The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-01-30
BREEDING TYPHOID FEVER.
THE HEiLTH BOARD STILL PURSUING
ITS INJESTIG ATOMS
Startling discoveries In Some Fast side Tenc-
ments- BUILDER. Making business for the
Undertaken What DIR. wilder has Seen,

Ht lhN'SAlEiAlOllO VI l'i''lt''l NuS'S VI tbll-
tagious diseases and the circumstances attcnd-
ing them Is the especial province Of DR.. r. L.
Wilder. Assistant Sanitary Inspector and in
the chnracteristcally thorough way in which he
has performed his duties he has been enabled
to form some clear and we'll grounded opinions
concerning the intimate connection between
such diseases and the insalutary conditions Of
dwellings. Without entering upon the question
OF the influence ~ impure atmosphere in az
grnvatng diseases not directly attributable in
their origin to II. but affected by IT, he speaks Of
such fevers-tvphoid malarial. and typho-mala-
rial-as spring from the poisonous carnations
of the sewers direct and AYERS that where they
could not be clearly traced to causes outside tho
city, he has not yet found one single case in
which, upon proper investigation, local causes
sufficient for their production were not found
in the homes Of the sufferers. From twelve 10
fourteen days are required for the development
ofsuch diseases after the infection has boon
Effected. so TINT n certain proportion Of cases
may hc set down to the account Of malarial in
nucnces in the country-say in Philadelphia or
parts of Long Island but this can in almost
every instance be clearly asccrained. All tho
others, after these. spring from local causes
which might be- prevented by intelligent appli-
cation oi sanitary precautions. A ILLUSTRATIONS
WIFI states nmons hiS iymhoiI exn we ,s
wns sent To examine into n cns' of typhoid
foyer IN Second nvenuc. between Forty-n nhand
fever. II was lOonted I'm the second story. One
person had already died. and others were sick.
The pipes wrre all right. and the people In the
house never noticed any bad doors. But down
I'm the relar-undrr a bakery. in which men
wer" nj work day nni night. MOSTLY in the night
drow-ine-s. They ddn't know what was the
matter with them. hut were sure It could not he
sewer rns. be- 'nusc thoro was no bad smell
Upon inspection found a great hole broken In
ih" sewer pipe and loosely covered over with "A
board and "A brick OF course, the gas was con-
Il I - non 90 n
now pipe Put In and IL Joints properly caulkcd,
and III" SICK soon got well. and the langui
FOLKS rapidly rcgaincd their customary activity
and strength.
"A more striking casc was found in second
avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets. in a
private house. the residence Of family in good
circumstances. who were almost indignant at
being SUSPECTED Of harSoTing sewer gas in their
diphtheria. and Immediately aftcrward three
Lersons were struck down by typhoid fever;
the house had smelt no, sewer odors. but all
complained OF sleeping late in the mornings.
preston OF spirits. There we're good traps un-
der the sinks and elsewhere: the waste pipes
We're ventilated and al seemed as 4 should be-
an apparently carelessly placed rag on the sewer
pipe 4 break in the pine as large as mans
with force enough to blow out dozen candles.
or course II assembled into the rooms and per
Incated the atmosphere Of the entire house.
We had a new, pipe mt in the sick got we'll.
AMI over since that has been q healthful house:
. Another case was reported from tenement
in Forty nth street. between Eighth and Ninth
avenues. whore n little girl died of typhoid
fever and several other persons We're suffering
with the same malady. went through an en-,
tire inspection Of the house above ground. and
all seemed as II should he. until an old washer
woman said to me that II | would go down into
privy 10 the sewer, | should he startled
lighted my little candle and went down. On the
into the sewer | found big hole. into
which large potato was loosely crammed rs
rushing out. The subsequent events were the
same as In the other places. new pipe, the sick
%nd a" IN as ss fve sr
tween Sixth and seventh avenues. found that
fatal case OF typhoid had been caused 10y the
tents into the privy. and thence through drain
into the sewer under the building. The poison
Gus odors assembled from the open cesspool
hoated into the tenants open windows. and 80
caused the disease. We had the system Of con-
strurion changed and there was no more ty-
ursrn, 12n,Elsipp, was n n, on Monday TO thu
bP"rn @, h"a'n; oy one OF ,ne tenmnts II row
street and Sanitary Engineer T. j. Nealis at
once went to me place; The houses are fives
two families in story. They arc CSC. 69l, G93
G95. 697 and 900 First avenue. and 1886 and 33s
sinks In the halls. and the Joints though gem
orally made OF cement or apparently common
mortar. DO not give occasion for grievous COM
plant. But vast double privy. with ten com
pariments. il allotted for two OF these houses.
These outhouses stand behind the tenemcnts.
not more than sixteen 20 twenty inches distant
from the windows OF the front stories. except
for the houses in Forticth street From their
roofs rise small square wooden yentilating
pipes, not more than three inches in diameter.
and about six feet long. reaching Just high
enough to pour their efiiuvia into the windows
Of the second stories. The vaults beneath
them are about twelve feet long. eight feet wide.
and presumably five or six feet deep.
In the cellars q waste pipe IL simply poked
into hole in the large sewer pipe, where II
bends down from the, priyy vault toward the
cellar floor. and its liquid contents leak out.
| The privy sewer joints are open. and, at the
| first Joint in the floor. an end Of a section is
simply laid against the huh Of that next TO it
not even slipped into L.. The opening here in
the sewer is hig enough to thrust q mans hand
into. The result is that the cellars are in hor-
The houses were built by c. A. Buddensck
and. according to Mr.. Kyle. the agent are now
owned by him. II is understood that Miller 4
Peckham hold first mortgage on them. Tor a
loan adyanced to enable their completion,
No; ,6sI FIRST avenue. owned by Mr.. Clark. has
| the discharge from leaky waste pipe; and in
the sewer pipe there is hole into which YOU
Yesterday. up to o'clock. the Board Of
Health had received thirty-three private com
and requests for official Inspection. Many OF
them We're from. residents Of tho best class Of
dwellings, On Monday thirty four complaints
Were received; annumber of them from residents
in Fifth and Madison avenues and Grnmercy
place. During the week ending yesterday the
inspectors and Assistant Inspectors OF the
Board of Health madc 800 oiiicial Inspections.
Of which 7sg were in tenemcnts III in private
dwellings, and 80 in other places. From
these resulted as reports Of co9diloas
necessary for the enforcement Of sani-
tary regulations. II is desirable that the
public should understand that every resident
has n right TO mn inspection Of the sanitary
condition of his dwelling. that the making If
such an inspection 10y competent official Of
the Board of Health costs nothing. and that II Is
his duty Ia his family and neighburs TO have
such an inspection made. II he has any reason
- suspect that there are in his house condi.
tons dctri mental to health In majority Of
instances :. the presence ot sewer gus may h" in
/ i"rrrd from The prevalence of bad smells in a
| house during wet weather. or from the accumu-
latlon of foul air in any closed closet or room.
Tenants need not fear the exposure Of their
names If they make complaints. Their names
are taken simply IA evidences OF good faith and
appear only on the private records Of the SAN
! itary Department. Any action compelling re-
pairs by landlords must be ordered upon the
positive report OF sworn inspector, and no
| other persons name appears. This assurance
| IL given, because many tenants oylnce an actual
| fear OF landlords and agents. and can ensllv be
| hulldo2ed into stultifying themselves and deny
| ing the evidence of their own senses when
| brought face To face with the possibility of ex-
| pulsion from their tenements when their means
| are slender.
The Labor Troubles mt Lynn.
| BosroS. Jan. 29.-The shoe manufacturers Of
/ .NNaA all