The New York herald., 1870-05-20
The Health and Life Of Every Man, Woman
and Child Of the City Dependent
Upon Its Promptitude, Vigil
lance and Fidelity.
Prospective Policy Of the New Regime
and Immense Amount Of Work
to Be Done.
Extensive Remedial and Reformatory Measures
Required and What They Are.


comes great river, and, four thousand miles away,
the mighty Missouri dcoouches into the Mexican
gulf. These rvulets obey universal law. Great
results come from small beginnings. Generally stir
ring events OF the past illustrate this principle and
Che great revolutionary movements OF the present
give it vital confirmation The same gcnerallaw oI
nature holds good in reference TO epidemcs in
cities It s by neglect here little and there little,
that they grow into devastating plaques, and, like
the gentle riyuet swollen into the turbid, angry
monster river, becomes perfectly resistess, ami
with the overwhelming sweep OF their tumultuous
how bear everything before them. There
NEVER NEED BE AN EPIDEMIC IN NEW YORK.
All that Is required are the proper preventive
measures in the outset These measures ample,
and the Board Of Health at present constituted Is
endowed by the provisions Of the new Charter with
every requisite power to employ them. There is,
happily every cheerful promise and reasonable hope
of encouragement that 1t will. This promise ana
hope are based on the high and trustworthy charlc
ter OF the men appointed members of the Board. and
the belief Is that opening their to the importance
of the sacred trusts committed to their keeping
they viii do their duty boldly, firmly ana vigilanty.
Involved In these trusts the health and life Of
every man, and child living in the city. 1t Is
fearful responsibility. No Other executive branch
OF the city government has thrust upon 1t RESPONSE
billty anywhere approaching 1t in weight ana i'm
pOrtance
OUNCE OF PREVENTION POLICY.
Il Is clear the first place. that the old apothegm
Of an ounce Of prevention being better than pound
of cure must be the primary guiding principle OF the
new Board Of Health The incisive force of this
principle requires no argument. The time to apply
It s now, at once. The summer months are close at
hand. good amount Of work that should have
been done long ago. and which the Old Board lack
ing in energy and crippled In means, did not and
could not do, should be done Immediately. This Is
Just the time for the inception of epidemics Yellow
fever tina. much dreaded disease, that made sucn
devastating havoc OF human lives In this city
in 1882, has already been brought here on
shiDboard from the tropical Islands and other
places where this terrible malady is indi-
genOus. and as the warm season advances
there viii be more frequent arrivals Of ships with
crews and passengers ancted with the same conta-
glous scourge. 1t is rapidly approaching also the
favorable for snip fevers to be more frequent
and virulent for smallpox to assume O more pesti-
lenta sway, and for that most fearful and deadly
all epidemics the cholera usurp the sceptre OF its
fatal and uncOnstrained power. AS Is well known
there is more or less smallpox now in the city, while
various fevers almost as fatal yellow fever though
less swift In reaching the eliminating point OF fata.-
~. still prevail to large and alarming extent Our
weekly records Of mortality likewise snow the exist
ence OF other endemcal diseases, of less vlruent
type 1t is true than those named, but still whose
presence in the city is much to be dreaded
NIP CONTAGION IN THE BUD.
In the line OF their official duties the next thing
obviously devolving upon the Board OF Health is to
use Its utmost endeav0rs to nip existing contagious
in the bud and to cut or at once the boss0mng buds
Of disease wherever they appear and in all their null
0far1Ous TOrms the great question Is now this is TO
be done. 1t Is certain that to conserve the public
health 1t must be done, and that II 1t is not done
duty on the e. part Of the Boara Of Health One Of the
first things IN the way OF prevention and staying
contagion requiring the attention OF the Board is to
KEEP THE STREETS CLEAN.
To describe the present filthy condition OF very
many OF our streets would make up a chapter as
nnvarying in moDotony as the description would be
unending. Cutters reeKing with refuse and gan
QrenOus garbagea MIXTURE In fact, OF all the viii
lan0us compounds that are viley odious to the
senses and deeterOus 10 the health-are to be seen
In nearly every street. while the streets themselves
are encrusted with dirt and filth, pregnant with
miasma and whose pestiferous vap0rs I'LL the air
with subtle and sckIy essences, terminating disease
and death. Commencing at the lower end OF the
city there are washington and Greenwich streets,
which look though they had not been cleaned for
months. AS far up as Washington Market there are
continuous Accommodations or dirt and garbage
On the east side OF town. 1t Is no better In Water
and Cherry streets, from Catharine Market down.
William street, from Duane to Frankfort street, is
particularly filthy, and that, too. with wooden
pavement there, making 1t much easier to Keep the
street clean than ordinary cobbe stone paved streets
The lower end OF Mulberry street is most vely dirty
and so with The lower portion OF Mott. The cond
tiOn Of Baxter, Bayard and Roosevelt streets
passes description. In fact nearly every street In
indigenous and chrome, may lay clam TO being the
chez GGurre Oflnasness. good deal OF Pearl street
IL in horrible state and so Elizabeth White, Frank
lin, Leonard and Worth streets the two last particu
larry so from Centre to Baxter street. We cannot
steer amss Of dirty Streets The same continuously
revolving spectacles OF mingled dirt and tilth are
60 he seen In vandewater, Rose. Dover. the lower
part OF Henry street, Madison, Clinton, Montgomery
Gouverneur and scammel streets. Up town it is
better but here are to be found abundant lanes and
streets rivalng in accumuatons OF dirt and dis
tillations OF vilanOus smells the older down town
A. Lnr sv&Sfa EA~ otxxthr
between First and Second avenues. is almost one
mass OF ELUSIVE and de,eericus filth, and in quite as
bad condition Is Fiftieth street. between Ninth and
might continue these references and descriptions TO
unending length. but 1t is unnecessary to do So
The fact that the streets OF this city have not been
Kept clean for years and that majority OF them
still allowed 10 remain horribly dirty is potent to
anybody having either eyes TO see nose capable
OF the sense of smell. And this brings us to the
consideration or the important question
% HOW M THE STREETS s ARE aI NOW S BEING CLEANED
the failures of contractors to fulfil the conditions Of
their contracts would be fruitful theme for evolving
q wide field for curious and cutting comment but
this Is unnecessary Tor our present purpose. Passing
present Not long since. when the contract fell into
the hands OF a distinguished gentleman who had
previously ran as the reform candidate for Mayor,
but was defeated. there was glimmer OF hope in
the public mind that things would not be IN this
regard AS they had peen; that the streets would be
pors and electric with the vital, health.glvhe
Influences Of normal admxture Of nitro
gen, hydrogen and carbon. 1t proved a
delusive hope. To be sure there was some i'm
provement on the past but the great and saving
clause after all was the refreshing and clearf
Tying rains, those kindly auxiarics OF power
higher than contractors, whose benefcently
deluging waters cleansed Of their oral
debris street and alley and lane and
gave revivifyng purity to the AIR. This
great reformer. who was paid rom the city trea-
sury $495.0O0 year for the work he should have
done, either unable TO stand up longer under the
storm OF abuse heaped upon his head or else COM
petely satisfied with the net profits already accrung
TO himself from the contract sold the same to snc
present contractor. Our references above to the
present condition Of large number OF our streets
show concusively without necessity Of further com.
ment, how the present contractor II doing bis work,
or rather how he is not doing 1T. n
THE DIFFICULTY AND THE REMEDY.
These are TWO most important points. Fortunately,
It is very easy to explain the first and equally easy
10 indicate the latter. The dinlculty Is that the
contract under which he streets at present being
cleaned is not sufficiently extended and exactng in
its stipnatons Itrequires Broadway, for instance
to be cleaned every tw entyfour hours, and so Fifth
avenue and some Of the other up town avenues.
" or nj 10 nutra