Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1881-02-24

munities the organization of voluntary sanitary
associations, to cooperate with the local AMI
state boards Of health.
Ex-Gov. Gilman presided at the evening ses-
sion, and Ex-Gov. Davis read thoughtful pa
per an "Hygeine of Crime" in which he said
that among the questions pressing for solution
are few more practical in their character than
this one, which demands from lawyer and
physician their best efforts to ascertain the
| boundary line which divides wicked and pun
ishable trangressions from those acts which are
| as truly the rusults of disease as the struggles
Of mad man in his bonds.
| Mr.. j. H. Noyes, superintendent of the Insti-
| tuition at Faribault for the deaf, dumb and
| blind, gave some facts showing the remarkable
! health Of the inmates, and attributing the same
to regular habits, abundant and wholesome food,
pure water, plenty of sleepi in comfortable, well
ventilated, sunny rooms, and daily exercise in
the open air.
Peter Riheldoffer, of the State Reform
School, stated some remarkable fits in re-
gard to the health Of that institution, there hav
ing been but two deaths since its establishment,
and scarcely any sickness, and attributing the
| cause to careful sanitary regulations.
DIR: Q. d. Boardman, read paper on cottage
| hospitals for the insane which was fully dis
cussed A number of Interesting facts and fig-
ures were brought out, the general drift of
which seemed to be adverse to the cottage plan
On Thursday Ex-Gov. Marshall called the
sanitary council to order, and the exercises were
opened with prayer by Rev. D. r. Breed After
some discussion in regard to the powers and
duties of health officers
DR.. Hewitt thought boards of health should
be permanent and Independent, CONSTANT look
ing after sewerage, water supply and nuisinces.
Their office was to prevent disease, not to wait
for it's appearance The evils of the present
system were worse in the country than in cities.
Reorganization was necessary, and the remedy
lay with the legislature. For the beneftof those
ignorant of the law, he stated that the State
board of health had the right to 60 anywhere
and organize quarantine if the local boards re-
fused to act. Diphtherla was alarmingly on the
increase, and in 1879, 1Oper cent of the
deaths in Minnesota occurred from this one
source. The people, and even the profession,
were slow to understand that this terrible
| scourge was contagious.
DR.. Staples Of Winona, a member of the
State Board read an elaborate paper on "Diph-
liberia in Minnesota-Its relation to Public
Health and Sanitary Science, in which he stat
ed that observation has established the follow
ing facts: 80.
Diphtheria, not only in our own State, but in
nearly all the northern states of our country, is
increasing, if not in the severity of individual
cases and particular epidemics, certainly in
general prevalence. The largest number Of
deaths from any one cause in the State of Min
nesota during the year 1879, was from diph-
liberia, being upwards Of 13 per cent. of tho
whole number of deaths from all causes
The disease is, to great extent at least, pre-
ventable by sanitary means.
Diphtheria is contagious and infectious dis
ease.
Good regulations, rigidIy enforced, would
render the chances for children to contract
diphtheria far less than is the case at the pres
ent time. .....
Every intelligent person in the state should
be SO instructed and impressed that no one
should be allowed to nurse cases of diphtheria
| H.
presence of family of children. There should
be no public funeral in case Of death from
| diphtheria.
| The unsanitary conditions of air, water and
! food which not only intensity zymotic disease,
but are often the especial causes of the same,
are in a great measure remedial
DR.. Hewitt was happy to announce paper
| by county health officer-one who had made
! gallant fight with diphtheria and crushed it
out by the application of law. He introduced
| DR.. A T. Conley of Cannon Falls, who read a
| very interesting account of the complete sue
directions, in stopping the spread of diphtheria.
| A discussion ensued in which Dr. Staples said.
The diphtheria poison was heavy contagion,
far more likely to be communicated in clothing
| than by the breath, and gave additional instan-
ces as to its retention in clothing and the walls
| of houses. He had no dou 1t, however, that it
could be communicated by the breath.
Mr.. Schoheld of Cannon Falls, member of
| the sanitary committee, said in his town where
there was the most filth there was but one case;
while the cleanliest and most refined people in
the town suffered as much as those who were
careless. The trouble was in free inter-com-
munication. In the country everybody knew
everybody, and when any one was sick every
| body in the neighborhood rushed in to see
him-and in the country the disease is the
worst Quarantine was the thing.
DR.. Wedge said diphtheria was the most to-
\ ooio
would communicate the disease. Too much
| care could not be used.
Rev. DR.. Thomas read a letter from Bishop
Whipple, expressing warm sympathy and in
| terest in the work of the council, dwelling up
on the sacredness of the body as the temple Of
| the soul, and invoking the divine blessing upon
| their labors.
| Thursday afternoon Chief Justice Gilfllan
presided, and Rev. R. H. Sample of Minneapolis
| read finely written paper on the "Hyegeine of
| the home" Special stress was laid upon clean
liness of the person-keeping the pores open.
DISTINCTIONS of these may occur as readily, or
more so, in the case of those who live in luxu-
RANT abodes as those who labor in shops and
kitchens. Regular and thorough ablutions
were urged, but too frequent cold baths dis
couraged The subject of ventilation was
dwelt upon at length, and the deletireous effects
of Illuminating gas shown. Headache, neural
gia, indigestion, cutaneous disorders, ETC., were
often due to this cause alone
The discussion upon diphtheria was resumed,
and DR.. Berry of New Ulm gave some ilIustra-
| hons of its contagicuspess. The first was one
of contagion from sleeping in a contaminated
house; the second resulting from one single
case in Swedish settlement, where the Lu-
theran clergy regarded it as dispensation of
Providence, insisted upon holding public funer-
/ ais. The consequence was that two-thirds of
the children in that settlement died. The Ger
man and Norwegian clergy co-operated with the
doctor in his efforts, and isolated their hocks,
who almost wholly escaped the disease.
| DR.. Davis of Mankato, thought much of the
virulence Of the plague at that place was due to
| keeping the schools open. 1t was the impress
sion at first that the original cases were indi-
genous, but investigation showed it had been
| transmitted from abroad He, too, gave num-
Der Of instances to prove the consciousness of
| the disease.
| President Folwell Of the State university,
| thought universities could and should establish
| professorships of public health, and should do
! 80 before they establish medical colleges; that
| by taking such action Minnesota would profit
far more than by setting up one-horse medi-
cal college.
In the evening, there was a lecture by Prof
Dodd of the State university, on the adultera-
| ton of food, Bishop Ireland presiding, who
closed the session with few remarks express
| ing his sense of the value of the work done by
the council, and that body adjourned sine
| die.
Regulating Railroad Companies.
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