Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-04-10
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

J The Meeting of the Society of Civil Engin-
eers-The Way to Have Pure Water-The
Report of the Sanitary Committee.
| The board of directors of the st. Paul
chamber oficommerce held regular meet
ing yesterday morning, but the business
transacted was not very great.
THE CIVIL ENGINEERS.
The society of civil engineers at their
last meeting held in Washington, D. c., d.
rected Chief Engineer Whittemore, of
the Chicago, Milwaukee g. ST.
Paul road, to make arrangements
for holding the next annual meeting. Mr..
Whittemore selected Gen. Bishop, Mr.. D.
G. Shepard and Col. Crooks to constitute
committee of local engineers to act with
him. After consultation it was determined
to hold the next annual meeting in st.
Paul, on the goth, Dist and 22d of June.
70 carry out the general ideas the Mime
apoils board of trade appointed a COM
mlttee of three, consisting of w. S. King.
@. L. Hatch and G. II. Prior.
In making the announcement of the
action of the Minneapolis board the
president suggested the propriety of the
board of directors of the chamber of com
merce appointing a similar committee.
which was done, and D. w. Ingersou. J. ].
McCardy and L. w. Rundlett were appoint
ed to cooperate. The programme for the
entertainment of the engineers is in sub
stance as follows: After the three DAYS,
business session in st. Paul, the society of
engineers will be taken up to Minneapolis
on Saturday, June %, when the address
of the society's president will be listened
to. On Saturday night grand
banquet will be given to the society at
Hotel Lafayette, Minnetonka beach. It is
expected that there will be from 125 to 200
members present. President Hill has ten
dered free transportation to Minnetonka
and return, and ample accommodations at
Hotel Lafayette have been pledged at
reduced rates. The st. Paul hotels have
all agreed to give reduced rates to mem
bers of this dignified body, and nothing
will be left undone to make their session
here success both in respect of business
and pleasure.
SUGGESTION.
Mr.. Ansel Oppenheim stated that some
of the people On st. Anthony hill had made
practice to boil the water they used. and
had in that way avoided being made sick
by the use of water. He made the state
ment so that others might profit by the ex-
perience.
REPORT OF SANITARY COMMITTEE.
Mr.. Hodgson, from the sanitary commit
tee, made the following report of the pro
gress made by the committee appointed to
consider what should be done in regard to
putting st. Paul in a good sanitary con
dition. The report was adopted:
MMri president and Members of the Cham
Der of Commerce: In pursuance of the
resolution containing various instructions
to the health and sanitary committee,
adopted by this chamber three weeks ago.
we beg leave to state that three public
meetings have been held at the city council
rooms, which have been attended by many
of our physicians, the health officers, the
city engineer, the city attorney and others.
At these meetings the general subject of
the sanitation of tie city has
been discussed; causes of zymodic
diseases lurking in poor sanitary
regulations have been suggested; the vari-
Gus methods of removing and disposition
of garbage considered; and the deadly re-
suits of improper and defective sewer and
cess-pocl connections have been dwelt
! upon. A committee, of which Mr.. WilIius
was chairman, was appointed, land made an
| exhaustive report On the various means
| adopted by other large cities to remove
garbage, offal, etc., which report also con-
tanned many recommendations for home
use. DR.. Hewitt, secretary of the state
board of health, submitted paper con-
tanning many valuable suggestions.
At the last meeting DR.. Witherle read a
paper containing much statistical infor-
nation, accompanied with a chart showing
the Localities infected with diphtheria dur
ing the past winter. As these documents
have already been printed in the daily pa
pers, we shall not attempt to reproduce
them at this time. At the meeting held
last Thursday night committee was ap-
pointed to present to the city council the
various recommendations adopted by the
meetings, together with the papers above
mentioned, and were instructed to tender
their services to the council for the pur-
pose of efficiently putting into execu-
sion any regulations or ordinances
that might be adopted with
view to thoroughly cleaning
the city at once. 1t might be well for us
to repeat here some of the most important
suggestions that have been made at these
meetings. No form of filth, corruption or
Putrescence is SO deadly to the household
as gases escaping from sewers or cess
pools on account of defective connections
herewith, and they are the more danger
Gus because they do not always publish
their presence to the sense of smell.
Privy vaults IN houses, unless most thor
oughly ventilated, are foul beds of dis
ease. A large percentage of disease, and
especially typhoid fever, is produced by
the use of impure water. A well will drain
circular field whose radius is three times
greater than the depth of the well. For
instance, well thirty-three and one-half
feet deep will drain all the land within 100
feet of the well. Few wells, indeed, are
removed so far from a privy vault, a cess
pool, or some other form Of reeking filth,
while many of them soak in the rich and
succulent drippings from half dozen such
places.
Your committee feel that they will not
be exceeding their duty at this time, while
the subject is being agitated and its inn
portance impressed upon the minds of the
people, in earnestly urging each individual
citizen to give this matter careful thought
and immediate attention. Do not put it