St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-06-14
Sanitary Reform.
THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH IN
COUNTRY AND VILLAGE,

COUNTRY AND VILLAGE.
DR.. A. H. Crosby and DR.. Conn OF
Concord, N. H., are writing for the
press of that city valuable articles on
sanitary reform, which are at least as
applicable here as there. DR.. Crosby
opens as follows:
The writer of this article recently dis
covered that persistent case of cry
sipelas in his family was caused by
sewer-gas, and the presence of the
deadly poison was due to the neglect of
the builder in not ventilating the drain
age-pipe. Upon bringing this defect to
the notice of the owner of the building,
he very readily agreed to apply the
only possible remedy, but asked two
very pertinent questions 1st, "Why
was not the necessity of ventilating a
drain-pipe known a few years since,
when the house was built ?" I'd, "Why
is it that people did not die from the
effects of imperfect drainage before
sanitary science was heard of qn To
answer these questions is the object of
this paper. 1t is fact that sanitary
science is yet in its infancy, and it is
only within very recent period that
its discussion has occupied any space
in secular journals. As late as 1848,
VischOw, celebrated German scientist,
wrote: 'sMedical reform has had it's
day, and sanitary reform is now the
question of the hour" Our own Flint
of New York, the highest living author
ity upon subjects whereof he writes, re-
Gently said: "The prevention of dis
ease is higher and more useful branch
of medicine than therapeutics" Until
within the last ten years or so eminent
medical writer's confined their researches
and their writings to the cure OF disease
alone and their wisdom never reached
the masses, except as filtered, largely
diluted, through the physicians. Now
the secular us well as the scientific pa
pers devote considerable space to the
consideration of the tepic-how shall
we keep out of the hands of the doc
tors and it is creditable to the intel
ligence of American physicians that
they are now taking the lead in the
needed reform and are giving the pub
lie the benefit of their experience and
observation in the most unselfish man
ner. For instance, the venerable DIR.
Snow of Providence, R. l., tells the peo-
pie that "where there is an abundant
| hCco, SOou Clcdu-
illness and pure air, with plentiful
supply of pure water, diphtheria cannot
prevail" DR.. Lindsey of New Haven
quotes this in pamphlet recently writ
ten and distributed gratuitously in the
city of his residence.
|
The answer to the second question is
very simple-people did die in scores
from the neglect of the simplest sanitary
rules, but the deaths were not attributed
to the right cause. They died of typhoid
fever or diphtheria but the origin of the
disease was mysterious. The season
was too wet or too dry. There was
something in the air. 1t was propa-
gated by conta.gion, ETC., etc. The loss
of ones friends was accepted as inevi-
table. While, had they literally taken
the advice occasionally given by street
gamins and followed their noses," it
would have led them to the source of
their bereavement in an overhOwing
cesspOOl, rOtted drain, foul well, a
heap of decayed vegetables in the eel
lar, filthy privy-vault, or vitiated air
from want of ventilation.
Every physician in Concord will tell
you that there has been marked de-
crease in the number of cases of typhus
fever since the city government intro
duced Long-pOnd water and established
a complete system of sewerage, and the
cases that do occur can usually be traced
to some local cause. That our increas-
ed immunity from this disease is due to
our supply of pure water and improved
drainage is proved by the fact that
neighbOring villages continue to suffer
as heretofore without any decrease in
the percentage of cases. | am sorry
that no reliable statistics are available,
but from general inquiry among our
most active physicians, l think l am
safe in the assertion that Concord has
40 per cent. less cases of autumnal or
typhoid fever than it had ten years ago,
and some physicians note the percentage
higher than this. The same is true to
a certain extent of that dreaded disease.
diphtheria, but this city has always been
singularly exempt from this scOurge, so
that our partial exemption cannot be
wholly attributed to our internal i'm
prOvements. 1t is a notable fact, how
ever, that while Manchester, Burling-
ton, VT, and many other places are suf-
fering terribly from diphtheria thepres-
ent winter, we have thus far had but
very few cases. Many small villages
in New Hampshire have suffered this
winter much more than Concord with
its twelve Thousand inhabitants.
In his second article DIR. Crosby learn
edly discusses the germ theory of dis
ease, as developed by the microscope,
and coming to practical application
of it, inquiries, "What is filth, in the
new sanitary sense of that word ~ and
answers the question thus:
DR.. VIM. Child of Bath. N. H.. in a
very able report to the Medical society.
alludes to the morbid sensitiveness of
people with regard to this portion of
our subject. He says:
You may maltreat man, and he will
grant you. pardon but suggest to him
that his cellar is not clean, or that his
drains are bad, or that his we'll is con-
tamlnated, or that his privy is disgust
lngiy odorOus, and he will never forgive
you. He calls you to treat his sick with
drugs, not to tell him of his sink drain
or water-closet. He is willing that you
should pocket fee, but do not suggest
to MIN that his premises are disagreeably
filthy. He will follow his family to the
grave, but you must not disturb that
little but lively devil, personal pride.
It is difficult to persuade the farmer,
VINO exhibits his dry and well-swept
stone cellar with pardOnable pride, that
the pm OF last years potatoes or the
small pile of half-decayed beets or car
rots III the dark corner is filth in its
worst and most dangerous form, any
more than you could convince him that
the water in his well is filthy, situated
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