The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-22
A Vital Question

What is the council doing towards pro-
( viding the city with house drainage sys-
+ tenn Is it dong anythingl Mr.. Rudolph
Herring, the distinguished sanitary engineer,
was called here few weeks ago with the
understanding that the house drainage
question was Of the greatest Importance,
and that it would be given careful and i'm
mediate attention. 1t seems to have been
forgotten. In the meantime the evidences
are accumulating that the city is in a very
unsani airy condition.
Within the last few days tie drains Of
several houses have BEEN found entirely
choked with disease-breeding matter. The
drain of the Minnie mission, which is 500
feet long, was discovered to be entirely
filed. There are a good many small
children in the mission, and
it is wonder that sickness has
not appeared among them. The drain of u
house in the Cassel row was found to be
obstructed and it accidentally came to light
that long drainage pipe on Hull street,
between Barnard and Whitaker streets, was
stopped up. 1t was leaking and the soil in
1 the vicinity Of it was being saturated with
! its contents. These are only few of
! the instances which have been brought to
the attention Of the public lately of the I'M
sanitary condition OF the drainage pipes Of
the city. They were not sought for. They
were found accidentally, or while plumbing
work was being done. How many of the
drains would be found in good sanitary
condition if they were inspected Does
anybody believe that half OF them would,
And yet, in the face of this dangerous con-
dition of affairs, the council is inactive and
the people seem to be Indifferent.
1t is a wonder that there is not diphtheria
and typhoid fever all over the city. II il
were not for other conditions which KEEP
the city healthy there would be. If bet
ter system Of drainage is not provided
however, the health of the city will GER
tainly suffer, and some of those who now
set their faces against house drainage sys
tom because it will take few dollars out Of
their pockets will be among the sufferers
IL their children become victims of the
foul gases forced into their houses from OBJ
structed drainage pipes they may realize
their seifishness and short-sighted economy
But drainage system that would insure
healthy homes would be far cheaper than
The present system. The long pipes thai
now connect the houses with the sewers are
not only costly, but the expense of keeping
them in repair is large. 1t is certain thai
they are the cause of much of the sickness
with which children are afflicted. A good
house drainage system, therefore, would
cause an immense saving in medical attend
ance and medicines.
The city must have a uniform house
drainage system, and why not provide il
at once Let the plans be prepared, anc
everything be made ready for putting down
the drainage pipes as soon as cool weather
comes next fall If we wait until next fal
before dong anything, we shall be in the
same position we are now when COO
weather comes.
The council calls the city clean when il
removes the litter from the streets, white
washes the fences and scatters dislnfectant
in unsanitary localities But the city is moi
clean. IL has a Thousand disease breeding
spots which are hidden from sight, bu
which load the air with death-dealing poi
son. The council must take up the house
drainage question and settle it. 1t is
question which involves human life, anC
the council cannot afford to ignore it Oh
| trife with it