Litchfield enquirer., 1881-08-25
Malaria.


 causes malaria. The question arises in this l wise. In the southern part of the town is a large pond, the property of an immense paper | making establishment, and flooding some two square miles of lowland and swamp. The | locality about this pond has been fearfully | scourged with malaria, and finally the com panY, or it's managers, have been crimiually | indicted for the nuisance.
 | This brings up the question whether. after all, malaria is caused by the over r-fcwing of swamps and low lands with thin sheet of stagnant water, or whether the disease is not occasioned by other atmospheric conditions with which the effiuva of stagnant water has little to do. This IS point regarding which maintains that the disease is certainly occa- stoned by the exhalations of marshy ground thinly covered with stagnant water, or alter nately covered and exposed by the draining of l the water for use at the mills.
 | This much is certain, that of 69 persons liv- l ing within short distances of this pond, 55. have been prostrated with fever within three years past. Gen. Viele asserts that that the germs of the disease called malaria are devel- oped by the decomposition of animal or vege- table matter through the effect of heat and moisture. "Wherever," he says, ''there is 8 widespread area of decomposition, either vegetable or animal, like mill-dam overflow l ing a large extent of country, or deposit of refuse matter anywhere, there will these or ganisms be developed in infinite quantities floating in the air and filling the entire atmos- phere in certain localities When they are l inhaled in the human system by those who are forced to breath this atmosphere, they find in the internal organization of the body and in | the blood that nutrition which is essential to their life and development. Prepagating in the system, they take possession, as it were, l of the vital forces of the individual"
 As an instance of the effect of the malarous influences from large mill dams Gen. Viele details the case of mill dam at Bound Brook, N. J., which had caused the death of over twenty adults and had infected the en- tire neighborhood so that in large popula- tion not single family had escaped. It was finally torn down by order of court. and there has been no fever since, whereas before, 95 out of every hundred operatives had been down at one time or another with intermit- tent levers Gen. Viele has also made re- cent inspection of the city of Springfield and attributes the malaria prevalent there to the same causes.
 The mill owners will bring President Chad boune of Williams College, and other experts to dlsprove the theories advanced by Gen Viele and the case is like to be memorable one, and may perhaps lead to action against like nuisances in other quarters. The spread of malaria along the Sound and up our river valleys is matter of the greatest interest to the people of this vicinity. New Milford is already a terrible sufferer and there is trouble low New Milford. The fine country seats along the Hudson, too, formerly perfectly healthy, are now almost deserted, we hear, from dread of the insidious disease which attacks their occupants. If scieuce eau dis cover and remove the causes of malaria, it will confer an inestimable blessing upon the farm- CTS of thls section of the United States. already suffering as they do from competition with the inexhaustible fertility of the great West.
 Forty nine suits have been begun in the Superior Court at Hartford by various Bosto. nans against the executrix of the estate of Arthur Cheney, for leases of orchestra seats in the Globe Theatre at Boston. In 1874 Mr. Cheney, as manager of that theatre, leased these seats to the various plaintiffs for IS years for 5000, each. It was stipulated in the lease that If Cheney or his heirs or assign ees should at any time before 1892 decide to discontinue the theatre, they should pay back to the lessees the proportion of the $1, 1,000 which would be their due for such discontinu- ance. In May, 1878 MT. Cheney closed his connection with the theatre, and the new man. agers refused to recognize the leases to the plaintiffs, or to permit them to occupy the seats. In November. 1S7s Mir. Cheney died, and his wife was appointed executrix of his estate It is claimt that none of the money has been paid back, and these forty -nine suits, representing that number of persons who had paid $1 900 each for the seats in question, are brought against the estate to recover. The plaintiffs had the use of their seats for one sixth of the specified time, which redu- ces their claims to $S33, each.
 The fellow Marvin" who married a Rich- mond lady and deserted her, and young New Jersey widow and deserted her, all with in few days, has at last been caught at Lyme. Mass. Strangely enough the scoun- 1 drel has been pursuing his course of bigamy and desertion for years, and has played the game game with at least nine other women besides his recent victims. H real name is said to be Arthur Merritt and he has a wife and child in New Haven.where he was known as Gen. B. A. Morton. He is about 50, with growth of white hair, rather thin at the crown, and he wears white mustache and long side whiskers. His complexion is horid, his eyes are of dark bluish gray, and he has deep-set lines in his cheeks. He wears Prince Albert coat, kept closely buttoned, always wears black or dark blue clothing. and has distingue, semi-military air. Ad- ded to this he is what is sometimes called "a beautiful talker. and has unbounded nerve and enapressmsent
 The Cramer mystery still remains not fully solved. It has been proved by numerous witnesses that James Malley and Jennie Cra- mer were both at Savin Rock on the Friday night of the murder or suicide On the other hand, Malley's father and sister swear that he was at home on the evening and night in question The confession of "Blanche Douglass" turns out by no means the development promised, though it places the Malleys and herself in the abominable light of conspiring to ruin Jennie Cramer. :.