Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-09-18
EPIDEMIC. DISEASES.
Bad sanitary condltions-Tho hu.
man eamiiy Responsible for Its
Prof. Hall, Of Michigan Universi-
tv writoa IN thu Gr0nb;c.

.. own Misery.
Prof. Hall, of Michigan Univers
ty, writes to the Graphic:
The experience and observation q
half century warrant me in sayin
: that the time will come when it wi
!, be as disgraceful for city or tamil
to have yellow fever, typhoid fevel
camp fever or cholera az it now is fo
school districts and families to hav
the itch and lousy children. Throug
extensive travel from time to time
became in love with the beautifu
climate and future possibilities Of th
, South, and soon began to study th
peculiarities of its dreadful scourge-
the yellow fever. BY driving int
the country from the infected citie
was astonished to find that no case
had ever originated on the planta
tions, clearly showing that it was no
q climatic but an eDdemical disease
On further investigation l found tha
each afflicted city had its infected dis
tricts, while other portions of tn
same city were in excellent health
Further analysis showed the diseas,
ragged worse among the dissipatet
and poorly fed, showing conclusivel,
that the disease is dependent on bal
sanitary conditions. just the sam,
with cholera aud typhoid fevers il
the North. Forty-six years ago th,
cholera made its appearance in New
York, thence communicating will
the filthy landings up the river, ther
from Albany and Troy up the Erie
canal as if it needed the waters or
which to swim, thus dealing dcstruc.
tion and death to all swampy stations
through its whole length to Buffalo
but it had no power to climb the hills
where good sanitary conditions ex.
listed. The same results were again
experienced in lS4S and 1852, clearly
showing the disease was endemic
and that it complied strictly..with the
rules of etiquette to visit a
place to which il had not been invit.
ed by il bad sanitary conditions.
| Fifty-fOur years ago robust, mid.
dle-aged Vermont Upcle, who boast
ed lO0-cow dairy, suddenly died OF
typhus fever generated in a field
where the whey was fed, being al
most literally poisoned by his own
hand.
Forty years ago it was talked In
Central New York that the diseases
were changin ing from malarial to a
typhoid type. What were the causes
Highly cultivated lands removed the
malarial causes. The feculent matter
from the drains, closets and
grave-y ards began to poison the wa
ter supply, and often emit deleterious
gases. These causes are general, but
villages and cities suffer much more
than the rural Districts
Though we read and talk of cities
and villages being dreadfully afflict-
ed with some Of these diseases. we
find, on investigation, it is limited to
neighborhoods and people of pecul-
lar habits.
A few winters ago it was said that
Chicago was being afflicted with the
most malignant type of scarlet fever
that was ever known. So much
alarmed was the country, they dared
not visit their Chicago friends, and
funeral ceremonies were prohibited.
Being familiar with the city, and
having previously come to the con-
ciusion that deepening the canal to
ten feet Of water to Joliet would give
Chicago tho possibility of becoming
the healthiest large city in the world,
felt curious to know the cause of
Chicago's great affiiction. Investiga-
tion showed that the disease was con-
fined to the districts along the
branches of the Chicago river, and
mostly to the south branch, where
are the great slaughter houses Of the
city.
Four years ago came home from
ten days absence, and was told that
. neighboring young lady had died
of typhoid fever, and the rest of the
family were quite sick; l was shock
ed, for ten days before this girl and
her family were among the most ro-
bust to be met on the street. Their
residence was on the highest point in
this vicinity, and supposed to be one
of the most healthy in the State
What could be the cause of their
illness? They were well-lo-do
and intelligent farmers. but, like
many farmers in hurry for spring
work they had left the spring clean
ing of the cellars for rainy day,and
premature hot weather stimulated de-
cay in refuse vegetables, carrying
sickness and death to the family.
Three years ago a neighbor, whose
palatial residence and grounds occu-
pies one of the most healthful sites in
this or any other State, and whose
constitution and health were SO good
that his weight had not varied y
pound in five years, came near dying
of typhoid fever. This gentleman
being of good habits, and whose res
idence seemed to be i'll the best posi-
BILE sanitary condition, was puzzled
to account for the cause of his illness.
have since learned that the gentle
man with an empty stomach aud in a
fatigucd condition, assisted in the ad :
justment of an old sewer connection
with q cess-poel.
One year ago last winter the Tolc-
do papers said that malignant diph-
iberia was raging dreadfully in that
city. 1t was especially severe on
boys and girls from six to twenty
years of age. They soon found that
it was confined exclusively to chill
dren of that age and finally to chill
dren who attended the Jefferson
Street school, whose drinking water
was found to be poisoned by the ca
cape of fecnlent matter from the
closets.
Did space allow, hundreds of clear
ly defined cases could be deduced to
show that yellow fever, typhoid fe-
yer and cholera ara neither Of them
climatic, epidemic or hardly endemic
diseases, but entirely dependent on
the filthy conditions which invite
them. Camp fever and ship fever
are dependent on similar causes, and
all are most surely avoided in the
natural climate Of any country. lam
also certain that with good sanitary
conditions in both, the climate in the
lower attitudes is healthier than in
the higher lattitudes. A daily maxi
mum of heat of seventy to eighty five
degrees 10 much healthier than the
extremes from zero to ninety de-
grees.
To keep densely populated coun.
tries in good sanitary condition the
dead should be cremAted, cities should
be thoroughly severed and daily
cleansed by an abundance OF water.
All fecuient matter in villages and
rural districts should be daily utiliz.
ed for fertilizing purposes by a copi
Gus mixture Of fine dry earth, muck ol
charcoal. OF course the stagnant wa,
ter in swamps must be removed by
bitches to prevent mslarial diseases
The earth can absorb and diges
large quantities OF feculent matter
but, when gorged, she vomits fortt
disease and death to all in the vicin.
lity. ISRAEL HALL,
University of Michigan, Department
Of Science, Literature and Arts
Ann Arbor, Aug. "A.
Five Children at Ono Birth.
From the Washington ID. CO. Post.
Mr.. Cassidy, An employe Of the Bal
tim0re and Ohio Railroad, living be
tween the Highlands and the ancien
City Of Bladensburg, has just attain
ed his Immortality, and the newspa
pers throughout the country will