Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-07-09
SAINT AIRY,
ana recon m nd lions OF the CITY
Board of Heairh


VI 'he entire absence of any facilities for
drainage Is the most fruitful source of all
typhoid and pulmonary diseases. goes with.
out saying
The soil absorbs moisture from the air and
secretes the rainfall, forming what is termed
ground-water. Where there are proper ia
cllitles, this ground water move, slowly
toward the sea by the nearest and most nat
ural watercourses. Where these courses are
onstructed TIE water is held in suspense, be
coming stagnant and foul, and dealing out
disease and death in profasien
III Is deleterlOus in two great directions ::
FIRST, 1t is IN Itself the most direct agent in
the production of consumption and other
throat and lung diseases and il give. rise 10
conditions the most favorable to the recep-
ton and maintenance of typhoid diseases
cholera. dlphtherIa, scarlet fever and the like
Dr. Bowdltch, very eminent authority. as
serts that dampness in the soil il the primary
cause Of consumption in New England The
best German authorities assert that typhoid
fe'ers are due largely 70 the same cause; 50
that water 10 the soil may b. assumed to be
IN i.scii one OF the most fruitful causes of
those diseases most 10 be dreaded, and one of
the most notorious features that invite epj-
Another feature, equal in its importance
and IN its danger il the decay Of vegetable
ard animal matter at or near the surface Of
the soil. As stagnant ground water holds
such matter ia suspense and contributes more
than anything else TO its decay and pollution.
! especially If the level of III, water is subject
to variation, the two subjects are very closely
related and NAV be considered together under
the head Of drainage.
Tne less the porosity of the soil the greater
the danger; and in clayey lands where the
surface water remains standing. subject TO
varis' ions with the VARYING rainfall and eva2-
Grafton, ordinary diseases NAV be assumed To
be frequent, and epidemic diseases will find
the readlest toothoId. This danger is in
creased many fold by emptying onto such
soil, sl0ps, swill, sink-drainage, and other
! ofial
Investigations in the civ Of New York in
| 1872 show c0nclusively that in an epidemic
of diphtheria the disease was far more prcva
lent on the sites of old water-courses and
basins whose drainage had been stopped by
! filing Statistics in the encyclopedia of the
/ Practice of Medicine" show that in all tow ms
and cities where good system of drainage
has been established. the death rate has been
! reduced from TO 20 per cent and statistics
/ from towns in this country and in England
show that in many cases the number of deaths
from consumption and epidemic diseases has
4 been reduced in much larger proportion.
Most certainly the interest of common hui
nanitv as well As the vital polite and COM
mercial interest of the community and the
| instinct of self preservation, demand an at
| tentiOn to this matter.
| The prevalence of cholera in other coun-
/ tries and the appearance of plaques in certain
localities in this country, notably in the
stricken town of Plymouth, where almost a
third of the inhabitants have been Frustrated
| by a disease extremely fatal in its nature and
/ traceable directly TO detective drainage, have
awakened the people to an interest in tins
matter, and it seems a fitting time to take
some decided action
! The remedies are found in providing a
ready means of drainage, using caution in the
matter of drinking only pure and uncontam
mated water. and extreme care in the matter
of throwing ~"ill. 81 ps and otfal promscu-
ouslv AROUND In ti,e-c matters much should
be done both by tn ci', aud by individuals
1t is a sad nut an lndI-putable fact that this
city, stu tted rs well for drainage a. any in
the country, IL one of the poorest drained
due to the small interest awakened on the
subject and to the lack OF system in the small
amount of work done in this direction. Were
l. not for the fact that nature has provided a
liberal natural drainage in tbs frequent gulips
and water courses. II il probable that the city
would have long ago become a hotbed of
diseases
As these natural courses become checked
and filled, and as the populous portions OF
the city extend over places that were once bog-
and swamps and as infections diseases APP
proach, the interest must concentrate on the
subject Of drainage.
As illustrations, few of the most palpable
instances may be cited In the vicin-
ily of Melville, Chapel. and Sewall streets
there was once pond. This has been
filled no and built upon without any suitable
drainage being provided. AMI as n result the
soil is continually wet with t ,gnant and foul
water, the drainage and otftl of places little
higher are poured onto the soil. small and
short sewers empty their foul poisonous mat
ter on the surface, and fevers and other dis
eases are proverhiallv prevalent On Win
throp street near the old Cushnoc House and
the stables another frog pond. Small
and imperfect drains were once built, but
many OF them have become useless and cell
lars are wet, water frequently stands to quite
depth under the stables. the drainage OF
( several houses has no outlet that of a num-
Der of others Is poured ont on the surface
Il aUl goes tTlCkilnR uoWH TIE MN uN Tue EOal-
side. polutng the air of the whole neighbor-
hood Back of the Old Fort is basin in
which the natural slope of the land has for
many years concentrated the sewage and offal
of quite large section of territory. Stag
nsnt water saturated with the very essence
of filth, stands there during large portion
of the warm weather, and no better feeding
place for disease could be found On Bridge
street between Chestnut and Spring is 4 short
section of sewer living open to the sun,
the corner of Oak and Flagg streets is the
mouth of small sewer which might with a
few hours labor and at a trifling expense be
sunk and trapped
complete system Of drainage should be
st once inaugurated and pushed as rapidly rs
can be done consistently A rigid code of
laws enacted compelling AUDITORS TO connect
their drains with sewers, and other sanitary
measures adopted Sewers should be ar
rar ged for the removal of offal and the escape
of ground and surface water. The mouths OF all
sewers should be carefully trapped to prevent
the escape of sewer gas, and in times OF con-
tinued drouth. all sewers thoroughly washed
out by means of the fire engines or other
wise, at least once week.
Various circumstances combine to render
the present fitting time to move in the mat
ter of building sewers. The county commits
sioners, and nearly or quite every sbuttor on
the Winthrop street section are willing and