The daily gazette., 1875-11-11
WILMINGTON. DEL. NOV. II. 1873
The Public Health.

Perhaps We may except our public
schools, but certainly next to them our
public health demands the greatest care.
The American Health Association" is
now sitting in Baltimore, and we regret
that we are unable to give our readers
many Of the excellent papers read be-
fore it by some Of the ablest and most
experienced physicians in the country.
But this we cannot do, neither our time
ror our limited space will permit. Those
Of our readers who get the Baltimore
papers should be careful to read the
opinions of the many very able and dis
tinguished physicians that are published
in the proceedings of the Association.
Among them is very interesting letter
from Archbishop Bayley, from which we
make the following extract:
When first went abroad, in 1S4l,
remember recording in my journal in
Paris, that it was dirty city" Out
side of the great thoroughfares the gut
ters were still in the middle of the streets.
and the usages which made Edinburgh
somewhat dangerous and highly odori-
ferrous" were still in vogue. Now it is
the cleanest and best lighted city in the
world, whilst some of our American
cities are as dirty as the towns in China.
We all know what drainage has done
for London. The river Thames, (for the
river needed drainage as much as the
city in 1874 by putting into it a guam
tity of dead oil SO as to cause the more
solid substances in the river to coalesce,
you might literally have set it on fire.
It's waters, so called by courtesy, may
kave been good for the manufactory OF
beer and brown stout, but it must have
been poor article to make tea with.
A proper system Of drainage has made
towns in England and Scotland, which
were decimated almost every year by
typhus, thoroughly healthy. There are
fow things in which cause and effect are
more closely united than bad drainage
and typhus. With us the great difficulty
in having the sound principles scienc
has made known to US upon these sub
Jects carried out in practice This comes,
as we all know, from our political system
which, however beautiful in theory, is
never more unfortunate in practice than
when applied to municipal matters. The
plague-spot in our city OF New ork is
the system of tenement houses, covering
often every inch of the lot upon which
,hey are built, badly lighted, badly en-
;lated and badly arranged in every re-
spect except for the landlords purse.
No one who has not seen them would be-
lIeve that such places would he allowed
10 exist in a city calling itself Christian
and civilized.
There are thousands of citizens whc
suppose our city is properly drained ant
10 it is from the surface But nalaris
does not rise from the surface alone. On,
llsin street Is not drained ~ AL us i
should be. The property holders ol
Market street are actually not aware o
the fact that it is one Of the most filthy
streets in the summer. Its immense
cutters are often filled with purifying
substances. and are actually offensive I,
the eye and disgusting 10 the nostrils
There is not public business street il
New York or Philadelphia half 10 often
sive. What is needed il a large common
sewer into which the water should b,
turned at every square. This woulC
drain the whole Of the property con
nections with it being made by all tn.
stores and dwellings. The cutters woult
then be only about eight inches wide. a.
IN Broadway, New York, and the stree
bed made level 80 that it could be readil,
driven over to its whole breadth. III,
pavem ents might then te made thrc,
feet wideE on each side Of the street.
Is now between the curbs ar wide H
broadway; and three feet could :,
spared without contracting it too mucl
for our trade. This work should be don
by the City Council and the propert,
holders required 10 pay for it. The COS
would probably be $50 for each store .
20 feet front, and we are confident tha
each property would bring $500 to $50
more in consequence of the improve
ment. 1t would make Market street on
Of the finest promenadeS, whereas tn
pavem nts now narrow to pre-
perly eoommodate the people on man
occasions. This improvement coul
easily be effected and would greatly ed
to the public health and the beauty an
commercial convenience of the city.