The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-12-18
ga PLAGUE SPOT"
That is what One Of the Leading
Sanitarians Calls the City
Of Memphis.

I
|, ting the present condition of the
yellow fever plague spot, Memphis
and has gathered the most eXten-
sive Information with regard TO the
causes which increased the disease
in thGt city, with the assistance of q
} large and competent corps of Uni.
ted States inspectors and civil en-.
gineers. They have examined
every house in the place from gar
ret to cellar, every yard, street and
alley, and now know the condition
of Memphis in all its parts. The
board called upon some of the most
eminent physicians of the country
to visit Memphis and act as coun-
Gil to aid in discovering the
best plan toocleanse Memphis, and
to provide edectually. against the
recurrence of the dreadful epidemic.
Among others, one of the most eX-
perienced physicians Of this city,
whose name is prominently con
nected with the New York State,
county and city health organiza-
tions, was invited to take part in
the investigation as an expert, and
consult with the board. He has
Just returned TO the city, and to-
day he spoke in effect as follows to
reporter of the Evening Post:
The natural advantages for dram
age in Memphis are cxcellent-bet-
ter than those of New York. l.
should be one of the best drained
cities in the country, whereas IL Is
not drained at all. Every one
knows that it sits on a bluff which
slopes down To the Mississippi river
on one side and to the quilted
stream, the Bayou Gayaso, on the
other. This Bayou Gayoso is
blamed for all the sickness that has
occurred in that city; for there is
thrown garbage and all conceivable
species of filth; but there are mini
ature Bayou Gayosos in almost
every street, alley and by-way in
Memphis which are infinitely more
detrimental to the public health
than the Bayou Gayoso. The
Bayou Gayoso could easily be sew
cred and drained just like our
covered sewers, its sides grassed
and sloped, and then it would be an
ornament rather than an offense.
| Memphis is dirtier than l ever
heard or dreamed ot-dirtier than
Havana, which is saying much
The only redeeming feature is that
they have thrown the swill and gar
bage into the river since the frost
last touched the city. But all the
rest of the filth goes into the
streets, which are never swept. The
greatest and most disgusting santa
ry defect is that the large stores OF
the city, which can be counted by
the hundreds, have no proper clos
cts at all, but simply provide as
substitutes pits in tue cellars
From one to four such pits can be
| found in hundreds of the largest
stores. Over many of the stores
people live. The blocks of ground
on which the stores stand are com
pIetely covered by the buildings,
and this, l suppose, was the reason
why the cellars emit the disgusting
odors which fill the buildings and
come out through the sidewalk
gratings, shaking the finger of death
in the faces OF the passers-by.-
These stores and wholesale csJab
lishments are owned, of course, by
the largest capitalists and property
holders--the rich men-ot the city.
They are the great cause Of the epi
demic One man owns some Of the
largest stores in the city, in the Gel.
lars Of which are "A number of these
pits. He has no sanitary arrange
ments even in his private home.
He owns hundreds Of negro shan
ties which rent from one dollar to
five dollars a month, and are abso-
lutely destitute of sanitary provis
ion. He is probably wcrth more
than a million Of dollars The
filthiness and m0anness II such
men, in great part, brought the
plague upon Memphis. The usual
position for the vaults Tor private
houses with grounds is twenty or
thirty feet away from the wells.
Soakage takes place, and the con
taminated we'll water rs always used
for cooking and washing. and often
for drinking. The city has made
uuate water works TO convey some
of the splendid water from Wolf
river TO the city, but there are no
sewers and no closet system. Every
time the Mississippi rises the Bayou
Gayoso overfows into the Vol,
communicating the entire water sup
ply Of the city, and the people
drink the water just the same. An
epidemic is, therefore, augmented
by a rise of the Mississippi. Very
little bedding, furniture, carpets,
etc., which we're used by yellow fes
yer patients has been destroyed.
Storeroom upon storerOom is stack
ed with the mattresses saturated
with the poison Of fever patients,
and carpets, sofas and chairs stuffed
with yellow fever germs. The in
habitants are too mean To burn up
an old infected blanket. If they
were let alone they would use these
filthy things. They want the Uni
Le0 OJACeS W supply 'hNiN "'eN ~
furniture and blankets and bed
ding. They have brought it all on
themselves by deliberately prepar-
ing a pest-hole TO live in. One
would expect cleaner habits from
savages than they have practiced.
The better class of negroes in the
mule stables are the clea1est peop'e
of Memphis. Pure earth, pure air,
and water are the great sanitary re-
quirements. Memphis gets plenty
of pure air. The streets are broad,
but there is pestilence in IL because
of the city's filth The Wolf river
water is among the best that has
been aaalyzed, and if the water
works we're moved two OF three
miles up the river from their pres
ent position the water supply would
be pure always. The earth OF
Memphis is good clay and gravel,
but every inch of ground under
Memphis has been contaminat Il by
its careless inhabitants. They want
frat nj ali. several thousand brOOms