The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-06

this year promises to show nearly as large
decreas over 1888 as that year did over
1881. Mr. CasS says that up to Aug l. there
nave been put up but S,115 prescriptions,
and If the decrease is maintained for the
remaining five months of the year. there
VIII be 5000 TO 6.000 prescriptions less in
1889 than 1883, or from IL 900 to II 900 less
in 1889 than in 1887.
MIR. Cass attributes this heavy falling off
70 the Introduction of artesian water and
the abandonment of the surface wells, and
ne observed that in localities where the Tree
arteslan hytrantS took the place of the sur
lace wells there was falling off In the de-
mands of those localities for medicine,
while the city dispensary, like the drug
stores, finds that the demand for quinine has
almost disappeared, showing the disappear
ance of malarial forms of disease.
WHAT THE PHYSICIANS SAY.
DIR. w. W. Owens. city physician for the
Eastern strict of Savannah in his annusl
| report to the mayor for 1888, noted the
| salutary changes in the sanitary condition
of the city, and in closing his report SAYS:
There has been, during the past year, quite
a notable decrease in feve.s of malarial
origin and deaths, therefore; due, no doubt.
| to the splendid drainage uhichwe now en-
| JOY III and around Savannah, and largely to
the splendid quality of our drinking water,
IN marked contrast to that used by us last
year"
DR.. B. F. Sheftall, city physician of the
| Western district, observed the same in
creased healthfulness, which he refers to in
his annual report in the following terms:
Il lad both in my office and private prac-
tlce since the abandonment of the surface
wells and the more general use of artesian
water, marked decrease in the mortality
| among the Inhabitants of the territory in
| cluded In my division, and less sickness, es-
pecia!ly fewer intestinal diseases and a de-
crease in the number of low types of fever"
Outside of the statistics furnished by the
health officer, the city physicians and the
| CITY dlspensary, the two great railroad sys-
| TENS of Savannah bear indisputable testi-
| mony to the growing healthfulness of the
| city, and the observations of the superin-
| tendentS of the Central railroad and the
| Savannah, Florida and Western are valua-
| ble
| Supt Levi Hege of the Central railroad
says: VI feel safe in approximating the
| number of men emp Dyed by the Cent al at
avannah-including clerks in the offices,
employees at the shops, in the yards and at
| the Ocean Steamship wharves-lt 1000
The healthfulness and the falling off of the
number of employees on the sick list have
| been very apparent, and | would say that
| from what information | can gather, and
| from observation, there has been decrease
| or fully 20 TO % per cent. in the number of
employees on the sick list during the past
four or five years, which is no doubt brought
| about by tae improved system of drainage
| and the more general use of the artesian
water since the abandonment of the surface
| wells.n
Supt. r. G. Fleming of the Savannah,
| Florida and Western railway says that his
| company employ about 500 men i'll the city
and 1900 on the road, many of whom live
1 In, off
or five years there has been a marked
decrease in sickness among the
employees of the road. In April last
| a special sanitary report was sent in as to
| tIe health of the 400 or 500 men employed
at the Savannah, Florida and Western
wharves which showed that there was no
! appreciable sickness among the men, and
that their health, and the health of those
| who reside at the compauy's village of Lee
PaSevllle, east of the city, was remarkably
good and fnalarial complaints were rare.
| DR.. r. b. Harris, chairman of the health
| committee Of council, and a physician of
| wide practice, whose crusade against the
| surface wells in the MORNING NEWS five
| years ago attracted wide attention, and led
eventually to their Abandonment, SAYS:
| "There is but little doubt that the health
of the city has been benefited by the intro
| ductiOn OF artesian water. The opinion of
! scientists is, that a man who drinks pure
water and eats unwhOleSome food will live
longer than the man who drinks filthy water
| and eats the most substantial, wholesome
and well-cooked food, provided he gets a
moderately pure atmosphere to breathe
The drainage around the city has done a
very great deal toward lessening the sick
ness and mortality in the city, and es-
pecially has the violent and usually fatal
| forms of malarial and bilious feyeri occur
! ing in the suburbs of, and adjacent to, the
city, become milder in type and more easily
managed. This believe to be the result of
draining the numerous pom Is and low
! places which surrounded the city a few
| years ago.
"There is another important factor in the
| increased healthfulness of Savannah, and
that is that greater attention has been paid
| to the removal of garbage in the last two
| or three years; greater atten Jon paid to
| cleaning the privy vaults aud dry wells. A
much larger number of privy vaults have
been cleaned in the last two or three years
than ever before. There were from 500 to
| 800 more cleaned in 1888 tina in 1897, and
this year fully 800 more than last year will
have been cleaned out In fact" said DR..
Harris, there has been wonderful i'm
provement in the sanitary condition of the
city in the past year or two in this re.
| spect.
GAS to the abolition of the old pumps"
| said the doctor, 81 feel assured that nothi e
could have been done that has so materially
benefited the citizens of Savannah in point
| of health.
Savannah compares favorably in her
health statistics with any city in the union,
and her mortality is actually below any city
| in Georgia, taken per 1000, and the death
| rate is always less in the summer months.
Under the increased rightly of sanitary
measures of every kind the death rate has