The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-09-19
EP iDEMIC DISEASES-rHE HU-
MAN F4NILY RESPONSIBLE
EDR ITS OWN VI SEHEES.

One of the most learned men in tie
country and scutest Investigators of the
laws of health is Prof. Hall, of Michl-
gan University. He has written of cpl
deu,ic and contagious diseases an arti-
Gle containing more good praticsl sense
| than any We have encountered. He
discusses the condition of Austin, with
out designating the place, with infinite
clearness of apprehension. When this
is the cleansst it will be the most
healthful of American cities. The first
sentence uttered by the venerable and
learned Professor should live immortal
in our memories. He says:
The experience and observation of
half a century warrants me in saying
| that the time will como when it will
be as disgraceful for city or family
| to have the yellow fever, typhoid fe-
yer, camp fever or cholera as it new is
for school districts and families to have
the itch and lousy children. Through
extensive travel from time to time l
became in love with the beautiful eli
mate and future possibilities of the
| South, and soon began to study the
peclliarities of its dreadful, scourge-
| yellow fever. By driving into the
country from the infected cities, was
sstonished to find that no cases had
ever originated on the plantations,
clearly showing tdat it was not a eli
matte but an endemical dite&se. On
further investigation l found that each
sffl cted city had Its infected districts,
while other portions of the same city
were in excellent health. Further an
alysIs showed that the disease ragged
worse among the dissipated and poor
ly fed, showing couclusively the dis
ease is dependent on bad sanitary con-
ditions. Just the same with cholera
and typhoid fevers in the North. For
| ty-six years ago cholera made it's ap-
| pearance in New York, thence COM
munlcating with the filthy landings up
the yer, then from Albany and Trov,
up the Erie canal as if it needed the
waters upon which to swim, thus deal
and destruction and death to all
swampY stations through its whole
length to BalTalo, but it had no pow
er to climb the hills where good sani-
tary conditions existed. The same re-
suits we're again experienced in 1913,
and 1852, clearly showing the disease
was endemic, and that 1t complied
strictly with the rules of etiquette
never to visit place to which it had
not been invited by Its bad sanitary
con 1ltion.
Fifty four years ago robust, mid
dle-sged Vermont uncle, who boasted
of 100-coR daIry, suddenly died of
typhus fever, generated IN field
where the hay was fed, being almost
literally poisoned by his own hand.
Forty years ago it was talked in
Central New York that the diseases
were changing from a m2lanal to ty-
phoid type. What were the causesi
Highly cultivated lands remove the
malarial causes. The feculent matter
from the drains, water closets and
grave yards began to poison the water
supply, and often emit deleteriOus gas
es. These causes are general, but viii
lages and cities suffer much more thar
rural districts.
Though we read and talk of village:
anu cities being dreadfully afflicted
vita some of these diseases, we find,
on investigation, 1t is limited to neigh
boIhoods and people of peculiar hab-
is.
I. few winters ago it was said tha
Chicago was being afflicted with th,
, most malignant type of scarlet feVe
that was ever known. SO much alarmed
was thG country, they dared not visi
their Chicago friends, and funeral cef
emonies were prohibited.
t Being familiar with the city, ant
: having previously come to the conclu
, sion that deepening the canal to tel
feet of water to Joliet would give Chi
i caso the possibility of becoming tn
, Sealthiest large city in the world,
e felt curious to know the cause of Chi
cago's flliction. Investigation showet
that the disease was confined to tn
districts along the branches of the Chi
: cago river, and mostly to the sout
n branch, where are the great slaughter
houses of the city.
Four years ago / came home from {
: ten days absence, and was told that
: neighboriDg young lady had died Q
il typhoid fever, and the rest of the fam
lily were quite sick. | was shocked
:, for ten days before this girl and he
family were amor G the most robust 4
8 be met on the street. The residenc
e was on the highest point in this vicin
p ity, and supposed to be one of tie mos
healthy in the State. What could b
the cause of their Illness? They wer
], well .to-do and intelligent farmers, but
d like many farmers, In hurry for sprin
( work, they had left the spring clean
= ing of the cellars for rainy day, an,
premature hot weather stimulated de
cay in refuse vegetables, carrying sick
:, ness and death to the family.
G Three years ago a neighbor, who's
. palatial residence and grounds occr
pies one of the most healthful sites i
u this or any other State, and who's
= constitution and health were so goo
Vt that his weight had not varied poun
n IN five years, came near dying of y
:, phoid fever. This gentleman being [
good habits, and whose residence an
e grounds seemed to be in the best pos
sible sanitary condition, / felt puzzle
is to account for the cause of his illness
> have since learned that the gentle
man, with an empty stomach and in
u fatigued condition, assisted in the al
e iustment of an old sewer connectlo
d with cess-pool.
One year ago last winter The Toled
papers said that malignant diptheri
IL was raging dreadfully in that city.
Ie was especially severe on boys and CIR
re from six to twenty years of age. The
:, soon found it was confined exclusive'
to children of that age, and finally
Is children who attended the Jeffersc
= Street school, whose drinking wat
r was found to be poisoned by the e
:, cape of feculent matter from closets.
, Did space allow, hundreds of clear
Il defined cases could be deduced to sho
st that yellow fever, typhoid fever an
ic cholera are neither of them climati,
10 epidemic or hardly endemic disease
= but entirely dependent on the filth
~ conditions and habits which invl
70 them. Camp fever and ship fever q
b. dependent on similar causes, and 9
re are most surely avoidable In the nat
=. raj climate of any country. am al
certain that with good sanitary cond
J. tons in both, the climate in the low
III latitudes is healthier than IN the high
in latituies. A daily maximum beat
A. seventy to eighty-tive degrees is mu'
healthier than the extremes from ze
V to ninety-tlve degrees.
re To keep densely populated eountri