Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-17
Sanitary OnackerN.

HeCr has an article on sanitary Quack-
cry" which is calculated to arrest atten-
ton, not SO much on account of what the
article contains as on account of the fact
that the occasion exists for it. The arti-
Gle is based on letter from London, in
which the writer points out that sbrewd
men are taking advantage of the popular
favor with which sanitation is received to
force upon the public all kinds of humbugs
ami frauds. Sanitary papers and health
journals have sprung up all over this
country and England, the chief business
Of which appears to be to advertise pa
tent medicines or some new notion in
sanitary quackery which Will put money
in somebody's pocket. The following is
an extract from the article in the Sdtt-
tITy Engineer:
Frequent visits to England have salts
fled us that leading men in the medical
and other professions have begun to re-
gard with suspicion the so-called sanita-
tartan, and the name of sanitary engineer,
which the efforts of men like Rawlinson
have made so honorable, is now becoming
the butt of newspaper wits.
THE reason is not far to seek. Clever
men, unsuccessful in other pursuits, have
within recent years worked sanitation as
the popular thing, very much after the
fashion of the theatrical manager. The
press, that should distinguish the frauds
from the genuine workers, has either been
silent or busy manufacturing public
opinion in the interest of quacks and
commercial ventures, and all n the
worthy name of sanitation"
The press ought not to be blamed for
failing to distinguish all the frauds from
honest workers, or for not exposing
quackery and humbuggery. 1t is not al
ways easy to tell the genuine from the
false. The newspapers are kept pretty
busy exposing humbugs as it is, and 1t is
not surprising that they should be de-
ceiyed once in while, especially in mat
ters pertaining TO health and sanitation
where there is such wide margin for
deception. We have not noticed, how
ever, that the Sanitary Engineer, which
is so ready to criticise, has done any
thing towards exposing frauds. No doubt
there is any amount of quackery in sani-
! tation, and to expose it will be dong the
| public real service. The sanitarians.
and alleged sanitaries, have been having
a pretty easy time of it. They have been
carried along on wave of popular favor.
| The frauds have taken advantage of the
opportunity TO impose on the public and
| fill their pockets. There will come a re-
action, perhaps, and sanitary science will
suffer, but that which contains truth will
| eventually be recognized and accepted.
In a rather interesting editorial article
the New York Times says that the "BrOOk-
Ign bridge has now been open not quite
five months. 1t was assumed that the
bridge would prove an enormous benefit
to New York, for reasons that never were
particularly clear; but, as the result
proves, the bridge is steadily depopulat-
ing this city. Up to October 1, $50, 800
persons passed over the bridge from New
York to Brooklyn, while only 1.519,60O
came over the bridge from Brooklyn to
New York. In other words, the bridge
has drained New York of SAG, 300 more
people than it has brought from Brook
lyn. 1t needs only an elementary knOwl-
edge of slate and pencil to prove that at
this rate New York will be utterly depop-
ulated in less than two years." The only
thing left for New York to do is to extend
its corporate limits and take in Brooklyn
The matter was seriously talked of before
the bridge was built, and now that it is
known what effect the bridge is having
OH New York it is evident that the cOnsOl-
idation must take place if New York is
not to become deserted city.