Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-11-13
Communicated
Sanitary Science.

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Moses. Yet, no part of the inspired
word is more ignored in this, the even
ing of the nineteenth century. In those
early times men were compelled TO
keep clean, not only for their own good,
but for the good of their neighbOrs.
Even Rome under the heather EN-
perors was we'll drained, with an excel
lent system of sewerage, and was sup
piled with an abundance OF pure wa
ter. Cleanliness was the rule of life
until the age of asceticism set in. Then
the body was held to be a curse and
a clog to be escaped from. The dirtier
and raggeder the monk, the more of
saint was he. 1t was even declard that
the human body twas the work of the
DEVIL" Under the existence of such
ideas, plaques and pestilences swept
over Europe decimating the people.
The Black Death appeared in 544; the
great pleague in 1914. In the 18th GEN.
tury there were fatal epidemics. Since
that time more respect has been paid to
the body. Asceticism began to lose
ground, christianity and sanitary
science began to join hands, and more
attention was given to the preservation
of the body. Sanitary science has
proved positively, that diphtheria, ty-
phoid and scarlet fevers, and the whole
brood of zymotic or filth diseases, are
the result of filthy sewers and filthy
surroundings. One of our wise men
has declared, "that 1t could not be
proven that filth caused sickness, and
therefore, it was not right to compel
people to clean up" Such wisdom be-
longs rather to the seventeenth than
the nineteenth century. Cholera always
begins among the filthy pilgrims of In
dia fand Arabia; yellow fever among
the filthy towns of Cuba. To detect the
origin of disease and remove it and
thus prevent its ravages, has become a
part of the religion as we'll as the
science Of the present century. DIR.
Rush said seventy-five years ago,
that the means ofpreventing pestilen-
tial fevers is as much under the
control of human reason and
industry as the means of pre-
venting lightning and fire." and
said that, che looked for the time when
our courts of law shall punish cities and
villages for permitting any of the
sources of bilious and malignant fevers
to exist within their jurisdiction"
How would our place fare If such was
the case now? Whenever you find a
case of diphtheria, or any other filth
disease, you may be sure the cause is
not far off, perhaps your house is musty
and lily ventilated, perhaps your cellar
is not clean, your vaults and cesspoOls
are full of filth, your we'll water is pos
sibly poisoned by filth in the ground in
the vicinity; or if none of these causes
exist on your premises they may be
found on the premises of some of your
neighbors. Hunt up the cause; if on
your own premises, remove it, If on
your neighbors and he refuse to re-
move it, complain to the proper au-
thorities, if they fail to do their sworn
duty, prosecute them. The law does
not punish the towns, but the guilty
individuals and their abettors.
Prayer is always good, but in such
cases publication is far better. Do not
charge God with unkindness when he
takes away your favorite child, with
one of these diseases; he would not have
done it, if you or your neighbors had
not violated his sanitary laws. God
never kills babies, ignorance and filth
do. A good lightning rod is a prayer that
brings its own answer, 80 does a good
sewer. God never answers prayer for
relief from filth diseases, until the filth
is removed. The most eloquent pray
ers fail to reach the throne until the
sanitary laws laid down in the inspired
word are obeyed. You need not say
pretty things to God, with reasonable
expectation that you can wheedle him
into setting aside his natural laws.
Private cleanliness is matter of public
welfare. Hence it is that the public is
concerned in your drainage and sewer
age, and in your so observing vital
laws that you may not become source
of disease and death to your neighbor.
Ifyour house is musty and damp, or
your cellar full of decaying vegetation,
omit the morning prayer, and spend
the time in cleaning and ventilating.
Than you can pray with some hope of
its being heard. Half of the mortality
arising from zymotic diseases, are
among children. They have not be-
come accustomed to the filthy condi-
ton that surround them, and die in the
effort to get used to them. A very
large percentage of these deaths occur
in towns and villages, where there is
little or no sewerage, DRAWINGS, or 9TH
er sanitary methods made use of.
The pollution of the public waters of
the State is fruitful source of death
and disease to persons who use the
water or live in their vicinity. When
a town conducts all its sewerage into a
river, that happens to be near, it is a
sin of the most glaring character,
against all the people who live below
them. The claim that water purifies
itself, has long been exploded. Even
freezing does not purify it.
The Legislature of Ohio did one good
thing last winter, for which they are
deserving of great credit. 1t was the
amendment of Sec. 1928 of the Revised
Statutes. That amendment ought to be
printed in large letters and hung up in
every house. 1t is one of the best
sanitary laws since the time of Moses.
Hunt it up and read it carefully, and if
you know of any one guilty of violat-
ing it, prosecute them to the extent of
the law, and thereby protect yourselves
and your little ones, and also contribute
to the safety of others. SENEX.
Pronounced Hopeless, Yet Saved.
From letter written by Mrs. Ada E
Hurd of Groton, S. D., we quote: "Was
taken with a bad cold, which settled
on my Luugs, cough set in and finally
terminated in Consumption. -Four