St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-05
HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC.
State Secretary Hewitt's Interesting
Discourse.
HE ROASTS AND ADVISES.
Points Relative to Common Diseases
Something Of the Care Of
Babies.

There was large attendance at the
meeting at the Academy of Natural
Sciences last evening. where DR.. Hewitt,
of the state board of health, read an
interesting paper and gave delightful
talk on public health and the best way
to preserve it, together with points
as to how to avoid certain diseases.
The doctor dwelt at some length upon
the care of babies and the ills incident
to childhood. One great trouble, SAID
he. is that the mothers OF to-day are not
able in all cases to give their babies all
the food they want. The mothers sup
ply failing, we must fall back upon
cows milk, and this is so often impure
as to render it nearly worthless. Why,
even the patent medicine men have
furnished a substance which is really
better than milk for the babies. but to
get good results the food must be used
according to directions. In using cows
milk there is only one way to do, and
that is to boil it before using it. The
general impression is that if a
cows milk is protected from
the time it leaves the cows udder until
it reaches the baby it is perfectly safe,
but such is not the case. The danger
of using cows milk lies i'll the fact that
in nearly all cases. the milk is tainted
with disease when it comes from the
cow. We should insist on having clean
diaries and good cattle. Then the
danger from impure milk would be past.
Now, in regard to sickness in the homes
of the poor. We all know how hard it
is to care for sick person i'll homes OF
plenty, and it is vastly harder where
there are no convenlencieS. what we
need is hospital where the sick little
ones can be sent with their mothers.
1t is of the utmost Importance to keep
the mother and the child together when
the little one is sick. for then the
mother gets an education in nursing.
In infectious diseases the patient needs
to be removed from crowded quarters.
The real way to do is to have homes
where you can send the patient, or else
send the well persons to remain until
the patient RECEIVERS. Cholera infantum
is generally attributed to the rising
temperature. This is a mistake, as the
real cause is improper food, improper
clothing and improper care. The rem
edy is to remove the mother and child
from the city for week or so. The
poor have an equal right to be protected
with the rich, and if man cannot re-
move his family when disease comes he
should have aid. Why do you not pro-
vide barracks at Lake MinnetOnka and
send your patients there, where they
could get fresh air? This would be an
actual saving to the city, as it would
materially lessen the calls for relief
from the poor.
Typhoid fever is the scourge of youth
and middle age. Nearly all the deaths
from it are between the ages of fifteen
and thirty. The preventive OF the
deadly disease is simple one. When
we can induce people to believe that the
dejecta from person supposed 10 have
the disease is poison, and should be
disinfected before being thrown away,
cases of typhoid fever will indeed be-
come novelty. Unless this dejectum
is properly disinfected our water supply
becomes contaminated and the disease
is spread.
Another fatal disease is phthisis. The
germs are vegetable parasites, which
grow upon us. There is no way of
fighting it directly. There is no need
of isolating person who has it. The
only precaution we can take is to see to
the proper sanitary condition of our
homes. A person having such dis
ease should lead as hearty and vigorous
a life as possible, as this helps to ward
off incident diseases.
The statement that leprosy is spread
ing in Minnesota is false in every par
ticular. The disease is confined to those
persons who had it when they came
here. Not single new case, having It's
origin in Minnesota, has ever come to
the knowledge of the board OF health.
The lecture was a most interesting
one and was made doubly so by the
fact that the doctor had with him
large number of specimens of disease
germs inclosed in glass tubes. The
culture of these germs he explained at
some length. and then showed their
various forms and conditions under
magnifying glass.
''Now do not claim to have here the
germs which cause typhoid fever and
consumption" said the doctor, but l
do claim that in every case where ty-
phoid or consumption exists, these
germs are f0uuQ -