, 1879-05-31


great q'lrst!nn In my mind H. Wtnt distance ran
,trs,,n lYg from tl,ene prsiii.altnl liolca With
out beins III danger @rofn the poso1i esl,anattng
from Item u tlAcAAo or dcnthf
Uf. l'crt, IN flfs nrtlclt in THE SUNDAY THIN
uHH 1T MaY u, In tho nlnin In clear and cO9cnt
on this aublcct, shnfI not offer any statistics
gathered irotn printed rccor1s, but VII! gsc you
few fncts frun my own experiences u
l!opo thereby to gIvs somo idea as
tn the 1istnncc these potsons extend their
dclelcrious Inllnoncc. III thc ycar 81 1s5+ VIA
IN general practices In country village In OhiD,
living ut, ono Of the grand old hI'a where fnala-
rial fcvers ntvor came. in the tEuntit Of june
pfnwea IN iuxutions growth Of grnss iu a tim
acre field; on thts t1e'd of turnrt~ovcr sod hc
1uxursant growth: this l,o Ilosscd In, n,n' sowed
winter wl,eht on thr ground. 1n(nrc The wheat
vas fairly np! dense, yIie-sn,cll',g it,s arose
from tno nef1 every t'lnht Until cold weather
ry1nittcnt, Intermittent. an' dumb aeue during
tho tati a,rl carly part Of winter md tc
next spring. IN tho fntni!ics TINT l!gcd within
aqunrter of 3 mile Of II. In an adjoining torn,
large swamp caurht Hrs and barRcd many acres
Ut trees anl shrubs, lrarlnK large excavation,
which partly filled with water 1rom the rains;
5rnfn thls aFoso . dense for, causlng 1na1atlal
fevcrs ot very pe5nscfous typo to TIE inlabit-
Tero very mitch nlaltncd. u.s. they i1Atl previous
to llIts hec,l exempt from malastoils fcvets.
A gentleman purci'ased M n'd farm = lstlc
more than mills from tile vllaxe where lived,
a large, tiles farnl-house. Tic conducted from
his kItchen.sink at upIer.draln, leaving the
month ot It Just ousstde tue house filled
With broken STONES: hls 1cdroom-wlndow on
tl!c Irst aoor Overlooked this at distance of
about ton feet. Jle bedroom opened Into
dining-rooru md n iargo parsor with good ventt-
lattos. lie At! hfs wife wtrc both stricken down
the san,o day with typt,otd fever, from Which
tiic room with ti,uta Ut tho tIne uiey we're A.
tackled. Neither this child NOR anr other fnoItl-
lor Of the family Ind the fever; the reason Ut
the clifd's escaping may hayo been because
children aro isss liable to take typhoid fever
ti1an Assu}ts.
IlIo ccmoterv Of cur village was located on
tho stopc Of hill; one quarter Of 4 mile below
this were two farm tionBcs nenr together; with.
In two Or tlrco rods OF these houses wau atnornd
after heavy rain they found tlmt 1t hccame i'm
puro. md after a time It became so bad that
they abandoned 1t entirrly, even fgF washing
purposes; 1t waa covered With tflck scun1
season there was very unpleasant odor ris!ug
from It TINT could be smelled for several rods.
Tile farnor who had built and occupied one Of
these houses, after lostnE several children,
1I]ored to the village: hb rented tI!e houses TO
tr,,ants, but they wero Obliged to abandon them
on ncconnt Of Ill health.
Upon crltical examination Of tl,e water #
VIVA supposed to be ln,prcRnascd With the oil mud
decay o. the bodies In In TIC &c ,cem'etcry.
Daniel Ds0tnard In 1868, he remarked that he
was frequently consutted by lawyers and bust.
ness men, whD wcso fearful tllat. they had the
5yv syp0%s eT g.nfmso q sosag @ ce 9, .s
tlcnselres many hours 70 their Offices, but tlcir
work should not Ut itself have caused the mcu-
tal and phssicn! opprcssions OF. dcprcsslons Of
which they at t1,ncs complained. lie sa1l l,e
would like to know how much soweF-gas poison
contributed to tue causo Of thc,F bad feelings.
This eminent physician md surgeon, md founl-
Ct Of the first mculcal college in ChtcaEo, witt.
ail Of his medical lore, only mad l1s suspicious
ut thls time arnuscd to this dcath-dealing poi.
sou. At this ttme thero were but few il auy
securely trapped buildings in the city.
In 1btt5 lad practical test OF sewer poison
in my own case. NY !ofllcq aud residence werc
Ite traps only In my office nni bltslness-roouls.
was well aware that was bctus poisoueu, but
It was not 1T my ppwer to- stop HIT esca,)c Ut
sewer.Eus IN lilo hotel, and before the building
WHICH was going Into wa Feady was atriek,
barely escaped with my life after q fearful
tl,rcp n,nMtiis' sickness. Muny Of the boa1,iers
III tue hotel we're sick, and QUO Of the prohrio-
tors sickGncl ns!tl died from tho c1lects Uf tho
sewer poison. There weEe very few statfonary
washsta!lis in t1le house, 60 this source for con-
Quoting scwcr.gas into the ruons was quito lin
ttea
a few davs before WIS tnken sick I mntlo
thorough Investigation under some OF tho bnSc-
,nent Apors, and found it rcckng mass Of
cxcreta ut,l kitchen slops. with defective catcl,-
bRsns, from which TIE howcr-Eas escaped freely.
This was tlc graud source from which the gus
escaped and percolatca through tioors md cfev
tecs III tho walls to oyery room In the house.
This great ventilation nf Howcr vas Ntl1er tho
house fnstca&l Of just outside IN the yard or
street. Ny next experience was whcro had n
Al,
tic Ventilated sewer; tlEs came from the con-
luctor of an cavc.spout or oil extension about
thirty feet from the rear OF the main portion OF
tho building. It was now house which rent
positive assurance from tho landlord that thu
sewerage mud trapH were perfect. Two young
nen (tny sons) WHO were IN good healtt. oectl-
pied the ronln Ut the main pnrt OF tho house
On thu third door. Tl1is room had Two largo
cast windows, With M outlook on the lake. one
block away. ln aoout tlEeo weeks my 5oungost
hoa was taken with typhoid fever, and, In my
search for thu calse, found sewcr gaR conttnu-
ally escaping frnm tile conductor bcforo men,
lloncd. had tls trappc1, but too lafc to savo
either Of MY sons from sickness hiY oldest son
Ind Ind typhoid fever llic ycars before lilo soon
lad times Of teclnE lass!tudo and dcprcs.
stou which be bud never been accustomed
to. This finally culminated IN cercbro spinal
meningitis. hlvo real the best articles on sew
ace ea,ltl scwcr.gas poIson In Europentd AmerIca,
and know u 1,o remedy but to keep away
from The poison,-kcop It out OF your houses,
ktrp It out Of your yards, and keep It from tue
top OF your houses; kcep 1t IN tho grand old
scivcrs, and not invite the surface sewers Of tho
sublrts 10 our densoY populated part of tho
| city. ! had learned how to Keep Il ollt OF nv
house until the street acwcr was opcned and tho
yartl mud house tou ppes were fuoIistsly put In:
| but must acknowledge that mn beaten by
| this. ....
Anu ask tho tit. Fa.hers. n the :name ot
Cod anil humanity, to takc this vampire Of
tiou !, Tf Ac}mtfe rlInlnrn aDV