The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1881-01-15

WHY DO WE HEAR so MUCH
ABOUT IT?
Ernrl The NeIr York ErullueliSt.

From the Ne,c York ErangeliSt.
Because there is great deal of it te
hear about, and only within Il few years
has its nature been comprehended, $,
| that people realize its wid,, diffusion. anC
the subtle and certain destruction that il
works.
Sidney Smith said that IAN archbishop
would have to he roasted alive in lock,
ed railway carriage" before Englishiner
would learn the folly of shutting in soil,
| tary passengers in company with much
combustible material-a custom which
at that time caused several fatal acct
dents. An illustrious example does
point moral more sharply than an OBJ
scure one, and whatever shortcomings
critics or political opponents may find in
| the administration of Gov. Cornell. there
is no doubt that one fruit OF his occu-
pancy Of the Executive Mansion. viz.
his nearly fatal malaral fever. will re-
| suit indirectly in the enlightenment of
llioOsttilt vi vi lle
nature of the deadly poison that turks in
sewer gas, and the care needed to ward
off its effects by properly Laid out -
and faithfully executed plumbing in city
houses.
"Gov. Cornell's serious illness was
contracted at the Executive Mansion at
Albany. Sewer gas escaping through
imperfect joints brought on malarial
fever and the Governor was for some
days very near to deaths door. His
house is expensive, and the State yearly
appropriateS considerable money for it's
repair. When sewer gas can impregnate
the atmosphere in the Executive Man
sion, and sicken the Chief Magistrate of
the State, it is no wonder that in houses
less carefully watched and less expen-
sively managed. it can find thousands of
victims. Troy Press.
Upon which, the editor Of the Sdnitdry
Engineer says land it is wholly nnneces-
sary that such evils should happen in
any class of houses. with proper care"
Henceforward Governor Cornell will be
AN ACTIVE SANITARIAN,
just as Mayor Prince. of Boston, is.
through bitter experience. Last Winter
his family were threatened with destruc-
ton, every member but himself being
severely visited with diphtheria. typhoid
or mcningitis--thesc being three of the
protean miseries that malaria brings
,.bill lial IIiy HON, iSi of
the costly houses on the Back Bay, and
now he knows how house sho I'D be
plumbed. Before, he left it all in the
hands of builder.
One of the most earnest members Of
the National Board of Health was rude
ly aroused from the idea that roomy
house in an apparently fine location, and
in which there were no visible leaks and
no perceptible odor must be "all right,
by cruel experience which transformed
him into an almost rabid sanitarian.-
Malaria did it, and in the following man
ner: Eight years ago he rented i house
i'll a wide, sunny street, all the houses
on which connected with Il sewer quite
a long distance off, at the backs of the
houses previously to the construction of
which, very Inadequate cesspools had
been used, with the result that the soil
thereabout was pretty thoroughly satu-
rated with those animal and vegetable
wastes, that are the prolific parents of
malaria. 1t became necessary to run
sewer across the seven house premises
which constitute this short cross street
not at all for the accommodation of the
jewellers thereon, but simply to make
connection between two other large
branches. The work was done during a
very hot, dry week in June or July, and
it was only a short time before the earth
was replaced, and everything seemed
Just as it was before Il spade had struck
into the ground. Events proved that
dark and potent
SPIRIT OF EVIL
ment, and was working its malign will
upon a band of unoffending and most
unsuspccting victims. The first week of
September found. in each of those seven
houses, cases of diphtheria. typhoid
fever or o-spinal-meningitis. Mem
bers of the families who had been absent
during the excavation escaped, proving
conclusively that the cause was local.
OF the victims. some died. some recover
cred after protracted siege of suffering,
and one. at least, was left with such
weight of infrmity and disability, that
when, three years after, death put an
end to her misery, every one, even her
parents, said Thank God"
Now that all these diseases have been
demonstrated to be produced by = blood
poisoning" and are scientifically classed
as prcrentiJle, it is no wonder that among
the survivors should be found this SPLEEN
didly aggressive enemy of malaria, who
has borne his honorable share in the re-
demption of bEghted Memphis, and
whose pen and voice are sleeplessly ac-
tive against the ''pestilence that walketh
in darkness, i. e., hides itself in man
tie of invisiblity.
Exactly what was this decimating in
tluence which emanated from that fresh
ly-turned earth under the torrid July
sun" Exactly how did it work such
deadly mischief: The potent demon was
-malaria and at the risk of being a
little technical, we will try to examine it
in the light of the latest scientific dis
coveries.
The definition of malaria is bad air.
which six letters are the synonym of the
fruitful source of countless multitude
of good air-that pure. elastic fluid
which surrounds us on every side. and
which. to emphasize its supreme uses. is
called the vital airs absolutely essen
tial to the maintenance Of life. Cut off
that supply for 4 few minutes from the
most robust man--he is dead. 1t fulfills
its functions by passing into the lungs in
respiration: there it revitalizes the blood,
every drop of which is estimated to pass
through our lungs three times in every
minute. Load this air with minute par
| ticlcs-say of ether-these too are drawn
into the lungs, and minsling with the
blood. work important changing in the
| entire body.
Ihn luellnrs LeSid.. tLu trrnnI, ~ ILL.