Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-03-16
THE SANITARY MOVEMENTS GENER.
ALLY ON FOOT

There is an unmistakeable scare upon the
whole country, in the more than half formed
belief that summer may bring with it cholera,
that terrible dread of humanity, since its de-
monstrated power in past years. And, not
enough that we are subject to this dread for the
time being, we have along with it, fears Of the
'cattle plague" of ''trichine,'' and lastly, a
possible rupture with England through "Fe-
Man" complications, all these being quite
enough to constitute a goodly bundle of tor
ments for nervous people, even if we had moth
ing to vary them in the way of Presidential
coup d etat, such as at present figures in the
visions of certain radicals Either of these
contingent plagues-for they are all contingent
should be enough to keep one nationally in
trouble; but, when we have them all putting in
their claims as 6rst-class horrors, at once it IS
no wonder certain ones amongst us are some
what nervous, and begin to cast about to see
what can be done.
No evil hardly, is without some compensa-
ting good;-so it is affirmed by very wise peo-
pie at least, when we saw in book once
that even SANDER had its valuable uses as one
of the checks and balances of society to keep
people on their correct behavior, we began to
think that indeed there must be more in the
''law of compensation than most people sus-
pect. Let us see.
AS one of the first results Of the cholera
scare, New York, the dirtiest city this side of
classic "Cologne,' is getting probed and
scraped and washed, in a way never, dreamed
of in all the past; labor surprising, this
time; that famous "labor Of Hercules" mas
much as upon this occasion the "Augean
stable,' to be cleansed by the turning of a
river through it beats the ancient one both in
dimensions and filth, beyond all compare.
For all that, the cases are pretty fairly paral-
lelled, only that in this instance the Croton
figures in the place Of the classic stream, and
where in the annals of antiquity single Her
cules suficed to do the job, it on the present
occasion takes some thousands.
Again-in view Of the fearful revelations
constantly making by that modern Hercules,
the Health Commissioner, and in face OF the
declaration that "cleanliness is akin to godli-
ness" has it not become plainly apparent that
as Christian communities, certain ones here
have terribly retrograded? Are not the bath
loving Turks themselves, in one sense, better
Christians than that other nation. which COM
prised within the bounds of Gotham CON
stitutes the 'greatunwashed,' patronizes ''bob
calves as one of the staple articles of diet,
and which laughs at "slop milk" and Frank
Lesles horrible delineations of the distillery
Seattle plague"
And now, after this glance at our neighbors
as seen through their own spectacles,
there nothing for us to do in hunting up pro-
vacations to disease prodigally enough scat
tered around and through our own city, beau
titul and. clearly as we esteem it, when COM
pared to some others? Do we know. of no
repositories of garbage beginning to reek and
send forth poisonous vapors in the warm sun
that is again beaming upon us: is that worse
than the "Washington canal" Jones' Falls.
the only nuisance of the kind, well calculated
at the first chance to breed infection and cause
death?
We ask these questions, not so much as re-
minders to our authorities, as to our citizens
individually; for, after all, it must be the lat
ter, each on his own premises, who must deal
effectively with what threatens to destroy.
Not that we would incite needless fears; not
that we would make any needlessly uncom-
Portable; but then, cholera or no cholera, let
us, the first time for years. insist upon having
a thoroughly clean city; let us not stop until
Baltimore shall more than justify its standard
reputation of being one of the cleanest cities
of the Union.
Meanwhile, let none get prematurely I'M
comfortable at what the timid NAV see in the
distances for if ever there was a case to Justify
the pithy remark, that "an ounce of preven-
ton is worth pound of cure" this is the one.
With faith in the value of cleanliness, and a
determination the disease make its
appearance-to deal with it promptly, we be-
lieve that our city, with its established charac-
ter for health, may almost bid defiance to the
possible visitant. Making no provisions for
running away, but abiding by the conclusion
rather, that if it is IN the land, the wisest
course.is to adopt needed precautions and re-
main within reach of good medical aid, there
should be no panic, no tremor of the nerves.
but with trust in a good Providence and wise
means, await what He sends.