Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-15
NOT GOOD TO HEAR.
Pittsburg Leads Several Eastern
Cities in Typhoid Fever Cases.
SUMNER TRIPS END In SICKNESS.
The Disease Slowly Retreating Before
Street Improvements.
WELLS RESPONSIBLE FOR MUCH OF 1T

There is some CONSERVATION in Phila-
delphia over the prominence of typhoid
fever, but though the disease is much more
prevalent in this city than in that of Broth
erly Love, il would appear that our people
are too busy to notice its ravages. Deaths
from typhoid fever in Philadelphia for the
week ending last Saturday were 25 and for
the week preceding that IA, and a promi-
nent physician asks the press to ascertain
the localities most affected and the cause.
Complaint is made that Philadelphia shows
up badly in comparison with New York, the
former averaging ten deaths a week from
typhoid fever while New York has but
four. 1t is explained that in New York,
Baltimore and some other cities diseases are
accurately classified, while in Philadelphia
typhoid fever cases are Jumped with several
other kindred diseases.
A Philadelphia health official makes the
explanation of the doubling of Philadel-
phia's rate that the increase is usual at
this time of year, and he thinks it is partly
due to people bringing the disease with
them from summer resorts and dying in
Philadelphia. He thinks fishing excur-
sions, foul pumps in the country, moon
light boating, sitting out In the damp air of
evening, change of diet and many other
causes difficult to specify are responsible.
He regards the city water as healthy. DR..
Henry Lehman agreed in the main with
Health Officer Turner, but added that the
percentage had fallen off since the Nine
teenth, Twentieth and Thirty-frst wards of
Philadelphia had been supplied with water
from the Schuylkill instead of from the
Delaware.
SOME UNPLEASANT DATA.
Some very interesting, but very un-
pleasant information, was gotten on the SUBJ
ject from Messrs. McEwen and Mckee, of
the Health Bureau, of this city. The
unpleasant feature is that though this Is
usually regarded as very healthy city, it
appears that it ordinarily averages a much
higher typhoid rate than Philadelphia.
For the week ending the 9th inst. there
were II deaths. which is over 300 per cent.
greater than the Philadelphia rate and
something like 1000 per cent. greater than
the New York rate. There have been
reported to the Pittsburg Health Bureau as
high as "A new cases of typhoid in seven
days, one doctor reporting nine cases in one
day. There has been a diminution of the
disease this week, only five cases having
been reported since Tuesday.
What appear to be, beyond doubt, the
causes of the disease were pointed out by
Mr.. McEwen. Fewer cases develop in the
lower part of the Old City, and in the
dnd af fhn fhcIA do
wards, than in the elegantly upholstered
East End, and the reasons appear to be that
the sewerage and natural drainage of the
lower ward, where putridity is popularity
supposed to exist in chronic state, is much
better than in the East End, and then, too,
in some parts of the latter considerable well
water is drank. The Eighteenth ward,
much of which is hilly and thickly settled,
furnishes large proportion OF the cases, and
in this ward much we'll water is used.
The immunity of the dirty part of the
city, to which Mr.. McEwen REFERS was no
ticed 40 years ago. Old residents remember
that in 1854 there was very little cholera
about the point, while what was the East
End then was scourged severely.
WELL WATER AND DISEASE.
While it does not follow that crowding
people together and accumulations OF offal
are healthy, it does argue that good drain
age and the drinking OF river water are
healthier than suburban paradise lacking
in sewers, and where a considerable por-
ton of the people persist in drinking we'll
water. Not long since the health officials
attention was directed to the un-
healthiness of a section on Conrad
street. They found that the people drank
water from an old well that had once been
noted for the purity OF its water. They
further found that considerable portion of
the waste water from two streets percolated
into the we'll, so that the people were in
effect mixing sewage with their drink. The
Health Bureau has no power to remedy the
nuisance, but it has asked the Street De-
partment to take cognizance and have the
well filled up.
1t is encouraging to know that the general
health OF the city was better last August
than In August, 1889. In that month there
were 4S7 cases of typhoid fever, diphtheria,
scarlet fever and scarlatina, while there
were but 251 cases of these diseases in Au-
gust of this year.
Lawrenceville is one of the sections of
the city that suffers frequently from typhoid
fever, and it has become unpleasantly fire.
quent recently. The streets in that district
are reported in bad condition BY Superin-
tendent Baker, of the Bureau OF Health,
and he has asked John L. Hunter, OF the |
Bureau of Highways and Sewers, to have
the green scum that coats the mud and |
stagnant water washed away and the streets
thoroughly cleaned. Mr.. Hunter promised |
to attend to the matter, but he thinks the |
case has been overstated and that the streets |
are not so filthy as reported. He says most |
of the streets complained of have been |
cleaned and thinks the emerald scum CON-
planned OF can only be existing on Thirty. |
second street where the water has been |
backed up by the choking OF sewers, which |
he says will be cleaned in day or two.
TYPHOID FEVER PREVENTIVE.
The boiling Of water before consumption |
is suggested as a preventive of typhoid |
fever, but it is stated that much of the ice |
subsequently put into it is impure. Arti-
fetal ice, made either from known pure or
distilled water, is suggested as the thing to
be desired.
In this connection it is pertinent to
state that there is more typhoid In country
towns than in the cities. The villages have
no sewers, and wells and cesspools are
almost invariably close together, and the
former, being the deepest get the drainage
of the latter. On farms, also, 1t is quite
common to find barn and stabling erected
on high piece Of ground and the well sunk
on a lower level, so as to catch the
drainage. A little study of dip of the rock
strata in Western Pennsylvania would
obviate this danger. Experienced oil-well
drillers make this study, and so locate
wells that the salt water arising will not get
into springs or wells in the vicinity. Peo-
pie whose gorge rises at the idea of eating
clean oleomargarine, continue, year after
year, to drink water from wells contaminated
with drainage from stables and cesspools,
Ill. 90 3n;eonouc hot in n sbo-t |