Evening Star Newspaper, January 23, 1896, Page 8

B. SON “MOSES zx, (© Kann, Sons &)""* Causes of Disease Set Forth by a Ss, F Street, | Corner Eleventh. i 22a near M. Storage Warehouse, 0, STH & MARKET SPACE “LA RED oud Cribs & Beds —Some we're overstocked on— and some patterns we want to All reduce to figures that'll touch the purses of eco- close out. nomical people. —Be careful that these small lin are not gone before you see them. Cuild’s White ard Brass Crib, with let-down sides, wire spring bot- tom, brass rafl head and foot. Usually $15.00. For....--.-----+ Another Crib, different pattern, wire spring bottom. We're over- stocked on them and will let em +f swell footboard, adjustable woven wire spring: will compare with the $20 beds. A special of ours at $16.50. We're overstocked, so they go at.. White and Brass Beds, y brass rail head and foot, v° wire mattress, 3 ft. and 3 ft. FURNITURE POLISH will do more toward brightening up and furniture than anything Price, 25 ets. a good-sized White & Brass DEM-ANNUAL CLEARINGSALE REMNANT Day Tomorrow. Black Sateens, French and Do- mestic. es ONLY IN REMNANTS. 6%, 834, 10 and 12%c. Figured Sateens, French and Do- mestic. ONLY IN REMNANTS. 6%, 8% and i2ye. In, sizes. $15. To close out at... It Art Rooms—6th floor. World's Falr! HIGEEST AWARD. { GRANUL The STANDARD and BEST prepared iF OOD A very palatable food! A most wholesome food. Delicate children, an delicate, infirm and age persons, INVALIDS and convalescents praise th 1 virtues of this food! Mothers know its valu preceding childbirth and whife nourishing their off. spring. Infants from birth thrive on it! Sold by DRUGGISTS EVERY WHERE! John Carle & Sons, New York. Electricity is far superior to gas as light. venient and easier on the ey sight. IAL It is safer, more con- Fancy Percales, French and Do- mestic. ONLY IN REMNANTS, Tie, SUC. Cameo Drapery, in all the pretty spring patterns. ON: = N REMNANTS. ra = 8c. 25-inch Cretonnes for covering light, medium and dark effects. ONLY IN REMNANTS. 5c. Outing Flannels, in stripes, plaids and checks. ONLY IN REMNANTS. 3% > 5, 834. The New Spring Flannelettes, Persian and Dresden patterns. ONLY IN REMNANTS. Ox“C. (Algeian Cotton Crepés, in all high colors. ONLY IN REMNANTS. 8c Fine All-wool White Flannels, plain and twilled. ONLY LN REMNANTS. 16c. to 49¢. Fine All-wool Red Twilled Flan- nels, including the finest medicated on sale. d d ie ie ONLY IN REMNANTS. 19¢. to 49C. Fine All-wool Navy Blue Flan- nels, in many different grades. ONLY IN REMNANTS. 1gc. to 4QC. White Shaker Flannel. ONLY IN REMNANTS. FC Unbleached Heavy Twilled Can- ton Flannel. ONLY IN REMNANTS. a e- As a motive power electricity is simply ‘3 unexcelled. It is fast taking the place of Y 5? qT) 83 yy steam. A, great mary stores and ofiices 3%, By Yay hy 1O”“¢. Low tse itt U. S. Electric Lig Co., 213 14th st.. ja21-20d "Phone 77. Unbleached Cotton, 3 and 1 yard wide. ONLY IN REMNANTS. (Sure Cure For Rheumatism. “S$. & S. RHEUMATIC REMEDY” cures the worst forms of — Acute, Chronic, Inflammatory and Muscular Rheumatism by correcting the blood— neutralizing the urle acid. Fit's speedy, certain be. a large bottle. (Scheller & Steve ‘Cor. 9th and Pa. Ave. and safe. ig. Chemists, ja21-20d TIS, Pusrmacists, 2% and 6xe. Assorted Bleached Cotton, Fruit, Wamsutta, New York Mills. ONLY IN REM Ts. 5K. New Fancy Spring Prints, to imi- tate the new woolen styles. ONLY IN REMNANT: Re. Red and Blue Oil Boiled Prints, PRR ACAD AANE :YOU SAVE Money by burning COKE instead of coal. Besides giving out more heat, it {s cleaner and more economical. Your bill for fuel will be lessened consider- ably when you use our Coke in place of coal. 40 bu. (uncrushed), $2.90. 40 bu. (crushed), $3.70. Washington Gaslight Co., 413 10th st., aa Or WM. J. ZEH, 926 N ST. SOSCAS TETAS s eR N and STE “Bay State’”’ Guitars, Mandolins, Banjos, Zithers and Flutes are equaled by no other Amertcan instrament Lowest in price of any strictly high-grade instru- metts. 26 AWARDS. Send for Catalogues. A. HILERON BAND INSTRUMENTS ARE SUPERB. John C. Haynes & Coa., 453 to 563 WASHINGTON ST., Get-tu,th&s39t 2298904 22008 ‘NESS and POWER of TONE, BEAUTY NGTH of CONSTRUCTION Boston, select designs. ONLY IN REMNANTS. 5c. Black and Mourning Prints, also Silver Grays. ONLY IN REMNANTS. BKC. Graylock Zephyr Ginghams, the best of the domestic kind. ONLY IN REMNANTS. Oxe¢. Remnants of Plain Henriettas, Serges and Fancy Novelties. Remnants of all kinds Plain and Fancy Black Wool Goods. ALL THESE GOODS YOU WILL FIND ON OUR THIRD FLOOR, WHERD A GREAT MA: OTHER REMNANTS NOT MENTIONED HERE CAN BE FOUND. Remnants Silk Cord and Trim- ming Braids. OS SF9999O090 90900004 2C. FIRST FLOOR, CENTER TABLE. Remnants Gold, Silver and Silk and Wool Novelty Dress Braids. 5c. FIRST FLOOR, CENTER TABLE. Remnants Fine Quality Table Linen, from 14 to 2}-yard length. ts. Go to Siccardi, Bargains in Hair. Genuine, bona fide bargain prices can select from Jin rth St., SEaey iA Bee, x. Bargains in Long Hair Switches. $2.50. Formerly $5.00. 50. Formerly be. Formerly $i0-50. 7 First-class attendance ip Shampooiag. et ‘Try our S. HELLER’S, 720 7th Street N. W. THERE'S NO LADY —who wouldn't enjoy a cup of tea—drawn from Burchell’s Spring Leaf Tea. Pure and delicious. 50c. Ib. N. W. Burchell, 1325 F St. wrzisd © prevail- tng post now. And you the finest Gicck of Hair and’ Totlet Goods ever shown in ‘asbington. Hair Dressing, 3 Curlette,” for keeping the hair in 35 to 50c. LINEN DEPARTMENT—FIRST FLOOR — LEFT AISLE. Remnants of All-linen and Cotton Crashes. 5, 6, 8 and toc. FIRST FLOOR, LEFT AISLE—LINEN DEPART- MENT. Ladies’ Black Suede, Black Glace, Black Biarritz, in Foster-hook Mous- quetaire, sizes 54, 54 and 6. $1.25 quality. Remnant price, _ 39¢. aoe WILL ALWAYS FIND REMNANTS OF REMNANTS OF DRESS LININGS ON SALE EVERY FRIDAY. S Kann, Sons & 0, STH& MARKET SPACE x. CITY'S HEALTH Medical Society Committee. Sanitary Conditions of the City and the Suburbs. PHE TYPHOID FEVER * The first annual report of the committee the District was made last night at the regular meeting of the society. The report is a valuable document, and deals with matters of much interest to the citizens of Washington. It was presented by Dr. W. W. Johnston, chairman of the committee. It discusses the prevalence of typhoid fever and malarial diseases, during the past year as far as Washington is concerned, and shows the causes thereof, and makes sev- eral recommendations as to how the great extent and mortality from these diseases can be prevented. In an able manner it discusses the sew- erage system of the city, and recommends the adoption of a general sewerage system, as well as the purification of the Potomac water by filtration. Dr. Johnston was as- sisted in the preparation of the report by Drs. W. P. Carr, J. Dudley Morgan, Clif- ton Mayfield, D. Olin Leech, Frank Hyatt and J. W. Chappell. The report after reviewing the general health of the District continues under the head of special conditions influencing health: The special conditions which influence health in th@ city and the District are numerous and must be taken into account in explaining the extent and fatality of certain diseases. The relation of the city to the river and the Eastern branch and the proximity of lagge areas of swamp land, ich spr sii ely baneful exnala- tions far and wide, present the most inter- esting problems for study. This subject will be fully considered under the head of Other special causes of defective sewerage, water malarial diseases. disease, such as Saturation and impur their appropriate pla typhoid fever. It is difficult to bi a upon the mede of life of th a whole, or to find any gestions of improvement, form of daily life the de| open to us and which are trol. soil upply, find nection with he comm s for ut there is one ils of which are nder our con- jdren, be’ een, leave $ of six nd and fer six hours are under the ex- their ve care of the state, obeying the rules of a central auth renter oe gr. tunitiea could he afforded for the study of value to the com- e h the health en who are to be- come citizens and the fathers and mothers another generation. s the air which these 40,000 child ture and intensity of the light wi! their boo! the time and f midday recreation, and man ‘S & * important heve 5, in which both science have part. time we may that the public school system is approaching perfection in um taken its details, and that children are wi housed, well cared for and well taught under public guardianship. As physiclans we are brough: contact with these children; aware of the efrects of the s: the individual, of the influence formity of management has upon chil of differ si titutio! We see, too, that there { machinery, and it is for uggest and insist upon the needed alte In the first place, although it has been shown that there is a progressive deterioration in the eyesight of pupils as the: lopment of symptot i the dir ntinued e id should be examinations, and or othe ment presenting: sus- e subjected to en who €x- irritable ‘hool. of subjects stu of the studies and the ti indoors should not be the same for ‘The nature uperior children, and who ¥ under the strat ch competition, yet should not be deprived of the benefits of educa- tion. Some provision should be m: delicate children who ai enough to be excluded altogether fr schools. Malarial Diseases, Reports have been received from seventy- six physicians as to the relative preva- lence of malarial diseases during the y 1895, as compared with previous These reports, with three or four excep- tions, were from the nerthwest section of the city. Forty-eight of them state a marked in- crease, ten of these indicating an incr ment ef 100 to 200 per cent. Kighteen re port no material change, and nine “few cases than usual.” Of the eighteen reporting no increase, four were specialists, not engaged in ge: eral practice, and four are unknown, ha ng signed no name. There are six who are gnown to have been in general practi for several years. Of these six, one rt ports 8 cases of remittent, two 10 cases, one 17 and one 20 and one 25; an average of 15 cases each of remittent fever, while the average of the whole seventy-four {s about 4. Of the nine reporting fewer cases than usual, four are specialists and three signed no name, leaving two only who ar known to be in general practice. The tendency of these reports as a whole is to show an increase in malarial fevers in the ncrthwest section of about 100 per cent. At Providence Hospital the cases of in- termittent fever treated in 1893 numbered We're makers... Of Wari yttattss ear bainens HOUSES. jock Sicuy ana Gece you're assured of —if you send for us. Estimates for new work for the asking. ‘Phone 387. Robt. M. Harrover, 438 oth St. ja22-14d Gray Hair A thing of the past when Nattan’s Crystal Dis- used. Guaranteed to restore fade 15 Gave hair to its natural color in 8 to Positively not a dye. Stops the hair from falling wakes the nicest dressing Sut, arreste dandruff’ and No sediment. se OLB any part of the count aszett Home heating — right repairing of all manner of heating ‘the hair one can tse. io stains. Sent, express on receipt of price. T_T, WALKER SONS, 204 10TH ST._N.W, Bi Lining, Felts, Fire Brick and Clay, Ast ey ints, Brushes, Limé Roofing Cement, two ‘Material me IF THE BABY 1S ‘and use, OUTTING TEETH BH SURE shat old and well-tried rei ‘Winsiow'e Soothing Syrup, It soothes the child. softens the gum, al pain, cures wind colic and ie the best ‘re Marthoea. 25 cents a bottle. If you had taken two of Carter’s Little Liver Pills before ret you would not have had that ‘coated taste in the mouth this or feep a vial with you for morning. By adding 20 drops of Dr. Siezert’s Angostura Bitters to e glass, diseases from drinking pol- Tuted water ‘are an HYGIENE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS on public health of the Medical Society of 59; in 1804, 112, and in 1895, 186.. There | typhoid fever the year past the were two cases of remittent in 1893; 83 in | question arises as to extent of its prev- 1804, and 16 in44s95. During this period | alence elsewhere. ~ = there was an increase of 13 per cent in the total numbemyofapatients treated and an increase of 200 eent in intermittent and 800 per cent 4% ittent fevers. At the NiiergEncy: Hospital clinic for general diseases—333 cases of malarial dis- pag “were oat. in: bang and oe arene an increase @f ‘abut. 200 per cent, with no| July, August, September and October, great increase in the numter of patients. : $2 In many ofthese cases the diagnosis was 1895, with the ratio to 10,000 population: confirmed by finging the malarial organism No. of = in the blood, @uippnly 14 cases are officially [cut | matto. | EOP. the death rate of Washington from phold fever as compared with other cities. Table VII. Table of mortality in the cities below from typhoid fever during the months of reported as irmed by blood examina- tion, as no record was kept of this work | Wichinglon. <| aSe | S58 | 2zs'so until late ip..thp season. Appended re- | Pittsburg, +} 80 | 294 | 272,000 ports from the;Washington barracks show ace -| 7 | 1.78 | 434, a steady int¥easé from 1891 (when there | Chicago, 271 | “1-69 |1,000,000 were 68 cases of malarial fever) to 1895, | 5.0" eee. 3 2 i land when there cua cases. Phitadetphia, ' 2] 120 | 1:14 |i,163/s6a The rate yer 1) for 1891 was 29; for | New York, N, +] 157 84 |1,892,332 1892, 58; for 1893, 67; for 1804, 54, and for | New Orledn: 2] “20 | [42 | "275,000 1895, 100. These figures show twice as | Brooklyn, N. 90 | {Si _|1,100,000 many cases in 1895 as in 1894, and nearly four times as many per 1,000 as in 1891. Appended reports from Fort Myer show that with the same numter of troops there were in 1892 30 cases of intermittent fever; 1893, there were 152 cases; in 1894, 131 cases, and in 1805, 228 cases; an increase of 760 per cent over 1892, and about 100 per cnt over 1893 and 1894. This is an in- crease of 1,000 per cent over 1891, when there were 8 cases, with half the number of men. The cases of remittent fever, 35 in number, were more than three times as numerous in 1805 as in any year, except 1892, when there were 82 cases. Dr. Reed of the Army Medical Museum informs us that Fort Myer and the Wash- ington barracks have led all military posts in the United States in the percentage of malarial diseases during the present year. Reports from the navy yard show a steady increase in malarial fevers since 1890, In 1887 8 per cent of the men were affected; in 1888, 18 per cent; in 1889, 12 per cent; in 189), only 3 per cent; in 1891, 9 per cent; in 1892, 45 per cent; in 1803, 70 per cent; in 1894, 40 per cent; In 1895, of the seamen, 100 per cent, and of the marines,76 per cent. Here we have for a number of years an average of about 10 per cent, and then the percentage rises suddenly to 40, 70, and finally nearly to 10) in 1895. Reports from St. Hlizabeth’s are to the effect that malarial diseases have- more than doubled in the last three years, and From these figures it Is seen that Wash- ington has had a larger death rate from typhoid fever and presumably a greater number of cases than the other cities named, with the exception of Allegheny, a. Cause of Prevalence of Typhoid Fever im the District of Columbia. ‘The recent investigation made under the authority of the health officer into the prevalence of typhoid fever in 1895, is of great interest and value. The report is a careful collection of facts that adds very much to the definiteness of our knowledge, strengthens the belief that contaminated well water is the chief but not the only agent in the diffusion of the disease. An examination of the well water thus consumed shows, according to the analyses made by Dr. King Kinyoun, that out of a total of eighty-one analyses of samples from wells and ten from springs, twenty: one analyses demonstrated bacilli belong- ing to the sewage group; twenty analyses had suspicious characters. The twenty-one analyses, containing in- testinal bacilli, were from wells, distributed as follows: Five were in Takoma, four in county, one in Brightwood, one in Brook- land, Ivy City, one; Georgetown, one; northwest section of city, eleven; northeast, one. The suspicious wells were distributed as. , follows: North ‘ city, 5 - the same statement is received from the | (ogy, Noumcast Section of city, b: porn. Washington Asylum. <n liGitys 2: Sheridan aver 1: AS f Statistics from the health office show 50| City, 2: Sheridan avenue, 1; Anacostia, 1; Columbia Lithia spring. In over sixty an- alyses there were no bacilli or suspicious features. . s There can be no doubt in the mind of any one as to the mode by which the wells are contaminated. The saturation of the sell with the excreta of patients suffering from enteric fever is now going on in every house where th are no sewer connections to carry off these discharges. Every box privy may he considered as a possible source of soil pollution, as it is not possible as they are at present construc to make them water tight. In 184 there were 8,959 boxes in use; no special census has Teen taken since then, and there is no way of determining the number in use at this date. The Odorless Excavating Co., which las the contract, reports a decrease in business, and believes that the deaths from intermittent and remittent fevers from January 1 to October 31 in and only 24 deaths from the same causes for the same months in 1893-4. ‘This is an increase of 250 per cent, in spite of the fact that many cases are now di nosed as typhold fever which a year 20 would have been called remittent fever. This change of diagnosis is shown by the fact that for the sam’ been a decrease in th typho-malarial fever from will account for some of the in typhoid fever deazh rate. tion it is pertinent to call a article by © i November 28, 18 of Laver: U e periods there has hs attributed to And this ase in the 1 3 i “The Practical Val a ee is report for esent c 1 h covers the nimber is not s Tae he ending May, 199, gives the follow, are June §0, 105, there wore ate ber of deaths from maiaria, to which I ¥ repo 6 as leaking, 5.201 in a for compar'son thos of typhoid fever. bad and filthy condition and 230 ii a state Malari Typhoid | of dilapidation. These figures show that diseases, ever. | the danger is increasing rather than di- Washington minishing. In 1s 2 there wi 465 leaking Baltimore. boxes as compared with 746 in the past Now York. year. The number of old and worn out Brooklyn boxes reported for nine years ending June ‘That in Baltimore, Prooklyn and New York the deaths from malsriel tever ex- ceeded those from typhoid will, no doubt, be read with astonishment. Any i in Baltim and Philade 30, 1891, averaged seventy each ys the past year there wei 3 L. Such a great increase in pidation” and “leakage” indica*-s that the boxes scatter- ed throughoui the city are becoming with each year more unfit for the purpose for which they are used, and that the satura- tion of the soil is increasing to an alarming extent. How much of the great increase of typhoid fever during the past year is due He New York hospitals that there were not more than deaths in | to this cause it is impossible to say, but it them ail from and most of these | is beyond question that these conditions, from the pernicious form, and that the | associated with the drinking of well water, ratio of deaths from rm the New York and Brodkl. pared with deaths from ail caus 1 to 1,609. The various reports snow that maid are the most favorable ones that could be created for the diffusion of the poison of enteric fever. The number of pumps on June 3 16. 1 % the year to June ven of these were abandonec since June eleven have been closed. number in e now is 160. of those i The Three-fourths eighteen months ago are of this source of infection is going on, the tion arises whethe! the rai the positive danger growth of wee ling fields. not require re rapid and complete” At the navy "s it is | closure of w. re not found vated to changes made in the Anacos-| to be contamin moment of ex- Pape: amination. It is a matter of congratula- ©. Wise of the navy yard | ticn that 150 pumps have been abandoned s beth at the yard and that, although in the five have fresu referred ling the agitation of this sub- of malarial zi nverment of Ue verage annual reduetion of wells the year past, forty- ve been closed, a rate four times nid as during previous yea! This result i fair vigor and act ger its new the ministration. Sewers and If wells fremoves carrying off the e pplied In abund. and for flushing rm parts 0 i ble supply, and nt water does but little good if it erve to Wash the city clean of its © and filth. letters to the pr made as to the gr ater over sewer: the fact tha ce both for domestic the » in which claim: ter benefit of Show an ig: erage and water are nt—in cities one is incom- lete without the other. The present sewerage s: are abundant to St. te doubt butt above , and ave Feen wnusual- ma- em of the city tle past- year. defective; to obtain the best results the from Washingion 1 proposed by the Commissioners and ‘ort Myer, St. El th and the | !0W before Congress must be adopted. d show that has been a| With the financial and business aspects of a for | the question we, as physicians and health ean simul-| conservators, have nothing to do. At v the | tious times during the past year the pre: branch. was greater than ever , and was probably due in part to unavoidable cll matic conditions, still there is strong ¢ dence, in these reports, to show that the stern ent of the society and other memb ave aided in a movement to bring these questions before the public and to demon- strate the rapid improvement in the health of cities with the completion of a sewerage condition of the Anacostia river is the |SYStem, and the great difference in the prime factor. And when we bear in mind| Mortality from typhoid fever in sewered that there are comparatively few indi-| and unsewered cities. If this relation ex- ists between perfect sewerage and health, and imperfect sewerage and a high death rate from typhoid fever, it is our duty to make the facts known! It is for public men and legislators to devise the means and the methods. viduals in Washington who do not make at least one or two river excursions during the summer, passing by this dangerous re- gion, usually during the night, th good ground for believing that the E: branch may be respon: oce g in remot The imperfections in the present sewer- Certainly the conditions there existing | 48¢ System are well known; the defects lie are a source of much ill health as weil as| in the radical defects in construction, and a blot on the beauty of our city. ‘These | in the incapacity to carry off the sewage of our rapidly growing population, as well as the storm water of newly extended areas, The proposed capacity of projected intercepting sewers is at the rate of twen- ty cubic feet (150 gallons) per capita per day for a population of 500,000. We shall need all of this and what is now. Sewage Disposal. 3 When sewers are constructed one of the most important questions is where shall they be emptied. A community which saves itself from infection by pouring its filth in- to a river, the water of which is used by other communities, is net to be commended for its science or for its humanity. Rivers and lakes should rot be made public sew- ers; they should not be receptacles for the filth of cities and sources of drinking water at the same time. We know that Chicago and Cleveland poisoned themselves with their own sewage. At Cleveland the Cuya- conditions are remediable, and the remedy should be applied at once, as has been done to the Washington channel. The condition of the newly-made flats or parks on the river front is also far from what it ougat to be. This ground for several years has been covered with a rank growth of weeds from six to fifteen feet in height, a condi- tion most favorable for the development of malaria. The ground should be leveied and covered with a good sod of grass, trees and grass being known to be unfavorable for the development of malaria, while tall weeds favor it. Stagnant water in various parts of the city, and wet areas of soil, even if small, should be removed)or covered with asphalt. Well authenticated instances are recorded of epidemics pf milaria in a house, due to the outflow Of a yain-water barrel under the window. ‘There has been some improve- ment of wet. alleys and dirty alleys, but there are mamy small local causes for ma- - The table below will show the position of |. hoga river pours the sewage of the city in- to the lake, and two miles from the shore the water was found to be polluted, and yet the intake of drinking water from the lake was only one and one-fifth miles from the shore. In seven years there were 1,044 deaths from typhoid fever in Cleveland, or about 3 per cent of the entire mortalty. The golden rule applies very directly to every community; even if we are not great- ly injured by the pollution of our river, we have no right to put the lives of others in jeopardy by polluting it. The safe disposal of sewage is a vital question, therefore, and sooner or later scientific methods must take the place of the river-poisoning method that is now em- ployed. The experiments of Mr. Dibdin, chemist of the Londen county council, dem- onstrated that sewage can be purified to any required degree by aeration and filtra- tion; 180 acres of coke breeze (cinders) is sufficient to purify the whole daily sewage of London, amounting to 180,000,000 gal- lons. In Glasgow the sewage water after filtration is perfectly clear, and the filtered solid matter is mixed with ashes and sold as a fertilizer. Some such system must sooner or later be adopted here. Water Supply From Potomac River. An abundant supply of water from the Potcmac is essential to the flushing of pipes and sewers and the safe discharge of sew- age. In Washington we get 275 gallons per capita per day: Not moze than one-fourth of this quantity, or fifty £allons, is used for domestic purposes, and of the 40,162,357 gal- laria existing throughout the District that have been more or less overlooked or ig- nered. ) i Typhoid, Fever! Prevalence and Mor- “tality, i The total number of deaths from typhoid fever for the 'year1895 was 221. The total number of cases reported by 207 physicians was 609. This number, the committee states, is much less than the actual num- ber of cases, which, on the basis of an as- sumed mortality of 18 per cent, would show a total of over a’ thousand cases during the year. The great discrepancy between the esti mated number of cases of typhoid fever— 1,288—and the number of cases actually re- ported—G00—must be due to one circum- stance only, namely, that a large number of cases of typhoid fever are not fecog- nized as such, but are classed as malarial fever. If the number of cases was actually not above 700, the deaths being 221, our mor- tality would be 31.66—that is, a little more than one-third of the cases end fatally, which is incredible. These conditions serve to show the great importance of a revision of our knowledge on the subject of typhoid fever; for the knowledge we have must be very defect- ive if it permits such inaccuracy and un- certainty as is here shown. In any case, it Is the duty of physicians to do all that is possible to insure an accurate diagnosis in cases of doubtful nature, In considering the unusual prevalence of THE EVENING STAR, THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1896—TWELVE PAGES. supplied every twenty-four it purity is as necessary as and the agitation of the subject of the puri- fication of the Potomac water is forced up- on us, as by every recent addi- tion to our knowledge of the subject. The der natural conditions. this river. this rate, six miles below, of the lake water. will purify itself within a distance of about sixteen miles from the point of pollution.” The nearest town of any size above Great Falls is Harper's Ferry, which is distant ferty-four miles, so that the pollution from this source may be supposed to be elim- inated long before it reaches the intake. But it is not only towns which infect the river; the washings of the nills carry with them whatever filth there may be at any point on its banks. The letters obtained by Dr. Kober show to what extent the river is the receptacle for fecal matter, and what Dr. Miller of Cumberland says of his city is true of every hamlet and farm house along the banks, that the entire outlet for waste material is the Potomac river. All closets are cleaned and refuse deposited on soil drained into or dumped directly into the river, while many sewers and closets open directly into streams which flow into it. What another correspondent of Shepherds- town says of his locality is true of the whole river: “The greatest source of pollu- ton of the Potomac fs the canal: All slops and filth of every kind, dead animals, ma- nure from stables, are thrown into the canal by boatmen, and the people living along it also use it for very much the same Furpose. The water from the canal is con- tinually washed by leaks into the river, which must thus be extensively polluted. Typhoid fever prevails along the Potomac river at all points, its tributary streams and the canal receive the dejecta from ull such cases, and it cannot be asserted that sclf-purification can take place to the ex- tent needed to protect us against all pos- sible danger of infection. There are over 23,009 people living along the river in towns of from S00 to 12,000 inhabitants; the number living outside of towns cannot be estimated, and there are a thousand possibilites of river infection ith the typhoid bacillus from — other urces than towns. The history of vari- cus epidemics proves that it is not the amount of infecticn which is to be con- sidered, but the fact of infection, and there are many arguments from experience ainst the idea of efficiency of self-puri- Uoen of rivers. It cannot be relied on to protect Washington against the dan- gers of impure water. Nine years ago it was assertel that the Hudson river water, supplying the city of A y, Was perfectly pure. In February Albany, with a population of 100,000, led all the cities of the state in its death rate from typhoid fever; in March there were 175 cases, sev- enty-one new cases occurring in one From January to April there were 398 cases, * IXty-five deaths. It is now known that the sewage contamination of the Hud- son is a crying evil, and that there can be no health for any city which gets its drinking water therefrom. The Delaware river below Trenton has § to 10 per cent of sewage. The death rate from typhoid fever in Camden, which gets its water di- rectly from the Delaware, is very high, and the people of that city are urgently de- manding relief from the drinking of dilute sewage. The Ohio river, before it reaches Cincinnati, receives the sewage and sur- face drainage of 100 cities and towns. This dilute sewage is pumped into the reser- voirs of Cincinnati and served to the peo- ple. In 1894 in Cincinnati there were 761 cases of typhoid fever, with 169 deaths. Cincinnati returns to the Ohio 3,600,000 gal- lons of sewage. No constant reliance can be placed upon the efficiency of the natural purification of Potomac water. If all the conditions which bring this about are in perfection, the water may be freed largely from its dangers. Some of the principal conditions most fa- vorable to purification of river water are the large dilution of the contaminated water by unpolluted streams flowing into it along its course, the natural sedimenta- tion of stspended matter, a rapid current flowing over an uneven surface with a free exposure to sunlight. dry season of the past summer have an example of how these in- may be reduced in their operation. ition from inflowing streams wa: ned, and because of the dimin- y in solution, there was less sedi of contained organic matt <ring of the river bed involved a slower current, with less exposure to air and sunlight. Add to this the greater pol- lution of the river from an unus 2 lence of typhoid fever, and it is clearly seen how, at certain seasoas, no reliance ean be placed upon self-purification of Po- tomae water. With increasing population along the river, the sources of contamina- y of self-purification constantly di- inishins. There are two methods by which we can secure a pure water supply; one is by enacting laws to prevent the contamination of rivers and streams, and the other to get rid of impurities, and especialiy bacteria, Ly artificial sedimentation and filtration. Al- though bills are pending in Massachusetts and elsewhere to prevent the empty: the waste from tanneries, mills, dye ete., juto streams, it is questionable whether there is any justice in preventing the free use of rivers for the carriage of such im- purities. It {s true that much waste matter can be destroyed and that sewage can be rendered less dangerous by proper treat- ment, but for large stretches of country the river must still continue to be a sewer. The second method, then, must be the only feasible one, namely, the purification of water used for domestic purposes by treatment before it is sent into the pipes. House filtration has been shown to be use- less in getting rid of bacteria. Purification of the Water Supply by Sedimentation and Filtrati; In Europe 20,000,000 people are now regu- larly supplied with filtered water. This n the cities of the United States which have a public water supply. In London 5,000,000 of people receive 200,000,000 gallons daily of pure filtered water, from 120 acres of sand filters. Other cities thus supplied in Europe are Liverpool, Birmingham, Berlin, Leeds, Bradford, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Breslau, Magdeburg, Warsaw, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and Zurich. The facts of the decrease of the death rate with a pure water supply and perfected sewerage have been so often be- fore this seciety that it is not necessary to repeat them here. The history of Lawrence, Mass., which at one time had a large mor- tality from typhoid fever, and which now, with filtered water, has a greatly reduced mortality, is one of the most striking ex- amples in this country.For the four years be- fore the use of the filter the death rate, on a basis of 50,000 people, was sixty-four. In the first year afterward there was a reduction of 75 per cent, the death rate being sixteen. The uniform annual reduction in the death rate is about 60 per cent. In the year 1894 30,000 to 40,000 analyses of the water were made, which proved the success of filtration, about 99% per cent of bacteria being removed. ‘The value of sand filtration as the most convenient and effective method for the purification of drinking water is now so gen- erally admitted that it is not necessary to dwell upon it here. That this must be adopted ultimately for the water supply of ‘Washington there can be no doubt. Mechani- cal filtration, while more rapid, is in the end unsatisfactory, and has nothing to recom- mend It except its lower cost. ‘The cost of filtration beds and of the main- tenance of the system are the only objec- tions to their adoption. That the capital of this great and powerful country should hesi- tate to adopt means for the preservation of the health and lives of its population, which have been used for years in such cities as Rotterdam, Breslau and Copenhagen, does not argue strongly for our enlightenment as compared with theirs. We do not allow our- selves to be surpassed in the art of war, and we claim to lead in many of the arts of peace, but in the adoption of methods for preserving the lives of the people we have not yet reached the public spirit and intel- ligence of the governments of England, Germany, Switzerland and Kussia. And yet the growth of knowledge on this subject hes been so rapid that we may contidently hcpe for early and very eflicient action by Con- gress, which has already shown itself ready to act when once convinced. The cost of the new water supply of Bos- ton is $25,000,000, and there is very little doubt but that all this money will be soon quantity, | human life. late examinations reported by Dr. Kinyoun in connection with Dr. Kober’s report show that the water of the Potomac has been found to be suspicious or to contain in- testinal bacilli in numerous instances. Col- onel Elliot, in his report of 1894, says that “under the present conditions there ap- pears to be no cause for apprehension re- specting the healthfulness of the Potomac Water as delivered by the river into the intake of the aqueduct at Great Falls.” He bases this opinion largely upon the facts of the self purification of rivers un- a Investigations at Zurich (Switzerland) show that in the water of the river Limmat there is a rapid dis- appearance of bacteria below the point where the sewage of the city empties into The mean decrease of bacteria in the first six miles is 40 per cent, and at the bacteria would be reduced to the normal number “A river flowing at the mean velocity of four miles per hour ber about equals the total population of repafd in the lives saved. Indeed, there ts no waste of money when it is used to savy The-original cost at’ Lawrence, Mass., was $65,000, the running expcnses $4,000 per year. In one yeur there were forty-eight lives saved by sand filtration. Estimating the value of a human life at $5,000, Lawrence was repaid $175,000 over and above the cost of investment, and the running expenses are paid out of one life saved every year. The cost of the system rarely exceeds $3.50 per inhabitant, and the running expenses, including the the cost of construction, will not exceed thirty-five cents per inhabitant anpualiy. Improvement in the water supply of Chi- cago caused such a falling off in the number of deaths from diarrhoeal diseases and typhoid fever that, instead of leading th seventeen cities with a population of 20),- 000 or more, it took the sixth place in the list. “If the same death rate had obtained from typhoid fever and diarrhoeal diseases in 1844 that obtained in the four years im- mediately preceding, there would be 2,153 persons less living in Chicago than there are today,” (report of health officer). Thas in four years Chicago saved in money over $10,000,000 worth of human lives, and pre- vented an incalculable amount of human: suffering. DR. BUSEY’S RESOLUTIONS. The Need of Exte; img the Water Supply and Sewernge System. At the meeting of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia last night the fol- lowing preamble ard resolutions were of- fered by Dr. 8S. C. Busey and unanimously adopted: Whereas the city of Washington, being the capital of the United States, should be placed and kept in the best sanitary condi- tion; and Whereas such condition can only be se- cured by hi ving every habitation or habit- able house connected with an ample supply of pure dri: king water, and with a system of foul water and sewage disposal which will promptly remove such fluids beyond the city limits in such a manner as to ab- solutely prevent soil pollution; ‘Therefore, Be it resolved, First. That the geveral system of water supply from the Potomac river should be extended so es to be available for the sup- ply of every habitable building now in the city or which may be erected within the city limits, and that this provision should be extended as far as possible to the imme- diately adjacent syburban districts. Secqnd. That the general water supply should be purified by sedimentation and tration (the first being necessary 2 ¢ tain times and the second at all times) be- fore it is admitted to the mains. Third. That the system of sewerage which has been adopted should be extend- ed pari pas: with the system of general water supply until every habitable house can be readily connected with it. Fourth. With the completion and purifica- tion of the conduit system of water supply all springs, pumps and wells should be closed by such means and methods as will prove so effective that ro human being can obtain drirking water from either of these sources, Fifth. As rapidly as possible, pari passa with the extension of the conduit system of water supply and system of sewerage, the owrers of every habitable and inhabited house should be compelled to make satis factory ecnnections with such systems of water suptly and sewerage, and all priv: boxes, cesspools and other methods of di posal of human excreta be effectively abol- ished. Sixth. Without adequate supply of pure water for ill domestic purposes and sewer connections of habitable and inhabited houses pollution of soil, foods and drinks and the diseases due to such pollution can- Lot be prevented. “According to the report of the fire de- partment there were on July 1, 1895, 54, houses In the District.” Of thes S19 separate houses were cupplied with Poto- mac water for domestic purpores, and 1, supplied with Potomac” water exclusiv for business purposes.” There were 10,( houses not supplicd with Potomac wa! for any purpose, and 11,438 not supplied with Po:»mac water for domestic purposes. It is estimated that 41,272 horses are sup- plied with sewer conneciions, and 13,000 are “supplied with box privies and ord’ makeshifts.” The 41,272 houses with se connections contributed 261 of the t fever houses (Kober’s report), an 0% with privy boxes and makeshifts fur- infected houses. These mmarized from Capt. Burr's letter to the committee of the board of trade, and report of Dr. George M. Kober, show con- clusively, Dr. Busey held, the necessity of in ed ard adequate supply of pu drinking water, and such extension of t system of sewerage that will connect every habitable house with it. cape noes MADE THINGS LIVELY. An Emergency Patient Creatcs a Big Seusation. Life at the Emergency Hospital is by $a sineciire. The reguler duties of the resident staff of physicians, the nurses and the employes are not light or of a pleasant nature, from the sta: outsider, and at times episodes occur that are considered ¢qual to those that usually mark sensational 1 a few days ago things were so lively at the Emergency that the neighbors for a hun- dred yards around were disturbed, to & nothing of the patients and o' in the establishment, the situation f several hours being similar to a bull in a china shop, with a plentiful supply of blood ada- ed to give color. When the trouble was all over a summary shcwed that Dr. Smith hed been bitten, Dr. McGrath was suf ing with a painful chin, Dr. Peralto fel weary, the clothing of Walter Chapmz the head janitor, was badly torn, and Miss Wallace, one of the prettiest of the corps of nurses, had undergone a severe fright, to say nothing of the perturbed spirits of the engineer, the asrstant janitors, the am- bulance driver and the nurses. The unseemly state of affairs was caused by an injured colored man, who had carried to the hospital for treatment, who evidently imagined that he was at to be murdered. The patient had 2 drinking, which was largely responsibie for his conduct. At first it was thought to be a case of delirium tremens, but later di agnosed as a plain case of “pure cuss ness.” Reuben Bird was the name of th man, and while under the influence of liquor he fell from a building near 2ist and D streets, sustaining a scalp wound and a contusion of the knee. He was taken to the hospital about 10:30 o'clock in the morning and promaptly laid on the operating table in the emergency rocm. Bird was disrobed and appeared quiet until an at- tempt was made to explore the scalp wound, and right there the trouble began. He fought, ranted and raved in the most violent manner, accompanying the actions with cries of “Murder” and “Police,” an: was found necessary to call in the janitors, the ambulance driver and the engineer to hold the man on the table while the head was being bandaged. Not being pacified he was then placed in what is known as the strong room, an inclosure that differa from a private ward only in that it is guarded by a heavy, iron grated door. There he amused himself by shouting an: tearing off the bandages. At midday, when the house staff was at luncheon, Bird in some manner, as yet unaccounted for, freed himseif from the strong room and eppeared in the passageway, unclothed and with blood flowing from the wound in his head, just as Miss Wellace was leaving the dining room. With a fiendish yell he made a dash for the young lady, who also screamed, and stammed the door and lock- ed it. Bird then caused dire consternation in the kitchen, and next endeavored to reach the street. He was headed off, how- ever, by Chayman, the janitor. The pair scuffed and for a few minutes matters were just a little lively. Chapman is @ stalwart mean, but before assistance ar- rived the greater pcrtion of his clothing was in shreds, his face had been battered and generally he was in no condition to appear in polite society. ‘With great effort Bird was again placed in the strong room end strapped to the hospital cot, where, even in that condi- tion, he succeeded in destroying the bed- clothes and spattering the room with blood. Early in the evening an attempt wes made to redress the injury, and then the scene of the morning in the operating room was repeated with extensive embellish- ments. After the entire number of at- taches had been more or less disabled, Bird was strapped on the table and the ban- dages replaced. During the entire period the man pcsitively refused to take medicine ef any kind, and although morphia was given kypodermically it failed to quiet him. While he was on the table in the evening his brother reached the hospital and said to Reuben “Come on home.” ‘Thereupon the latter, to the astonishment of all, quietly arose, donned his clothing, drank the medicine, said “Good evening, and ceably walked out. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief and once again the usual Emergency calmness reigned. ipoint of an- .