The Portland daily press., 1877-07-27
THE
Sanitary Condition
PORTLAND.
Il REPORT PRESENTED TO THE
MAINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
FREDERIC HENRY GERRrsu, w, d,
Il REPORT PRESENTED TO THE


the control of contagious diseases, and many
Others of a similar character. 1t would also be
necessary to accurately describe the topography
OF the town, the meteorological influences to
which it is subjected, the natural wholesome.
ness of the region, the physical characteristics
OF the inhabitants, their method of living as
regards their occupations, dwellings, personal
habits and moral attributes, the proportion of
the native born, the number from each foreign
nation the age distribution and SO forth,
While it is very desirableIthat such report
should be made, it is clearly impracticable in
the present circumstances. In the first place,
many of the esse ntial data cannot possibly be
obtained; and, even if they could, the collec-
tion of so vast an amount of material and its
arrangement in such form as to develop and
make available for practical use all the facts
involved would necessitate an expenditure of
time and money which probably no competent
person in the state is able and,willng,to afford.
Therefore, only few of the moreltprominent
and weighty subjects will be!touched upon.
Those selected for especial consideration are
the vital statistics of Portland, the prevalence
of infective diseases, the condition of the sewer
age, and the character of the water supply,
AS far as it seems advisable, suggestions of a
practical character will be offered with refer
ence to the removal of certain abuses which are
believed to exist
VITAL STATISTICS
All sanitary measures are based upon vital
statistics. This would seem to be so obviously
true statement as to require no argument in
its support; and yet the force of it is appar-
emily appreciated by those only who have
made sanitation special study-as is attested
by the condition of registration almost every
where in this country. We can know nothing
accurately Of the healthfulness of town un-
less we are informed of the number and kind
of accessons to its population, and the num-
ber Of decrements and their causes Without
such facts, it is impossible to prevent disease
and death to any great extent, or to success
fully arrest an epidemic when it has broken
out.
Vital statistics, in order to be of considerable
value, must embrace, at least. data concerning
the births and deaths in community. With
regard to the former we should know the date
OF birth, the street and number, the sex, name
and parents names, race, nationality, occupa-
tion and civil relations; about the latter we
SnOulu Know tDe QeCeu6nES name, sex, age,
residence, nationality, race, occupation, civil
condition, cause of death and place of burial
These data must be carefully collected, must
come from reliable sources, and be intelligibly
recorded. The vital statistics of Portland are
deficient in every one of these essential partic-
ulars; for, besides being less comprehensive in
plan than they should be, care is not takeDtin
gathering them, they come from untrustworthy
sources, and the record of the little which is
deemed sufficient is often so ipcoherent and
q Q IN "a rIv olool foro
full purpose. 1t is not easy to imagine that any
system which makes pretensious to worth can
be worse than that which obtains here. The
record of births is made by the City Clerk.
He gets his information from the assistant
assessors, who once year in O tour of the
city, make certain inquiries concerning those
who have been born in the preceding twelve
months. Whoever responds to the call at the
door Crowded he can give intelligent answers
to the assessors questons) is considered COM
petent to furnish the desired data. One can
readily see that many deficiencies must occur
from Indifference, forgetfulness haste or irrta-
ton on the part of the interrogsted person. as
well as from the failure to receive any response,
as in cases where the house is temporarily
closed or the family permanently removed
from town. The whole system amounts prac-
tically to the city governments putting pre-
mum on the deliberate ignoring of the statute
which says that parents, householcers, mas
ters of work-houses, alms-houses. prisons and
vessels shall give notice to the clerk of their
town OF the births and deaths which take place
in their families, houses or vessels" and any
person who neglects for six months to perform
such duty shall forfeit and pay one dollar for
each offence"
The deaths are .recorded in the following
manner: When person dessthe undertaken
who provides the coffin is required by law to
I'LL out blank in which are spaces for "date of
death. place. of death, full name, full name of
parent, full name of husband, disease, age,
when buried and some details as TO the exact
location of the grave. The information on
most of these points is presumably supplied by
the family of the deceased. What they do
not know or have not furnished is guessed at,
and the report is delivered to the Superintend-
ent of Burials, who records the statements in
book kept for that purpose. The imperfec-
tions of this method are as numerous as posi-
BILE. In the first place it is very certain that all
the deaths are not recorded. Still-born children
are often buried without invoking the aid of
any official of the city, and, even when an un-
dertaker is called, it is by no means sure that
the service will be mentioned in the Supern-
tendent's book. On the blank form on which
returns are to be made it is stated that the or
dinance will be strictly enforced which requires
the Superintendent to report to the City Coun-
Gil the name OF any undertaken who has not
reported within twenty-four hours after inter-
ring the body of any deceased person; and yet,
though no such delinquency is ever brought to
the notice of the Council, there are evidences
in the book of records that undertakes are
sometimes very dilatory, the one day occasion
ally stretching out into some weeks. As this
is allowed, 1t is easy to believe that some, per-
haps many, burials are never reported at all.
The accuracy Of the reports which do get re-
corded is not incapable of impeachment. Ger
tain OF the records are good illustrations of the
extent to which the city government has some
times appreciated the Importance of vital sta
sistics, showing, as they do, the. capacity and
educatlon OF some incumbents Of the Superin-
tendents office. Opening entirely at random
volome of entries not ten years old. the column
headed Disease" showed thirty-seven items
and more than half that number of ortho-
graphic blunders. of which the following are a
fever, Softning braine, Parlyese, Inflemtun
bluder, Pneumonear." On other pages of the
same years book occur these in
genious and diversified spellings:
diese Disese of brain, Hart deseze, Hart deises,
Cholry, Dround. Appoexey, Tething, Theet-
ing, Megsles, Mezels, Coery Infantm, New
monia, Whoping Coff Query: Was the error
in emitting from the adjective an o or app
Hoping Coff, Chick Pok, Carlet fever, Sclaret
fever, Calert Rash, Croop, Dibeaters, Croneck
Dlrea." and too many others to mention. Moth
ing less than photography can convey to one
who has not inspected it an adequate notion of
the record. 1t would hardly be fair to judge
mans ability by such a display as this, bad as
it is; for there some intelligent and able people
VINO are hetarographic prodigies, having nat
ural inaptitude for this arbitrary and perplex-
ing branch of study. But when a public
othcer of this city records death from "Old
Age, at three months" and writes still
born opposite the name Of person who has
attained to the ripeness of "seventy -four
years, it may not unreasonably be claimed
that no has committed an offence which no
mans understanding can condone. These are
BY no means solitary examples. Quite recent
~ worthy citizen was charged with having
died OF Trombone" whatever that may be;
and 1t will presently be seen that the alleged
| causes of death often seriously tax both the
| ingenuity and the charity of the reader.
| lolnce this report was presented to the Asso-
| clation, an undertaken has given notice of a
| death from "a Ulster one the Stumick;' and l
| am informed by the City Clerk that, sometime
l ago. a patriarch of ninety years was represented
to have come to his untimely end in Child
| birth
Data from such sources and through such
| media are of little scientific value; and yet
few points of interest can be discovered in this
| mass OF rubbish, a few things which are prob.
| ably near approximations to the truth. We are
| not likely to be greatly fnisled by the state
ments respecting the ages sof the decedents;
| for the most illiterate of coffiG-makers might
| be trusted to guess withn few months of the
/ age OF baby, and would not ridiculously fail