The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-03-14
A SERIOUS QUESTION.
THAT RELATING 10 The PREsER-
vArfoN OF HEALTH.


Sanitary Plumbing in the Largo Cities.
Rapid Progress Made.In Thls tIattef in
z. tho ;SI.ass Ratf Dozen Ycau-rs pehoovos
she t1asses to Wake Up.
Within tho last ten or twelve years
this 3ountry has witnessed two distinct
eras In tho method OF plumbing. About
1876 the plumbing done In the United
States, and perhaps might say especially
In Chicago. had become so bad, with
competition and other chusss, that there
was d general movement oil over the
country to effect something better. It
was our misfortune, however, to make
progress through mistakes The pipes
then used were Of such light weight as
not to be Of service, the traps failed OF
their purpose, aid the old dfop pan
closets were practically worthless CHI
cago today has any amount of that sort
Of work. done just about the time OF the
great fire and prior. AS might have
been expected. the correction of these
evils led to mistakes no Less grave In rev
gard to Sanitation and unnecessary OK:
pensa
AS tho result OF this call for improve
nient came the period Of complicated
structure. Complex traps and fixtures
were invented and sent over the country,
where they found ready sale, and work.
manship bs6atns' m6fe involved ecores
Of patents were taken out on this, that
and tho other appliance, and In almost
every case the work failed Of being ef.
fective simply from Its complicated
structure. That Is the great fault with
much Of the plumbing done In this city
for about six years prior TO 1882, and
even with many Of the contrivances now
offered for sale In the market
Theoretically there is no reason why
the reform instituted about 1879 Rhould
have resulted Ia partial failure The
principles ON which inventors and engi-
neers went to work at the time we're
doubtless right, barring only that the
lack Of simplicity necessitated frequent
repairs and gave freer scope to defective
workmanship, The efforts toward Inn
provement were honest enough. though
! the means wero III advised.
"A REAorIoNARY MOVEMENT.
In 1883 roactionary movement was
instituted In tho interest Of simplicity Of
structure and workmanship, and that
year marks the beginning OF what may
be termed the best era Of plumbing and
house drainage Involved. complex.
work, though In somo degree Etlll .pfao-
ticed, Is practically out OF dato. The
main purpose now In view Is to eliminate
every unnecessary angle, to simplify
every trap or combination Of traps. to
make oil fixtures as little complicated as
possible, to uss material on account Of
its merits. and not from traditional no.
lions as to its fitness9in word, to put
the matter on a scientific basis. This re-
cotton, think, was q step in the right
direction, and the results viii doubtless
stand the test of'actual use.
The sanitarian Of to-day has more to
contend with than most people would
suppose. Ono Of the greatest barriers to
progress Is custom. Fallaoies are daily
perpstlated Its with house building,
beverage, ventilation and the like as ii fs
with most businessea People follow in
ruts from moro habit a good sug-
geston Is made or device invented and
Irrespective Of actual merits It Is too
often thrust aside In Difference to the old
time way Of doing thinga.
PUBLIC oscoNsERvATIsM.
People are naturally more or less
conservative even In the matter Of REM
.edying evils which entail sickness, an
noyance and expense Sewers Of deposit,
for instance, have no place In sanitary
WORK, Cities are growing inordinately
In comparison with rural districts. Thus
! In every metropolitan city Life becomes
I. more and more essentially artificial. and
no adequate provision Is made to neu-
tralige this growing arti6ciality In re-
:speot to Its influence on health Thou
sands live In cramped quarters-two or
three rooms-with absolutely no regard
{ for light, ventilation, water supply,
house drainage or anything Of the sort.
Z The one aim, apparently, Is to be with
the crowd. In the business portions Of
this city, where land Is very expensive,
buildings are run up excessively high,
land ssit:: ::isS only In the newest and best
structures that adequate provision; Is
made for lightsaA smoke laden atmos-
sphere isa constant menace, an evil In
the manufact cturing and business districts
no less great than the vitiated, oft
breathed air in many private dwellings.
And still the masses seem obivious to
their needs
In o large measure the preservation
Of sanitary conditions must remain o
matter Of purely private interest and
lGecaution, and In country like OURS,
where the citizens have eleh power In
getting laws enacted and enforced, it
behooYes the masses to wake up to. 8
realization Of the needs of sanitation
and post themselves as to the best means
Of accomplishing their purpose.-Chi-
cago News.
Oiling the Waves.
Almost every vessel that encounters
heavy seas reports, on reaching harbor.
that oil was used in calming the waves
with great SUCCESS. and had It not been