The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-01-23
UNDERGROUND SEWERAGE.

| STUPIDITY IN INTELLECTUAL QuABTERs.-In
b ttou. who're. ~ eons assert. science has It's
seat and intellect It's headduartefs. they are
| fndi tg ont by oxpsrteuce. hs more tx"Orant
pore ons hav- dOue b ,fore. what dang RI lilo hid
/ In stree sewers. Now that Mayrr Prince has
/ lost n charming aud estimRbls daughter and
two Of his tons arc seriously III, the board II
heath have baen examining Mayor Princes
recently deserted b aaarnetre tre, fdence. They
have discovered that, by some most astonishing
/ piaoe ot siut dlty. the uip. o tho family ref tx
or ator was made to communicate by he d aiu-
pipe directly with the s-wer. or c tutss the
sewer gas tainted tho meat. milk and otbsr sup
| plies IN no refrigerator, and ~ Il @ nss Qusncs
| M ss Pence Las died OF blood poisoning. The
| man from the back country who blows out the
gaa In y city sleeping room, and. with ser+ne
unrousc ousnf ga that he Ia lug anything other
than rtuous action. strAigntwty goes to bod.
could moi b. ehar3ed with creator In, bscility
than that other man. In ratln.d aud fashionable
Beacon street. who, To get rid OF the drip fr IN
| an les box connected the refrigerator with the
str ct eeWer.
The above extract from one OF our ex-
changes Is saddening illustration OF the
dangers from underground sewerage. AS
has been frequently shown la the columns OF
the DEMOCRAT, underground sewerage Is
dangerous to life Col. Warning and kindred
optimists to the contrary twlthstandlng.
No matter how perfect tho system OF public
sewerage may be. such stupid imbecilty rs
was exhibited ia making the drain-pipe con-
neetions In Mayor Princes house will be re-
peated wherever the opportunity Is offered to
some plumber innocent OF hyglenlc principles
For Now Orleans and all similarly situated
cities. surface drainage, with constant super
Vision OF the flushing arrangements Is, we
are confident, the only safe plan.
It Is amazing In view OF the terrible leg
sons taught by Boston, New York, Philadel-
phia, Chicago and sill cities where under
ground sewerage obtains, that there should
be any advocates for that system In this city.
Our own types OF fever are bad enough, but,
thanks to surface drainage, we are compare
lively free from scarlet fever. low forms OF
typhoid fever, deadly dphtherla and malig-
nant types OF measles, all OF which prevail 10
cities where the atmosphere OF the houses is
constantly poisoned by sewer gas. The time
is not far distant when the Northern aud
Western cities will either have to change
their whole sewerage system or be content to
see their death role assume much more
| alarming proportions Human ingenuity
has never yet discovered sthod whereby
the gas Ia the cold sewer pipes can be pre-
vented from finding It's way into the warm
atmosphere OF houses, AMI until 1t can be
source OF most OF the diseases that afflict the
population Of those cities where the sewerage
ia carried off by the underground system.
| Let our local sanItarians ponder upon these
facts and not rush too hastily to the concu-
sion that the only salvation for New Orleans
/ consists In tho adoption OF system that an
nually numbers Its victims by thousands.
Sunshine and fresh air are the most powerful
auxiIiaries Ia any system Of sanitation, and
Ia this climate, especially, 1t ls dangerous to
exclude deleterioug matter from their revlvi-
flying and purifying action. Ii we can main
tain currents OF pure river water In our gut
ters and find some method OF di5po9ng OF
the water 10 the receiving canals, either into
the lake or the river below the city, we shall
have done much toward insuring the health
of the city, and with the garbage and other
matter promptly removed and dumped below
the city Ia midriver, there will be but little to
fear from diaease.