Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-11-04

We are determined to stand acquitted o.
indifference to the duty of fOrewarning oul
people against the ad rance, no matter how
slow, of the Asiatic cholera. Philadelphia
has a worlds fame for cleanliness and vel
there are many localities here that seem te
be deliberately neglected to invite the de
stroyer Every citizen should make him
self q sanitary committee man, and every
household should be an example to others
The progress of the epidemic is in our di
rec ion, and, though its aspect does not
seem to be as fatal as when it slew its
thousands among the fanaticism and filth
Of the Turkish towns, we dare not trust tc
the cholera, the mildness of which is too
often like q snare to the incautiOus and
imprudent. The New York Hrening Post,
DIES pairing of all attempts to alarm ar per
s,,ade the authorities Of that large pest
house into precautionary measures, recon-
mends the following plan to the citizens.
Our own people can observe the suggestion
with advantage:
Cholera has two stages, a premonitory or
mild stage, and stage OF collapse, which
is fatal The prcmonitory stage is ushered
in By mild, painless diarrh9a, which gen.
orally continues for hours, sometimes for
days, before the stage of collapse sets in.
In this premonitory stage the disease is
readily and promptly durable by simple
remedies, combined with rest in the recum.
bent position. All that is necessary, there
fore, t. prevent q fatal attack of cholera is
that the patient shall lie down, keep warm
and quiet, and take such remedies as will
relieve the diarrhGa. A knowledge of
these facts led many English towns, in for
mer visitations of cholera, to organize u
body Of visitors, under the direction of a
central medical board, whose duty it was
to visit from house to house, two, three or
four times daily, and inquire IN every fam
~ for these cases of diarrhGa. Each Wis
itor carried the proper remedy, and per-
sonally attended to its administration and
to the confinement of the patient to his
bed.
The result of those organizations was
most happy; in numerous instances towns
lying in the direct track of the disease did
not lose q single inhabitant by cholera,
though thousand Of cases of painless diar-
rhoa were treated. In other instances, dis
tricts lying in large towns were covered
by these house to house visitors, and not a
case proved fatal, though the districts
around suffered fearful mortality There
is now a general movement in English
towns towards the formation of these corps
of visitors to meet the exigencies of the
pres cnt visitation of cholera Lord Brough-
am, Earl Shaftcsbury and other prominent
recommend these organizations
in the strongest terms.
Now to the plan. Let there be organic
ed in this city, uuder an advisory medical
board, corps Of visitors, among whom the
city shall he 30 districted that each visitor
can see the families under his surveillance
two or three times daily. Let the organi-
cation be effected Immediately. and held in
readiness to he put in operation on the
first appearance. of the epidemic. Each
visitor should be provided with the proper
remedies, and, if not medical man, be in
structed in his duties. In England many
of the visitors were ladies.
Fortunatelysit happens that we have in
New York an organization of medical gen.
tlemen not only fully qualified to undertake
this work, but which has oil the requisite
machinery thoroughly organized, and ready
to be put in immediate operation We al
Jude to the Sanitary Bureau of the Citizens
Association. This body is composed of the
following eminent physicians: Drs. Joseph
NJ. Smith, Jas. Anderson, Edward Della
field, Willard Parker, Alofzo Clark, Cur
don Buck, James H. Wood, Charles Hens.
chel, Alfred G. Post, Isaac T. Taylor, John
W. Draper, II. Ogden Doremus, Stephen
Smith, Henry D. Buckley, and Elisha Har-
ris 1t was this body Of gentlemen which
organized the corps of inspectors who, by
l. A<~I .SH Al
terials for the magnificent report on the
sanitary condition of New York, publish
ed recently by the association. The ma
chinery by which this minute examination
Of the sanitary condition of the people of
this city was effected is, we believe, still
perfect, and capable of being brought into
immediate and most effective operation,
with capacityfor such enlargement and ex.
tension as would meet the exigencies Gre
ated by the scvereet form Of cliolesa