The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-12-13
Full Text Of Dr.. L. D. Jacobs Paper
on Drainage and Sewerage.


flying to the association. After an in
vocation by Rev, Sauerber, DIR. Hendy
delivered the address of welcome.
which was a very happy one. Hon.
John X. Wright, presi lent of the con-
ventiOn, delivered the response in well
chosen remarks.
Before proceeding with the work Of
the convention, DIR. q. I'll. Il. johnson
of Atchison stated the object of their
assembling from year to year. He said
that the larger class of our people go
on regardless of the dangers around
them in regard to preventable diseases.
Some very startling facts and figures
were given as to the dread work of
preventable diseases as compared to
the epidemics, such as yellow fever.
The diffusion of poisonous gases
by Professor Dinsmore was one
Of the best of the evening. The fol-
lowing is the synopsis: Pure air is
necessary to the life and DEVELOPMENT
Of the tissues. When from any cause
the air either loses its impurity or abb
serbs pOisons the whole man suffers in
consequence. The most common
poisonous gases are, animal matter
usually found in crowded halls; often
sive gases and OdOrs which emanates
from the sick: illuminating gas, escap-
ing from defective joints; ammonia,
from vegetable matter; and sewer gas,
too often found about the homes. The
practice Of retaining cooked vegetables
from meal for future use is danger
GUS. The good mother does not real
ize that as the sponge absorbS water
so do stewed tomatoes, onions, cabbage
baked apples and such substances
absorb poisonous gases.
The pollution of drinking water was
most ably handled by w. d. Bidwell.
M. ID. of Leavenworth.
Professor Stevens next presented
an interesting paper on the water
supply of Emporia. Out of III house
holds which he visited in the city he
estimated that As per cent of the popu-
lation use well water and five per cent
NeOshO River water for drinking pur-
poses. These reports show also that
in SO per cent of the wells buckets
are used for elevating and about 81
per cent of the wells are so covered as
TO shut out surface drainage. An an
alysis shows n greater organity of i'm.
purities in the we'll water than would
be probable in u soil uncontaminated
with sewerage. The waste slOps
(70 per cent of which are thrown
into alleysl re- appears again in the
drinking water supply. The classes OF
filters used In our cisterns WAS fully
explained, and during the presentation
of the paper charts representing mag
nified drops of water we're shown to the
audience. He also proved that the wa.
ter from the Neosho river had many
points of excellence above eistern and
well water. n description of the
reservoirs on Smiths hill was given
lIydrant water should be used
II accessible, If filtered water from CO
mented cisterns could not be obtained
Where water from uncemented cisterns
and wells was used it should first be
thoroughly boiled.
The last paper was by DIR. Johnson,
subject, Longevity" lie reviewed
the length Of mans life since the fOun.
dation of the world, reaching its low.
est mark in the Seventeenth century
when men lived but twenty-one years
Then there was an awakening and il
the Eighteenth century the average
was raised to twenty-nine years, anC
in the present century the average il
forty-nine years. He cited temperance
reform as strong salutary infiuenc,
in the higher direction, and said tina
if the people of Kansas MAINTAIN thei
present high average sobriety, at leas
two decades will be added to their life
The paper was interesting and dis
played much thought. Many suGges
tiOns were thrown out. The paper, bu
Tor its length and our want of space
would appear here to-day.
Among the papers presented yester
day was one by Jacobs on draining ant
sewerage. n resolution was unani
mously adopted asking the Emporii
papers TO publish the same in full. Tn
following is the full text OF the paper
DRAINAoE AND SEWERAGE IN EN-
PORIA.-L. d. JACOBS, NJ. ID.
A question which confronts tue citi
Zens of Emporia. and to which, per
haps, little consideration has been Civ
en-, but upon which decided actor
must sooner or later be taken, is tina
of drainage and sewerage.
Neither our repugnance to expendi
ture of money, nor our indifference t,
comfort and convenience. will loni
enable us to defer the subject
The accumulations of decomposini
filth in vaults, cesspoOls. drains, gut
tiers and saturated soil, like SO man,
powder magazines, are a menace t.
the community. They only need tn
spark of specific disease-the germs O
cholera, typhoid, dysentery, diphtherl
and they become Borgias of destruc
ton. Those who breath the air q
drink the water of their contamination
sicken and die.
This is no extravaganza representa-
tion; and our healthfulness to-day i
no guarantee of our healthfulness tC
morrow.
In London the contents OF priv
vault soaked into a well from whic
the people dlank for months with inn
punity. \ man suffering with chol
era was brought to the house and hi
degjeetions were thrown into tn
privy. Within three days afterward
i've hundred people who drank froI
- the we'll were seized with cholera.
E. In 1880, in Newport, Rhode Islan
this case is from a report by WarrinI
family of children-the entire fam
ly-suddenly sickened and died wit
diptheria. The suddenness of n
disease and its fatality was ,
alarming that the maVor0 of the eli
employed the services of Colonel Wa
ring, an expert sanitary engineer.
examine and ascertain, if possible. Il
cause of the disease. He found n
drain pipe opening into leachiT
cesspool, which had not been touch,
for ten years. There were virtually /
traps in the pipes, and the vilest gas
flowed into the living room. Besid
this out of the living room there open,
an ell. one room, through which W
the back entrance To the house. u
der this ell. which had no cellar. r,
this drain pipe on its way To the ces
pool. The pine had broken and I