St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-01-30
HEALTH BOARD CONFERENCE.
Several Amendments Asked to the
State Law.
transportation of Live Stock Discoveries
and MISUNDERSTANDING
for the Cholera.
Uo,.uiug Session.


Or. franklin Staples. of Winona, was
called TO preside, and PRAYER was offered by
Rev. NJ. n. Gilbert, of Christ church.
The matter of the care Of swine inside
town limits, of slaughter houses and the mat
ter of excretia aud garbage was taken up for
discussion DR.. G~reaves, Of Mortified. COM
planned of this kind Of filth in his town, es
pecially at the depot. Anything that is
stamped as 4 nuisance in his town was re-
moved. which action the people sometimes
kick about, but it didn't do them any good.
DR.. Staples said that the whole state was
interested in the decision as to how this
swine cess pool and garbage business is TO
be regulated By inspection and BY law, and
many places were waiting to have a law
passed regulating the same so that it could
be embodied in the city and village ordi-
names.
DR.. Hewett advocated in every city and
village a sanitary plat Of every lot in the
place with all the cess pools, swine pens and
sink spout worked out upon it. 1t was the
filth under ground that raised cain and not
the manure heap alone. The excretia hole
and the foul sink spout are the
evils to be feared when cholera
comes on. A plan of surface vaults was
given by him in which the eXcrement was
disenfected and used for agriculture. The
cleaning of a ground vault in the common
way did not remove the nuisance. Aground
hole should be substituted 10y a surface closet
and this whole vault business should be
regulated by city ordnance and such authori-
ties should remove this excretia and enforce
q tax for it. This excretia and garbage, it
had been settled, gave out the poison OF
cholera and typhoid fever into the air.
Slaughter houses should not foul water
courses or supplies, and the ofTAl therefrom
not used for agriculture should have remote
burial or be burned.
DR.. Hoyt, of st. Paul, and DR.. Davis, Of
Mankato, discussed the vault system. DR..
Davis said this excretia permcated all the
soil Of the older towns and the question OF
getting rid of II must be solved now.
DR.. Staples suggested that by city ordin-
ance no more vault holes should be dug, hut
the cities should employ night scayengers to
take off surface deposits for agricultural pur-
poses, who should be licensed and who would
pay for the privilege, and thus make a mini
mum cost TO a municipality for an inspector
or police oversight.
The old vaults covered over and unused
we're decided to be d standing nuisance, and
should be cleaned out and the contents re
moved. Such covered vaults, unless water
gets at them, making a solution which will
run of, keep fresh for years, and keep on
making the water and air impure for an in
lednite length Of time.
DR.. Hoyt, of St. Paul, then read an inter
pstiug paper on meat inspection asa sanitary
measure for use as food. He gave a history
Of the movement inaugurated last October in
this city. The inspector for this purpose
must not only be honest, but he must be
con versant with the slaughter house business
and acquainted with all the tricks of the
trade, as well as with all diseases 10 which
cattle are incident. All animals are in
spectcd before killed, and the diseased, in
jured. poorly nUurished, overheateI, under a
certain age ana stays and bears rejected as
unfit FOR food. After killing, the meat should
be neither too bright nor too dark, to be
healthy, should be clear OF blood, and the
Juices should have a reddish tint. good way
TO detect odor present in meat was 10 chop IL
Up in fine pieces aud turn boiling water upon
Il. The clean blade oil a knife thrust into
meat would also decide the odor question on
application Of the same to the nose. II WAS
Ginlcult 10 trace disease in meat after 1t was
dressed, and he thought an expert In this
business would sometime be employed in
this CITY. There WAS no danger from para
sites in pork thoroughly cooked. Tue latter
inspcctiuu In this city I'm Novemb Der was
1914 head. Of which Gt3 were thrown out as
unit, aud in December 2,4l9, Of which only
tweuty-four were found 10 be undt for
killing.
a prolific source Of meat contamination
were the methods % shipping stock to the
markets. After being driven long distances
70 was huddlcd together In ears in which it
was brutality injured. To those familiar with
this shipping process and its inhuman prae-
tees, the question sometimes arose whether
we were living under a civilized or baFbarous
government. Stock ears should be provided
with single compartments for each animal,
and our legislature should be memorialized
by this board, while It thus put itself on re-
cord. to compel the railroads 10 thus trans
port cattle within the Minnesota boundaries.
Al the conclusion Of this paper the confer
euce ordered a committee be appointed on
the cattle transportation question, Chairman
Staples selecting for the same Drs. WHIT
more, Grraves aud Workman.
DR.. Hrwett then gave som very Interest
lug experiments 10 the analysis OF the waters
Of this state, stating that more appropriation
WAS needed 10 thoroughly examine them 10y
microscopic tests as he was now confined 10
Investigations of its physical characteristic
alone, with the means he had at command.
An waters contained ommou salts, organic
matter and poisonous metals. The metals
in water in this state were iron aud zinc
the Almighty placed the irst In 10, and man
thc second. The waters OF our river towns
have a large percentage Of magnesiR and
lime in them. For drinking purposes this
kind of water was the best. hut for cooking
and washing Il was not "a good. Zinc lined
pipes were dangerous, aud nveyed poison
TO the water, and iron pipes were the only
safc couduiis.
There were two kinds Of organic matter In
our waters, the vegetable, which Is harmless
when there is no decay, and the animal,
which cumcs from privtes, slops aud ma
nurcs. which is injurious in the extreme.
The organic matter test Of water is. however,
no, the true one, but The investigation 10 de-
trct chlorine was the safe rule. WnenH water i
found Co contain from one 70 une-tourth grains
OF chlorine, that water is 20 be suspected;
two grains show IS impurity plainly, and
over that rs foul impreguatinu is u dead sure
thing. 4 well In Minneapolis, from which
school children were drinking, wss found 10
contain twelve grains OF chloviue. which, on
being aualyEed into . syrup, burned rapidly
and with "a fearful stencil Of urine.
Or. HgwCtt then gave a duo teSi color ex-
pertinent 20 determine the amount Of chic
rim in water. which be said be would, on
account Of IL simplicity, by circulars, in-
form all The physicians Of the state how
10 wotk TO test the waters
l., tb.yr resparrfva localities rs