Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-03-24

I
nearly ALL directly or indirectly, emptied into
these streams and carried to our doors, and there
!, pumped into our hydrants, and then. without
! the slightest attempt at publication, used fol
!. drinking and all other domestic purposes. Bul
we are told that it comes to so largely diluted
| that any deleterious properties 1t may contain
| are reduced to the minimum. Nevertheless, II
comes to u.s. and it is impregnated with the
| character of filth referred to, together with al
| occasional corpse and the carcaSSeS OF thou.
| sands Of dead and decomposing animals, and
| yet we drink and use it daily, aud without re-
fcctiolf or protest. And has 1t ever occurred 10
| yeu Mr.. President. that several hundred prison
| ers many of whom are the offscourings of the
| earth, diseased with syphilis and other constltu
| tional and communicable diseases, are daily
casting ali of their filth into the American river
| about twenty miles above the suction pipes
/ which supply us with water? And believing as
| l do in the germ theory of disease and knowing
water to be one of the best carriers of many OF
| the deleterous germs am convinced that from
| this source alone we are III great danger.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS for the past twenty years
! or more typhoid fever has suddenly and mex
plicably appeared amongst u.s. and each time
! claimed number of victims. AS physicians
and conservators of the public health we en-
| deavored upon each occasion to ascertain It's
origin and cause and by pretty general consent
| 1t was attributed to foul and defective sewers
and sewer pipes. l for one believe our sewers
| to be productive of much sickness and many
deaths annually, yet careful inquiry into the
matter has led to the conclusion that the sew
| ers like the human liyers, are convenient
| things to blame, whereas the real cause, the
| fors ct Origo mali. is something entirely dlher
| ent. In the instances referred to feel morally
certain that our sewe' had but little to do with
| causing our fevers, and that the real cause
| should be ascribed TO our drinking water.
''Whether or not typhoid fever can ever be
| originated de noyo. and result from the combi
| nation of such filth as | have alluded to- to
| which must be added the accumulated filth
| and refuse stored up in tens of thousands OF
| acres of tule lands and exposed to an almost
| torrid temperature for several months of the
year, / shall not ATTEMPT to discuss tonight
| but aside from this reasonably probable source
| or cause, who can say that a single case Of
! typhoid fever occurring at Marysville, at Fol
| son. at Colusa, at Knights Landing, or at some
| other point accessible to any of the rivers OF
| streams above u.s. was not the real cause OF the
| prevalence of the disease in our midst on one
or all the occasions referred to. l believe it tc
| be more than probable.
| DR. Cluness here gave the well-lnoWn illus
tration OF typhoid fever having been communi
| Gated by means of milk served from 81 dairy sit
| uated upon the bank of n stream i'll England
which flowed contiguous TO priyy upon prem
| ises where Il patient had died of typhoid fever
| The doctor concluded his interesting and forcl
! Bile remarks as follows;
| "In yiew therefore, of all these facts it is moi
! probable at least that we, who drink OF the Sac
ramento river water and use no other for any
| purpose, are in constant danger. / nave nc
J doubt of it, Mr.. President, and l am. unqual1
| fiedly of the opinion that from q sanitary point
| of view, we should abandon our present supply
\ ana OBTAIN tnGl WHICH Is pure anu clSdt soOi
as possible.
'fBut there is an economic side to the question
and we are tod that it will cost about s2o,O0t
annually in excess of our present expenditure
| While doubt the correctness of this statement
| let it be granted that this is fair estimate OF
| the additional cost to citizens for an equally
abundant supply OF pure and clear, instead Of
| that which is now supplied OF filthy disease
| breeding and impure water. Health IS wealth
| say our political economists: and if my PROPOSE
ton be correct regarding the unhealthtulness o!
our water, surely no one will consider the addi-
| tional expense excessive, provided it will pur-
| chase q pure and healthtul supply. venture
| the assertion that this amount is annually paid
| to doctors alone i'll excess of what they would
| otherwise receive were our water free from dis
| eaSe-breedipg germs And this IS but a moiety OF
| the unnecessary expense with which our citizens
! are annually taxed because OF our impure water,
for if you add to this the druggists and purses
| bills, and the numerous other items incident to
sickness, such as loss of time and waste oalabor,
the amountWi be found to surpass all e1specta-
| ton, even if you exclude the greatest expendi-
| tllre OF all, the unnecessary waste OF lie. And
| who that has ever paid a plumbers bill but
knows that large percentage of it was t.ttribu-
table 70 the injury done his faucets and pipes by
| the sand and grit in the water. Instead there
| fore, of finding fault with our plumbers for the
exorbitance OF their bills, it occurs to ME that
| our impure water should first come in for its
! proportion of malediction. Again, who that
! owns buggy or vehicle OF any kind but has
| annually or biennialy realized that the item OF
| painting AMI vanishing would be materially
| lessened were the water used for cleansing them
free from sand and earthly materials.
:. 1t was only this morning that gentleman
| who keeps Il small stable and a few horses and
| vehicles informed me that if the water he used
| could be freed from sand. he could dispense
with the services of one man, thus saving him
| annually ten times the amount now paid FOL
| water. Another keeping large stable informed
| me that he could likewise dispense with one o.
/ his men, and, besides, would save II 600 an
! nually in wear and tear. The opinion of several
9TH alS To fhfklc COS "A &
consider the esthetic side of the question, OF
consider the damage done to our moral
natures by being compelled to drink
| and use such foul disease breeding
| stu1f who can form any estimate of the expense
| There are those who may ridicule this aspect OF
the question, but it is an important factor in the
problem, and one deserving serious corsidera
| ton. The truth IS, Mr. President: that We nave
I 80 Tong beer accustomed to regard water as
| being pure aud healthfIl because it comes from
| tine eternal SHOWS OF the mountains within sight
| Of our doors, that We meyer take into considera
ton the impurities it contains, or the danger &c
| those who use it.
81 had intended referring briefly to the bene-
fits that wouid of necessity follow the introduc-
| ton of n purer and clearer supply, but have
| already occupied too much OF your time. But
aside from this, believe that self-preservation
| demands that radical change should be made
| and ] am glad that the alarnl-ben has been
| sounded and trust it VIII continue 10 ring in
the ears of our city fathers until they viii fully
| appreciate its meaning land give Us an album
| dant supply of pure anJlc clear water
Dr. c. G. TyrTell said !: As has been said by
the essayist the general characteristics of good
! water are elearness, freedom from taste and
| odor GOODNESS, good aeEltiOn and certain de-
Fgrea of softness. rendeing it useful and salts
| factory for all DOMESTIC purposes. II we COM
| pare Sacramento water By this standard we find
/ That it possesses but three OF the requisite quail
tiles OF good water, viz: GOODNESS, aeration aud
| sotness 1t is not clear, and at certain seasons
Of the year its odor is aJOminGble and its taste
| obvious. That this is due to the immense
| amount of marsh water with its accumulation
Of dead fish, decaying hogs, cattle, etc, that are
| drained into it, / have no doubt, and when we
/ add to this the sewage and eXcreta from the
| towns, villages and houses on the banks of the
rivers above us, emptpng their accumulated
filth into our river, the wonder Is now we escape
| rs well as we do. / am not lorgettul OF the
fact that a vast majority OF our people are la
| boring under the delusion that lowing stream
| purifies itself in few miles. Chemistry ties
tifes otherwise; or the poison may be 50 diluted
as 20 be beyond chemical analysis, get there
| may be sufficient micro-organic matter slls-
pended therein 70 epgtuder, when taken into
| the human system, the lnOst malignant of fatal
/ diseases. We win admit the truth that water
containing sewage has been used time and
again without producing apparently any dele
feriouS effects; but II Is also as true that If ty
| phoid fever or cholera or other infectious germs
| are present they Will convey the infection
| whether decomposed or not
| THE detection of sewage in water by chcni.
| cal means is therefore of no momC mt, the point
of interest is its contamination and If this il
| proved the water is dangerous, no matter how
! well filtered the sewage may be. and is undoubt
cdlY the cause of much preventabe sickness
| which is now looked upon and accepted from
| force o. habit as normal condition. | might
| multiply the evidence upon this point to weaTi
ness but will foThear we all must acknowledge
| its truth Another point not 10 be forgotten as
| remarked by DR.. Simmons, is the liability to ma
! lariai disease cngendered by the water which
| lows past CurdoOrs That water, contaminated by
drainage from marsh and tule lands, is fertile
cause Of the maiarial disease is beyond dispute
| / am quite sure that numbers of inValids would
| come here to enjoy the benefits of our delightful
| climate did they not fear the muddy water and
| its effects / hear il again and again i'll my in
| tercourse with strangers, and If we could either
| clear our water and remove as much as possible
OF its organic matter before delivering il through
the service pipes, or get still better supply Of
| water from other sources our city would NOT re
| qret the cost thereof Our increased population
Increased taxable property, the saving in The
| wear and tear of machinery would soon pay
the cos. think we ought to agitate this ques
| ton until we can obtain for our city watyl
| supply clear, cool heathful and abundant"
| nr Wallace A. Briggs said a desire to ex
press nag hearty concurrence in the genera
/ tenor of opinion expressed by DIT. Simmons and
| other members of the society. The keynote o
the situation was sounded by reference TO the
1 Sacramento ut low water as the drainage cana
| basins along its banks. During the late summer
and fail these basins are covered with III,
rankest vegetation and furnish pasturage FOL
immense herds OF cattle and sheep: during
the winter they I'LL with the washipgs o
foothill pastures and the overflow OF the
river; during the early summer they dis
charge their infusion of decomposing vegeta