Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-08-02

| consideration.
The principal heads under which
this comparison will be made are wa
ter supply and drainage, inasmuch as
for reasons presently to be given these
are emphatically the two master keys
for solving the problem Of anti-chole
raic hygiene.
WATER SUPPLY.
At the time then of the last cholera
epidemic, Nashville was supplied with
hydrant water, GAINESVILLE with els
tern water; the exception existing in
both cities that some poor families in
low lying districts used water from
what are called springs but are very
undeserving of the name. That which
gives spring water properly so-called
its deservedly healthy reputation is
the fact that it has percolated slowly
and for hong distances through beds of
sand and gravel; in these natural
filters it deposits any organic impu-
rites it may have contracted and is
sues bright, pure and sparkling; on
the contrary the so-called springs in
question come from no considerable
distance but are derived from the sur
face waters OF the higher ground ad-
joining, in other words from the sur
face drainage of the city and suburbs
they pass through; this makes its way
through the surface soil and then
through the innumerable assures and
cavities of the subjacent limestone till
it appears in the lower ground, consti-
tuting the so-called springs in question.
During this passage it deposits none
of its impurities and for sanitary pur-
poses is no better than the same sur
face water would have been at its
original place of deposit if it stood
long enough to settle.
The danger of these seapage pools
misnamed springs, cannot be exagger-
ated, especially when an epidemic of
cholera is anticipated. Fortunately
we have but few of them and only a
small area where their use prevails.
In our sister city unhappily they
are quite numerous, and thickly
peopled area derives its water from no
other source. But even we have
enough of them to furnish matter for
very serious consideration to our au-
thorities. Only last week I was walk
ing along the bed of the river between
the city and the mouth of Red river,
and observed several little pools of
tolerably clear water fed by scanty
rills-f from the banks; the whole area
was under water two or three weeks
before. It was evident that these
feeding rills were derived from the
surface drainage of the higher ground
adjoining; looked up and saw that
that higher ground was the site of the
City graveyard! Need more be said
Yes, all must be said, for the sub
ject is too important to admit of any
thing being suppressed. Take then
the following fact which also came
within my personal observation. 1t
has been said that, in the year when
so many cities around us were dec
mated by epidemic cholera, six cases
and six only of supposed cholera oc-
CURED in GAINESVILLE. The late DIR.
Haskins and myself were requested
by the then Mayor to investigate the
history of these cases, and the most
pregnant fact was elected that every
one of the six had during his life
derived his drinking water from one
of two Objectionable springs, one
between the baseball hill and the
railroad, the other between the old
Beaumont house and the river.
But we cannot confine our attention
to these springs. Something must be
said of the comparative merits of n.y.
drant water and cistern water, for we
too have hydrant water now. OF
course we understand by hydrant
water the supply drawn from Cum
berland river and distributed by the
pipes OF the water-works to the street,
hydrants and the houses OF citizens.
l am satisfied that there are grave OBJ
jections TO the drinking of this water,
especially during the prevalence of
Cholera; to understand why, we must
give some attention to the researches
Of modern microscopes into the spe-
cife causes of disease.
1t is known that different conta-
gious and infectious diseases are diff
fused in different ways. Thus the
eruptive> fevers like smallpox and
scarlitina are communicated by con-
tact with the skin of the patient, diph-
liberia by breathing air impregnated
with the particles coughed up. Now
cholera has been shown by Pasteur
and Koch to be communicated by
means of organic PARTICLES contained
in the discharges from the stomach