Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-05-02
A SANITARY CONFERENCE.
Delegates From State Boards of Health I'm
Session I'm This City.

AcoSvESrroS OPENED ToDAY-wELcoMED BY
COMMISSIONERS DoUsLAss-oUEsrroSs REGARD
ING YELLOW PEvER GUARANTEES DIscUssED-A
LIST OF THE MEMBERS PRESENT.
There was an assemblage Of notable men in
the red parlor of the Ebbitt House this morn
ing whose business in life it is to look after the
health and physical welfare Of the people of the
land 1t was a fine looking body of men, keen,
groomed and dressed
Thirty-two OF the states of the union main
tain state boards Of health, and the meeting to-
day was the first session Of the seventh annual
meeting Of the conference of state boards Of
health, preceding the annual meeting of the
American Medical Association. Dr.. J. n. Nc
Cermack, Bowling Green, KY. is the pres
ident Of the conference, DIR. c. o. Probst, Co
lumbus Ohio the secretary. and DR.. Henry b.
Baker, lansing. Mich, the treasurer.
TO CONTINUE NEXT MONDAY.
The meeting will probably last through Mon
day. and is devoted largely to the discussion Of
questions that have been raised before the
meeting by different state boards. These ques-
tons are all Of the utmost interest and value
from the standpoint Of hygienic welfare.
From the very nature of the conference the
attendance was by no means large, about
twenty five, but as they are all interested IN
the same line of work and investigation the
different papers are listened to and discussed
with unusual closeness.
A local committee of arrangements had done
all the preliminary work that could possibly be
done toward the comfort of the visiting sani-
tarians. This committee made up of DIR.
Smith Townshend, health officer; DR.. Philip 5.
Wales. medical Inspector, I. ). "; Dr. G. l..
Demorest medical sanitary inspector: DIR. b.
q. Pool and Mr.. j. Cooper McGinn, chief clerk
of the health Office.
THE DELEGATES PRESENT
Those who were present together with the
states they represent were as follows: Ala
bsma, DIR. Jerome COchrane, state health
officer; Indiana, DIR. C. n. Metcalf, secretary,
and DIR. Boots, member state board; Iowa. DIR.
j. e. Shrader, member state board, DIR. W. F.
Peck, medical department. University of Iowa.
and DIR. q. II. Hil, superintendent
Iowa Hospital for the Insane; Ken
tucky. DIR. l. y. Mccormack. secretary;
louisiana, DIR. s. r. Olliphsn;, president and
DIR. l. F. Salmon, secretary; Missouri, Dr.
Geo. Holman, secretary; New Hampshire. DIR.
Irving A Watson, secretary: New York. DIR.
Lewis Balch. secretary. and DIR. o. DonOhue,
member of board: Ohio, DIR. c. o. Probst,
secretary; South Carolina, Or. III. ID. Frazer,
secretary; Vermont, DIR. i. Hamilton; WiscOn-
sin. DIR. j. i. Reeve. secretary, and Dr. Nc
Reynolds, member of board; District of Co
lunbia. Dir. j. Cooper MeGinn, deputy health
officer; Ontario, DIR. i. H. Bryce, secretary;
West Virginia, DIR. y. ID. Baker, secretary;
Rhode Island, Dr. Albert G. Sprague, member
state board
Promptly at 10 O'Clock President Mccormack
called the meeting to order and asked Secretary
PrObst to read the roll.
WELCOMED BY COMMISSIONER DOUGLASS.
Commissioner Douglass made pleasant adj
dress of welcome to the delegates, in which he
referred TO boards of health as boards of hap
piness for their efforts are to promote the
health of the community in order that every
man NAV live out the full measure
Washington, he said. Is rapidly getting to be
quite scientific city by attrition and contact
with the many scientific bodies that making
ii their custom to meet in conventions here.
This CITY has a new health ordinance compel
ing the placarilng of houses where certain
diseases are known to be-
AT rirst this had almost caused a riot but
more recently man had complained bitterly
because hi house not placarded. This
shows the progress of sanitary intelligence
here. Feeling sure that their conference would
result in the greatest good to the society and
To the country at large Mr. Douglass again
bade them welcome 10 the city.
The proceedings Of the morning included a
discussion upon sanitary questions that had
been propoundet by the various state boards.
YELLOW FEyEE oUARASrINEs.
The first was one based on the precautionary
MEASURES adopted against the admission of yell
low fever. IL was proposed by the state board
Of health of Louisiana and reads follows:
:. What are the requisites for a thorough
svste IN of quarantine AMI maritime sanitation
IN the hight IF present scientific attainment!
= What the best methods for the self
protection of individual states from the intro
duction of pestilcnce through states which
have ~ adequate Quarantine!
The discussion opened by q valuable and
Interesting paper by Dr. jerome Cochran of
Montgomery. Alabama. He said that the larg-
e., number of eases OF yellow fever occurring
IN the United States Md come by ship from
Cuba Still even in the season when yellow
fever Is prevail Mt IN Cuba not more than
one in twenty ships rs infected, and when the
disease is not epidemic there the number
u less than one IN hundred This was
a curious fact in connection with the matter.
The proper place. he thought, for quarn timing
was not New Orleans. but the port of Havana
oiisiEiectsut he defined anything that
would kill or render IEnocuous the zymotlc
germs Of disease. Disinfectants are Of four
GLASSES. extreme heat. extreme cold. certain
chemical reagents and cleanliness and ventila-
ton
QUESTION OF TEMPERATURE
Yellow fever, continued DIR. Cochran, is q
disease Of hot weather and tropical countries
and is completely eradicated by cold. II it il
driven away by The frost of an ordinary winter
then there Is no reason why cold artificially
produced should not be equally eficaeious
IL Is also clear that extreme heat
will kill the yellow fever germ. II
cannot withstand a temperature Of $50 degrees
Fahrt nheit. and II Is doubtful if it could sur
vIve i hea, OF 2l2. The paper then went on to
dlss U.s. the value of certain chemical disinfect-
anti. the fumes of sulphur, mercury, bichloride
and others.
As TO the question of quarantine. sailing
vessels without cargo or passengers and with
ar -OclIniated crew are much less likely to be-
krnfected than passenger vessels in cargo. There
but port on the gulf where vessels of the
nOre dangerous class are taken In hand by local
cards This ports New Orleans. \ quarantine
Zen days at any port On the gulf would be
om p.ete embargo on all commerce between
bat port and troI ieal ports. Five days woulI
almost as fatal, and in the case OF Havana
Fieamers a detention of a few days il
that l. possible, but disinfection
should not take up much time. Fumes
o. sulphur, flooding with bichloride Of
mercury. thorough cleaning and ventilation or
ts APPLICATION of wet or dry heat should be
used In the case Of iron ships they can be
treated Satisfactorily b. chemical means. but
sclden old wooden ships cannot be SO
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