, a nexamination of the children and 
minors in attendance therein, as often as he may 
deem necessary to secure compliance with the 
provisions hereof. 
Sec. 24. Any principal or teacher of any 
school who shall violate any of the provisions of 
section 21 of this ordinance, or shall in any way 
prevent, or attempt to prevent, the commissioner 
of health from exercising the power conferred 
upon him by section 23 of this ordsnance, shall, 
upon conviction, be liable to the penalty here- 
inafter prescribed. 
Sec. 25. That upon the death or convales- 
ence of any person or persons affected or sick 
with any disease named or provided for in sec- 
tion 5 of this ordinance, the commissioner of 
health shall at once cause the room or rooms 
used by, and those in the immediate vicinity of, 
said person or persons, together with the con- 
tents of said room or rooms, to be thoroughly 
disinfected, cleaned, fumigated, or whatever in 
his discretion may be deemed necessary in ord r 
to prevent a further spread of the disease, even 
in extreme cases to destroying said contents_of said room. All this to be done at the expense 
of the owner; when he or she is able, and when 
he or she is not; then at the expense of the city. 
Sec. 26. That no person or persons who 
have been affected or sick with any of the 
diseases named and provided for in section 5 of 
this ordinance, or who have been quarantined or 
isolated in any place within the jurisdiction of 
the city, shall be allowed to leave such place 
without the permission of the commissioner of 
health. 
Sec. 27. Upon the death of any person af- 
fected or sick with any disease named or pro- 
vided for in sectson 5 of this the 
following regulations must be observed: The 
remains of said persou must be thoroughly dis- 
infected and exposed to the view of no one ex- 
cept those absolutely necessary in preparing the 
body for bnrial, and be placed in a hearse (but 
no other vehicle), which must not be accom- 
panied by more than two vehicles, and shall be 
taken directly from the place tof death to the 
place of burial within twenty-four hours. 
Sec. 28. The burial of any person who may 
die of any of the diseases named or provided for 
in section 5 of this ordinance must take place 
within twenty-four hours after such death, and 
when practicable should take place in the night. 
Sec. 29. That whenever any person shall die within the City of Tacoma it shall be the duty 
of the physician attending such person during 
his or her last sickness, or of the coroner when 
the ease comes under his official notice, to fur- 
nish and deliver to the undertaker, or other 
person superintending the burial of said deceased 
person, a certificate in writing duly signed, set- 
ting forth, as far as the same may be ascertained, 
the name, age, color, sex, nativity (giving state 
or country) occupation, whether married or sin- 
gle, cause, date and place of death (giving street 
and number), and duration of sickness of said 
deceased. And it shall be the duty of the un- 
dertaker or other person in charge of the burial 
of said deceased person, to forward said certifi- 
cate, with a report of the place of burial, to the 
commissioner of health, within twenty-four hours 
after such death. Provided; that in case of 
death from any infectious or contagious disease, 
said certificate shall be so made and forwarded 
within twelve hours thereafter. 
Sec. 30. That no interment or disinterment 
of the dead body of any human being, or dispo- 
sition thereof in any tomb, vault, or cemetery, 
shall be made without a permit therefor granted 
by the commissioner of health of the City of 
Tacoma. And no sexton, undertaker, or other 
person shall bury, or cause to be buried, the 
body of any deceased person, except in such 
grounds as are now known and used as burial 
grounds, or such as shall hereafter be by law designated and authorized to be used as such. 
Sec. 31. That no dead body or part of the 
dead body of any human being shall be in any 
manner carried or conveyed from, in, to, or 
through the City of Tacoma by any person, or 
by means of any boat, vessel, ear, stage, or other 
vehicle, or by any public or private conveyance, 
without a permit therefor first granted by the 
commissioner of health of said city; provided- 
that the same effect may be given by the said 
commissioner of health to a burial or transit per- 
mit issued by the proper authority of any other 
place or jurisdiction when the death of the per- 
son named in the permit shall have occurred 
within such place or jurisdiction. 
Sec. 32. That whenever a permit for burial 
is applied for in case of death without the at- 
tendance of a physician; or if it be impossible to 
obtain a physician's certificate, it shall be the 
duty of the commissioner ot health to investigate 
the cause and circumstances of such death, to 
make and sign the certificate required by section 
29 of this ordinance; and if not satisfied as to the 
cause and circumstances of such death, he shall 
refer the ease to the coroner, it shall be the 
duty of the coroner, within three days after the 
takinsr of any inquest, to file a written statement 
with the said commissioner of health, properly 
signed and attested, stating so far as he is able, 
where and upon the body of whom such inquest was held, and the cause and date and place of 
the death of such person. 
Sec. 33. It is hereby declared unlawful for 
any person to take the remains of any one dead 
of any of the diseases named in section 5 of this 
ordinance, into any church or public building 
for the purpose of holding funeral services over 
the remains of such person. 
Sec. 34. That no person shall suffer or per- 
mit any cellar vault, private drain, cesspool, 
privy, or sewer upon any premises belonging to 
or occupied by him or her, within the limits of 
the City of Tacoma, to begome nauseous, offen- 
sive, or injurious to the public health. 
Sec. 35. No distiller, tanner, brewer, soap 
boiler, tallow chandler, meat packer, dyer, livery 
stable keeper, housekeeper, or other person, shall 
discahrge out of, or permit to flow from his or 
their premises, any foul or nauseous liquors, 
slop-*, or substances whatever into any private 
ground, street, lane, or public ground within said 
city. 
Sec. 33. No person shall deposit or leave, or 
cause to be left, or placed, or deposited in any 
part of said city, any dead" animal or any ani- 
mal or vegetable excrementative, or other sub- 
stance, which is offensive, or which by process 
of decomposition may become offensive. 
Sec. 37. If any person within the limits of the City of Tacoma shall permit or suffer on his, 
her, or llieir premises, or on premises on which 
he, she, or they may he the occupant or 
occupants, any nuisance, either by exercis- 
ing any unwholesome or offiensive trade, call- 
ing, or business, or bv having or sneering or 
permitting any building, outhouses, sewer, sink, 
or any putrid or unsound beef, pork, iisli, hides, 
skins, or any carcass n* any unwholesome sub- 
stance, or anything whatever, to be or remain on 
premises of which he, she, or they shall be tiie 
owner or owners, occupant or occupants, until by 
offensive and ill stenches, or otherwise, they, or 
any of them, shall become offensive, hurtful, or 
dangerous to the neighborhood, it shall be the 
duty of the commissioner of health (ogive notice 
to such person or persons to remove such nui- 
sances forthwith; and if the owner or owners, oc- 
cupant or occupants, of premises on which such 
nuisance shall be situated, shall neglect or refuse 
to remove the same, for the space of twenty-four 
hours after such notice shall have been given, 
he, she, or they, upon conviction thereof before 
any justice of the peace having jurisdiction of 
municipal offenses, shall be liable to the penalty 
hereinafter prescribed, together with the expense 
of removing such nuisance and the cost of prose- 
cution. 
Sec. 38. If any person or persons shall, after 
notice as aforesaid, permit any such nuisance to 
remain, it shall be lawful for the commissioner of health to remove and abate such nuisance, 
either by removing the putrefaction orbj drain- 
ing the premises, or by filling them up forthwith 
under the direction of the said commissioner of 
health; and the person or persons permitting the 
same to remain as aforesaid, shall, on conviction 
thereof, be liable to the penalty hereinafter pre- 
scribed. 
Sec. 39. It shall be the duty of the chief of 
police to cause to be executed all orders of the 
commissioner of health, so far as they relate to 
the preservation of the health of the city, or 
whenever requested to do so by the commissioner 
of health. 
Sec. 40. It shall be the duty of every police- 
man of the City of Tacoma to report promptly at 
the office of the commissioner of health any vio- 
lation of the rules of the board of health of the 
City of Tacoma that may become lfnown to him 
while on duty; and he is authorized to cause its 
abatement. 
Sec. 41. It shall constitute and is hereby de- 
clared a nuisance for any person to erect or main- 
tain a privy as near as thirty feet to any street, 
dwelling, shop or well, unless the same be fur- 
nished with a substantial vault six feet deep, and 
made water tight, so that the contents cannot 
escape therefrom and sufficiently enclosed. All 
privies not so constructed are hereby declared nuisances, and may be summarily abated by the 
board of health. 
Sec. 42. In all cases where a nuisance shall 
be found in any building or upon any ground or 
other premises within the jurisdiction of the city, 
twenty-four hours’ notice may be given in writ- 
ing, signed by the commissioner of health, to the 
owner or occupant of such building or other 
premises, where he is known and can be found, 
to temove such nuisance; and in case of neglect 
or refusal to abate the same in accordance with 
such notice, he shall be chargeable with the ex- 
penses which may be incurred in the removal 
thereof, to be collected by suit or otherwise, in 
addition to the fine or penalty hereinafter men- 
tioned. 
Sec. 43. That no pile or deposit of manure, 
offal, or garbage, nor accumulation of any offen- 
sive or nauseous substance, shall be made within 
the limits of the city; nor shall any person or 
corporation unload, discharge, or put upon or 
along the line of any railroad, street, alley, or 
highway, or public place, within said city, any 
manure, offal, garbage, or other offensive or 
nauseous substance; nor shall cars or flats loaded 
with or having upon them any such substance or 
substances be allowed to remain or stand on or 
along any railroad, street, or highway within the 
limits of said city, within three hundred yards 
of any inhabited dwelling. All manure vaults attached to stable?, or all (deposits of manure 
theiewith connected, shall be so cared for by 
owners of such stables as in no case to become a 
nuisance. 
Sec. 44. That no manure, garbage, offal, or 
any vegetable or animal matter or nauseous sub- 
stance detrimental to health shall be dumped or 
deposited at any place within the limits of the 
City of Tacoma, except by special permit from 
the board of health. 
Sec. 45. Every tenement or lodging house 
shall have the proper and suitable conveniences 
or receptacles for receiving garbage and other 
refuse matter. No tenement or lodging house, 
nor any portion thereof, shall be used as a place 
of storage of any article dangerous or detrimen- 
tal to health. 
Sec. 46. In all cases where no provision is 
herein made defining what are nuisances, and 
how the same may be removed, abated, or pre- 
vented, in addition to what may be declared such 
herein, those offenses which are known to the 
common law of the land and the statutes of the 
State of Washington as nuisances may, in case 
the same exist within the city limits or within 
one mile thereof, be treated as such and proceded 
against as in this ordinance provided, or in ac- 
cordance with any other law which shall give 
the officer trying the same jurisdiction. Sec. 47. It is hereby made the duty of the 
owners of property' to keep all privy vaults on 
property owned by them clean, and to clean them 
promptly whenever notified to do so by the 
commissioner of health; and any expense in- 
curred in cleaning vaults shall be paid by the 
owner of the property, or his agent; and all dis- 
pute between owners and tenants shall be ad- 
justed between themselves,“the city looking to 
the owner for any expenses incurred by reason of 
such cleaning. 
Sec. 48. That every person being the owner, 
lessee, or occupant of any room, stall, or place 
where any' meat, fish, or vegetables, designed or 
held for human food, shall be stored or kept, or 
held, or offered for sale, shall put and keep such 
place and its appurtenances in a cleanly and 
wholesome condition; and every person having 
charge of, or interested or engaged (whether as 
principal or agent) in, the care of or sale of any 
meat, fish, birds, fowls, or vegetables, or other 
article of food whatever, whether in its natural 
state or manufactured, shall put and preserve the 
same in a cleanly and wholesome condition, and 
shall not allow the same, or any part thereof, to 
be poisoned, infected, or become unsafe or un- 
wholesome. 
Sec. 49. That it shall be the duty of every 
person knowing of any fish, meat, or fowl, bird 
or vegetable, or other substance being bought sold, or offered for s:de, as food for human be- 
ings, or being in market, public or private, in 
said city, not being sound, healthy, or whole- 
some for food, to report forthwith such fact, and 
the particulars thereof, to the board of health, 
or to one of its officers. 
Sec. 50. That no animal shall be killed for 
human food in an overheated, feverish, or dis- 
eased condition. All diseased cattle or hogs in 
the City of Tacoma shall at once be reported 
to the commissioner of health by the owner or 
custodian thereof. 
Sec. 51. "Whenever the attention of the com- 
missioner is called to the water from any well or 
cistern or spring or other source of supply in the 
city of Tacoma which, after a careful examina- 
tion by said commissioner of health, or by quali- 
fied examiners, is found to be impure, contami- 
nated, and unfit for drink, it shall be the duty of 
the commissioner of health to serve, or cause to 
be served, on the owner of the property, a notice, 
in writing, that such water shall be no longer 
used for drinking purposes. And it is hereby 
made the duty of the board of health to order 
the closure, filling up, or destruction of any well 
or cistern, or other source of supply, whose 
waters, after a careful examination, are found to 
be impure. And when such steps are taken by 
said board of health, any tenant, owner, agent; 
or any other individual who resists, opposes, or attempts in any way to interfere with said 
work of the board of health, or resists any prop- 
erly authorized officer in the discharge of his 
duty, shall he subject to the penalties hereinafter 
stated. 
Sec. 52. That whenever the commissioner of 
health ascertains that there are on board any 
vessel any infectious or contagious diseases liable 
to be communicated to the inhabitants of the 
City of Tacoma, he shall order a quarantine of 
said vessel, and shall cause the same, and all pas- 
sengers thereon, to be quarantined until it is 
safe for them to land; and he shall take such 
other steps in that regard as will effectually pre- 
vent any contagious or infectious disease from 
reaching the City of Tacoma through such 
sources. 
Sec. 53. The board of health shall be em- 
powered, whenever in their opinion it shall ap- 
pear proper and conducive to public health, to 
cause all people arriving at the city, by any ves- 
sel from foreign ports, to be vaccinated, who are 
unable to prove they have been vaccinated 
within the last five years; and for the purpose 
of carrying into effect the provisions of this sec- 
tion, no boat or vessel from any foreign port 
shall be allowed to land until first receiving a 
permit from the commissioner of health; and any 
captain of any such vessel shall, upon conviction 
of violating this section, be fined in any sum not exceeding three hundred dollars. Provided 
however, this section shall apply only in case the 
hoard of health determine the necessity of causing 
such vaccination to be made; in which case proper 
notice shall be given by due publication of such 
intention in the paper doing the city printing. 
Sec. 54. Any person who*shalI remove, trans- 
fer, or transport, through any of the public 
streets of the City of Tacoma, any swill or gar- 
bage. except it be. in a tightly covered box or 
apparatus, or in such manner as will prevent the 
contents thereof from being deposited in the 
public streets, except in case of accident, or from 
being exposed in the open air dur'ng its trans- 
portation, shall be deemed guilty of a misde- 
meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be 
fined as provided in section 53 of this ordi- 
nance. 
Sec. 55. Any notice provided for in this 
ordinance to be given or served by the commis- 
sioner of health may be given or served bv his 
deputy in like manner, and with the same force 
and effect as if the same were signed by the said 
commissioner of health. 
Sec. 56. That any person who violates, dis- 
obeys, omits, neglects, or refuses to comply with* 
or who resists any of the provisions of this ordi- 
nance, or who refuses or neglects to obev any of 
the rules, orders, or sanitary regulations of the 
board of health, or who omits, neglects, or re- fuses to comply with any order or special regu- 
lation of said borrd, or resists any properly 
authorized officer in the discharge of his duty, 
shall, upou arrest and conviction before any 
justice of the peace having jurisdiction of 
municipal offenses, be subject to a tine not ex- 
ceeding one hundred dollars, nor less than 
twenty-five dollars, for each offense, together 
with the costs of prosecution. 
Si c. 57. That ordinances Nos. 40 N. T., 80, 
104,155, 211, 384, 1,074, 1,314 and 1,319 be and 
the same are, each and all hereby repealed. 
Passed, October 20, 1898. 
P. D. Norton, 
President of City Council. 
Attest: L. W. Roys, City Clerk. 
Approved, October 21, 1898. 
Johnson Nickeus, Mayor. Ordinance No. 1350. 
AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE PLUMB- 
ING, VENTILATION AND DRAINAGE OF 
BUILDINGS, AND PROVIDING FOR THE 
LICENSING AND REGISTRATION OF 
PLUMBERS, AND REPEALING ORDINAN- 
CES NUMBERED RESPECTIVELY 72, 149, 
11.5, 293, 393, 1172, 1320, 1324, AND 1326. 
Be it. Ordained by the City of Tacoma: 
Suction 1. No person shall hereafter move 
a building from one part of the city to another, 
erect or cause to be erected or converted to a 
new purpose by alteration, any building or 
structure, or change the construction of any 
building by addition or otherwise, so that it, or 
any part thereof, shall be inadequate or defec- 
tive in respect to plumbing, ventilation, sewer- 
age, or anv other usual, proper, or necessary 
pro/isions or precautions for the security of life 
or health. Nor shall any owner, lessee, tenant, 
or occupant of any building or structure cause or 
allow any niatter or anything to he done, in or 
about any such building or structure, dangerous 
or prejudicial to life or health 
Skc. 2. That any person, firm, or corpora- 
tion now, or that may hereafter be tngaged in or working at the business of plumbing in the city 
of Tacoma, either as a master or employing 
plumber, or as a journeyman plumber, shall first 
secure a license therefor. 
Sec. 3. Any person or persons desiring to 
engage in or work at the business of plumbing, 
either as a master or employing plumber, or as a 
journeyman plumber in thecity of Tacoma, shall 
apply to the Board of Health for a license so to 
do. Said application or applications, when so 
received, shall be referred to the Board of Ex- 
aminers hereinafter provided for, who shall, at a 
certain time and place to be designated by them, 
proceed to examine such applicant or applicants 
as to his or their qualifications for such busi- 
ness. 
Sec. 4. The said Board of Examiners shall 
consist of the president of the board of health, 
the inspector of plumbing, and three members 
who shall be practical plumbers (two shall be 
master plumbers a. d one shall be a journey- 
man plumber). The president of the board of 
health and the inspector of plumbing shall be 
members ex-officio of said board, and shall serve 
without compensation. Said three members 
shall be appointed by the board of health. 
Sec. 5. Said board of examinersshall, within 
ten days after the appointment of said members, 
meet and organize by the selection of a chair- 
man, and shall designate the time and place for the examination of any applicant or applicants 
desiring to engage in or at the business of plumb- 
ing. Said board shall examine said applicant 
or applicants as to his or their practical knowl- 
edge of plumbing, house drainage and plumbing 
ventilation; and, if satisfied of the competency of 
the applicant or applicants, shall so certify to 
the board of health. Said board shall there- 
upon issue a license to such applicant or appli- 
cants, authorizing him or them to engage in or 
at the business of plumbing, either as a master 
or employing plumber, or as a journeyman 
plumber. In case a firm or corporation, the ex- 
amination or licensing of any one member of 
such firm, or of the manager of such corporation, 
shall be sufficient to enable it to carry on said 
business. 
Sec. (5. No plumbing work shall be done in 
the city of Tacoma; except in case of repairs or 
leaks, without a permit being first issued there- 
for, upon such terms and conditions as said board 
of health shall prescribe. And when such plumb- 
ing work involves or necessitates the obstruction 
of a street or alley, tearing up sidewalks, or dis- 
turbing the surface of streets or alleys, a permit 
shall also be obtained from the commissioner of 
public works therefor. 
Sec. 7. That the fee tor a license for a master 
or employing plumber shall be five dollars ($5), 
and for a journeyman plumber, one doller ($1), payable in advance at the time of receiving said 
license. Said license shall be valid and have 
force for the period of one year, and the same 
shall be renewed upon application upon the pay- 
ment of one dollar ($1). 
Sec. 8. All money derived from the issuance 
of licenses as herein provided shall be paid over 
monthly to the city treasurer, who shall duly re- 
ceipt therefor, and the same shall be placed to 
the credit of the plumbing license fund, which 
is hereby created, the same to be expended in 
paying the expenses of holding examinations of 
plumbers, and other necessary expenses of the 
board of health in connection therewith. 
Sec. 9. The license of any master or journey- 
man plumber may by at any time revoked for in- 
competency, dereliction of duty, or other suf- 
ficient causes, after a full and fair hearing, by a 
majority of the examining board; but an appeal 
may be taken from said examining board to the 
state board of health. 
Sec. 10. All material used in the construction 
of drains, pipes or other structures shall be of 
good quality and free from defects, and the work 
must be executed in a thorough and workman- 
like manner. 
Sec. 11. Drain, main, waste, and soil pipes, 
through which water and sewerage is used and 
carried, shall be of cast iron, wrought iron, brass, or lead, when within a building. They shall be 
sound, free from holes and other defects. They 
shall be securely ironed to walls, laid in trenches 
of uniform grade, or suspended to floor timbers 
by strong iron hangers. They shall have a proper 
fall of not less than one-quarter inch per foot 
toward the drain or sewer. Vertical soil pipes 
shall be carried out through the roof, open and 
undiminished in size. No soil pipe shall be 
carried to a height not less than one foot 
above the highest part of the roof. Changes 
in directions shall be with regular fittings and 
connections with horizontal s >il or waste pipe 
shall be made with Y. branches. 
Sec. 12. All joints on vitrified terra cotta 
pipe shall be made with equal parts of best Port- 
land cement and clean, sharp sand, and as each 
joint is laid it shall be carefully cleansed on the 
inside. 
Sec. 13. All cast iron pipes must be sound 
and free from holes; and in all buildings the 
three upper stories can be pipe of standard 
weight; the lower portions must be extra heavy. 
All joints on cast iron pipe must be made with a 
suitable packing of picked oakum run full of 
molten lead, and thoroughly calked to prevent 
the escape of sewer gas. 
Sec. 14. Every house or building hereafter 
connected with the sewers, must have the house drain constructed of cast or wrought it 
must extend three feet outside of property line, 
and must have a fall of at least one-quarter of 
an inch to the foot. It should run along t lie cel- 
lar wall where practicable; or if laid under the 
lower floor of a building, should be hung in iron 
straps securely fastened to the floor joists, it 
shall be laid in as straight a line as possible. All 
changes in directions must be made in curved 
pipes and all connections with Y branches and 
one-eighth bends. 
Sec. 15. No brick, sheet metal or earthen- 
ware flue shall be used as a sewer ventilator; nor 
shall any chimney flue be used for that purpose; 
and the terminals for all vents must be at least 
five feet from all flues, water tanks, or air shafts; 
and in no case shall they terminate at a lower 
distance than five feet above the gutters, windows, 
or other opeuings. 
Sec. 1(5. All wrought iron pipes and fittings 
used for vents must be galvanized. 
Sec. 17. All connections of lead with iron 
pipe must be made with a brass ferrule of the 
same size as the lead pipe, and calked and 
screwed into the iron pipe, and connected with 
the lead pipe by a wiped joint. 
Sec. 18. Every sink, bath tub, basin, water 
closet, urinal, wash trays, and every fixture hav- 
ing a waste pipe, shall be separately and inde- pendently trapped with ;i water sealing trap 
placed as near the fixtures as practicable. Traps 
shall be protected from syphonage and air pres- 
sure by a special air or vent pipe, which shall be 
of a size not less than the waste pipe up to and 
including two-inch waste pipe; and when the 
wiste pipe is over two-inch in size, no vents less 
than two-inch shall be used. No trap shall be 
placed at the fcot of a vertical soil or waste pipe. 
Sec. 19. The system known as “venting in 
the rough” will only be allowed on vertical 
waste pipes, and not more (han three feet of 
wa«te pipe will be allowed between trap and said 
vertical pipe. The top fixture of any vertical 
line of soil or waste pipe may not be back vented, 
provided said fixture has not more than three 
feet of waste or soil pipe. When a water closet 
has no other fixtures above, a fixture may con- 
nect not higher than one foot above said water 
closet connection; and if it has no more than 
three feet of waste pipe, and not larger than one 
and one-half inches, it will not be necessary to 
“back-vent” it. 
Sec. 20. All water closets and slop hoppers 
must be supplied with water. Water closets 
must never be placed in an unvent'lated room 
or compartment. In every case the compart- 
ment must be open to the outer air or be ventila- 
ted by means of a shaft or air duct at least six 
inches in diameter and as near ceiling as possi- ble. All the water closets within the house 
must be supplied with water from special tanks 
or cisterns, the water of which is not used for 
ny other purpose. Interior water closets must 
never be supplied directly from the city supply 
pipes. A group of closets may be supplied from 
one tank; but water closets on different floors are 
not permitted to be flushed from one tank. 
Sec. 21. All supply pipes for water closets 
shall be galvanized iron, brass, or lead, and shall 
not be less than one-half an inch in diameter. 
Sec. 22. Where two fixtures connect into 
one vent, such a connection shall be made with 
out leas than one and one-half inch pipe; and lor 
three fixtures not less than two-inch pipe; and 
for a water closet not less than two-inch pipe for 
forty feet or less; and three-inch pipe may be 
used for any height above that of forty feet; 
provided that vent pipes for three or more fix- 
tures with waste three or four inches in diameter 
shall not be less than three-inch for twenty feet 
or less; over twenty feet, four inch. Vent pipes 
shall be run as straight and as direct as practi- 
cable, and with a grade to avoid trapping by 
cendensation; but in all casts where vent pipes 
connect to soil pipes, such connection shall not 
be less than two feet above the highest fixture. 
Vent pipes may be run out separately through 
the roof. 
Sec. 23. Every safe under a basin, bath, water closet, tank or other fixture, except urinal, 
shall be drained by a special pi| eof lead or iron 
not less than one inch in size and not directly 
connected with any soil pipe, waste pipe, drain, 
or sewer, and shall, when practicable, be made to 
discharge outside the house. All urinal safes 
shall be of the same material and must be dis- 
charged into an open trapped hopper that is 
supplied with water where practicable. 
Sec. 24. The terminals of all vent pipes must 
be at least five feet from any chimney, air shaft 
or window; and in the case of a window, said 
vent pipe must be at least three feet above said 
window of house or building it serves. Where 
one building is attached to or joins another of 
greater height, having windows or openings over- 
looking the lower building, the terminals of all 
soil or vent pipes of the lower buildings must be 
at least twelve feet distant from said windows or 
openings, or may be carried up above the eaves 
or fire wall of the higher building undiminished 
in size. 
Sec. 25. No steam exhaust or rain water 
pipe will be allowed to connect with any draii , 
soil or waste pipe. 
Sec. 26. All soil, waste, air and drain j ipes 
inside of bui'dings 1 tfore being covered up must 
have all op< nings stopped up and be filled with 
water; the s: id test shall be made in the presence 
of the inspector of plumbing; and if satisfactory, he shall issue a proper certificate, when the 
work can be covered up. 
Sec. 27. Vent pipes outside of water closets 
shall be not less than one and one-quarter inches 
for fifteen feet, one and one-half inches for 
twenty-five additional feet, two inches for forty 
additional feet, and three inches for sixty ad- 
ditional feet. Plumbing work shall not be used 
unless the same has been tested by the inspector 
with smoke, water, ether, or peppermint, and by 
him found satisfactory; and he shall be notified 
in writing by the plumber when the work is suf- 
ficiently advanced for inspection; and he shall 
inspect all work within sixteen working hour* 
after such notification. Where special fixtures 
or traps are required by owners or 
that do not conform to the provisions of this 
ordinance, a special permit may be issued by the 
inspector of plumbing, if, i i his judgment, the 
conditions demand the use of such fixtures or 
traps. 
Sec. 28. No waste pipe from a refrigerator 
or other receptacle in which provisions are 
stored, shall be connected with any drain, soil or 
waste pipe. Such w'aste pipe shall be so ar- 
ranged as to admit of frequent flushing, and shall 
be as short as possible; and when impracticable 
to run to an oj>en fixture, it may discharge out 
side in sight. The overflow' pipes from tanks 
shall dischar ;e into an open fixture properly 
trapped or in roof gutter. Sec 29. A trap will be considered unsealed 
when it shows a water sea! less than two and one- 
half inches in depth. 
Sec. 30. No person shall throw or deposit, 
or cause to be thrown or deposited, in any ves- 
sel or receptacle connected with the public sewer, 
any garbage, vegetable parings, ashes, cinders, 
rags, or any other thing whatsoever, except 
faeces, urine, necessary water closet paper, and 
liquid house slops; or allow any drain to be con- 
nected with any privy vault or cesspool, or un- 
derground drain, or with any channel conveying 
water or filth, excepting the soil pipes and 
plumbing of the house or buildings as hereinbe- 
fore provided. 
Sec. 31. The connection with all sewers must 
be made even at the inside surface in a work- 
manlike manner; and where a length of pipe or 
drain has been left in the sewer, it shall be made 
perfectly tight with good cement. The street 
must be opened and the paving and earth de- 
posited in a manner that will occasion the least 
inconvenience to the public, and provide for the 
passage of water along the gutters; one-half o 
the street must be left clear for the passage of 
vehicles, and bridgeways provided on the side- 
walks for foot passengers. In refilling the trench 
the earth must be laid in layeis not more than 
six inches in depth, and each layer wetted and 
tamped to prevent after settlement. The pav- ing, flagging and sidewalks are to be restored to 
at least as good condition as previous to the ex- 
cavation, and all rubbish and surplus earth to be 
immediately removed. 
Skc. 32. Drain pipes must have a fall of at 
least one-quarter inch to the foot. Where it 
runs under the sidewalk it must be at least two 
feet below stringer of said sidewalk. Drains of a 
greater depth than ten feet may be run up on a 
quick grade to within three feet of permanent 
grade of street or alley at the proprrty line; and 
where the property is located some distance 
above the grade of street, one-eighth bend may 
be used, and it will not be necessary to keep i 
more than two feet from surface, provided a 
fall of one-quarter inch to the foot can be ob- 
tained. Six inch pipe must be used from main 
sewer to property line. 
Sec. 33. Whenever any drain connected with 
any public sewer or drain becomes obstructed, 
broken or out of order, or detrimental to the 
use of the sew'er or drain, or unfit for the pur- 
pose of drainage, the owner, agent, occupant, or 
person having charge of any building, yard, lot 
of land or other premises, which are drained by 
said drain or sewer, shall, when directed by the 
inspector of plumbing, remove, reconstruct, alter, 
clean, or repair said drain, as the condition of 
said drain may require. 
Sec. 34. No privy, vault or cesspool shall hereafter be constructed in any part of the city 
where a sewer is at all accessible. 
Sec. 35. It shall be the duty of any plumber 
or other person or persons interested in the 
plumbing work, after the completion of said 
plumbing work, and before any of said plumb- 
ing is covered up in any building or buildings or 
on the premises connected with said building or 
buildings, to notify in writing the inspector of 
plumbing that said building or buildings or other 
premises are ready for inspection; and it shall be 
unlawful for any plumber or other person or 
persons to cover up or in any way conceal such 
plumbing work in or about said building or 
buildings, until the inspector approves of the 
same. 
Sec. 36. The inspector of plumbing shall 
have the power in all cases where there is a pub- 
lic sewer in any street or alley, to cause any 
owners of land upon or adjoining such street or 
alley, his agent or tenant, to make a sufficient 
drain and proper sewer connection from his or 
her house, yard or lot, closet and premises, when- 
ever in his opinion the same may be necessary; 
and he shall thereupon give such owner, agent, 
tenant, or person occupying such premises notice 
in writing, specifying the time when such drain 
and sewer connections mud be completed; and if 
said owner, agent, or tenant neglects to complete 
the same within the time specified, and in addi- tion to the penalties imposed for the violation of 
any of the provisions of this ordinance, the in- 
spector of plumbing shall cause it to be done, 
and shall recover the whole amount of the ex- 
pense thereof, together with ten per cent dam- 
ages, by an action in the name of the city of 
Tacoma before any court having jurisdiction 
thereof, of said owner or persons occupying the 
same premises, who shall be severally and jointly 
liable therefor. 
Sec. 37. Master plumbers, at the time of re- 
ceiving a license, shall tile a bond, in the office 
of the inspector of Plumbing, in the sum of 
one thousand dollars ($1,000), with one or more 
sureties, to be appioved by the mayor, for the 
protection of the city in case of damages result- 
ing from opening any sewers or streets. 
Sec. 38. Any sewer builder or plumber ob- 
taining a permit to make connections with city 
sewers shall save harmless the city of Tacoma 
from all suits, accidents, and damages consequent 
thereupon for or by reason of any opening in 
any street, alley, or avenue made by him, or by 
those in his employment, for making connection 
with any public or private sewer, or for any 
other purpose or object v\ hatever; and that he 
will also replace and restore the street over such 
opening to as good a state and condition as he 
found it; keep guards by day and light by night, 
and keep and maintain the same in good order, to the satisfaction of the inspector of plumbing 
for his acceptance. 
% 
Sec. 39. Every tenement, lodging house or 
building shall be provided with one water closet 
for every ten rooms or less, and one additional 
water closet for every additional ten rooms or 
less. Improved privy sinks may be used in fac- 
tories as the inspector of plumbing shall require, 
but in no case shall water closets be located in 
the sleeping apartments of any building. 
Sec. 40. All master plumbers shall be held 
responsible for all acts of their agents or em 
ployes done by virtue of his or their license. No 
license shall be granted for more than one year, 
or the unexpired portion thereof. All licenses 
shall expire on the last day of December of each 
year, unless sooner revoked. 
Sec. 41. It shall be the duty of any architect 
or architects, builder or builders, or other per- 
son or persons interested in any projected tene- 
ment, lodging house, or other place of habitation 
in the city of Tacoma, to submit plans and 
specifications of any such building or buildings 
to the inspector of plumbing ot said city, that the 
inspector may examine said plans and specifica- 
tions for his approval or rejection, as to the 
proposed plan for ventilation of water closets 
and sewers under buildings, and generally the 
plan of drainage and plumbing. Sec. 42. The inspector of plumbing, or his 
duly authorized agents, shall have the right to 
enter upon the premises drained by any house 
drain and connected with any public sewer at 
all reasonable hours, to ascertain whether the 
provisions of this or any ordinance in regard to 
house drains have been complied with; and if 
he shall find that said drain or its attachments 
do not conform to the provisions of law in re- 
gard thereto, lie shall notify the owner of said 
premises, or his agent of the fact. It shall 
thereupon be the duty of said owner or his agent 
to cause said drain or its attachments to be so 
altered, repaired, or reconstructed as to make 
them conform to the requirements of law in re- 
gard thereto within fifteen days from the time of 
receiving such notice. 
Sec. 43. Any person violating any provision 
of this oridnanceshall be deemed gutlty of a mis- 
demeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be 
fined not less than five dollars (>">) nor more 
than fifty dollars (>30) for each and every viola- 
tion thereof; and upon failure to pay the same 
shall be imprisoned in the city jail one day for 
every two dollars ($2) of such fine. 
Sec. 44. That ordinances numbered respec- 
tively 72, 149,215, 293, 393, 1172, 1320, 1324, 
and 1320 be each and all repealed, and they are 
hereby repealed. Passed November 17, 1898. 
P. D. Norton, 
President of City Council. 
. Attest: 
L. W. Roys, City Clerk. 
Approved November 18, 1S98 
Johnson Nickf.up, 
Mayor.