Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-28
THREE DEATHS REPORTED.
Drinking Fluid Impregnated With
Putrid Animal Matter.
RESULT OF AN INVESTIGATION.
City Bacteriologist Matson on Pittsburg's
Water Supply.
WARDING OFF A CHOLERA INVASION

| Apollo IS now recovering from an cpl
demic similar to the disease that afflicted
| the non-union men at Homestead last sum-
mer The scourge was confined almost en-
tirely to the employees of the Apollo Iron
and Steel Company, of which George G.
McMurtry, of this city, is President. The
cause of the trouble was discovered by Dr.
Mercur at the request of Nh. McMurtry,
and is an example of the carelessness of
mill men when their health is concerned.
The Apollo Iron and SteA Company en-
| ploys about 800 men, and for the last two
months its plant has been running in a
crippled condition. About 800 of the men
nave been i'll in that time, but all are rap
| idly recovering. According to communi-
cation from Apollo only three have died,
the last one being Mr. Sandford, the elec-
trician of the works, who was buried De-
cember 81. The epidemic had no respect
for persons, and indiscriminately attacked
the men in every department. The skilled
and unskilled alike suffered. The disease
was characterized by vomiting and purg-
ing, fever, high temperature and some
hemorrhage.
Suddenly Seized After Eating.
Men would eat their meals apparently in
the best of health, and five minutes later
would be seized with violent fits of purging
that incapacitsted them for work. The
epidemic has abated in Apollo, but is re-
ported to be raging in Leechburg, a thriv-
ing village seven miles further down the
river.
The sickness got to be so bad and puz-
zled the doctors to such an extent that
finally Mr.. McMurtry sent DR.. Mercur to
Apollo to see if he could get at the cause of
the disease. Now comes the funny part of the
story and shows how careless the mill men
must have been. The town is located along
the Kiskiminetas river and the stream like
many others in Western Pennsylvania was
very low all fall. DR.. Mercur made note
of this fact when he went to Apollo two
weeks ago.
The doctor, by the way, is one of the
three physicians in charge of the bacterio-
logical branch of the Department of Public
Safety, which was organized during the
cholera scare, and has been maintained
since with the hope that sooner or later
fine laboratory will Be built at the expense
of the city or State. DR.. Mercur brought
some of the drinking water furnished the
employees to Pittsburg and made an exam
ination. He found it pure and fit to drink.
1t contained some alum which made it tur-
bid, and he learned that the men didn't
like it on that account
Drank the Muddy Tap Water.
Next the doctor discovered that the men
had been drinking the "tap" water used
to throw on the rolls, 1t was intended for
this purpose exclusively, and the firm had
no idea the workmen would be foolish
enough to drink it. It appears this water
was more convenient than the pure drink
ing water, and instead of going after the
best they consumed the ''tap," in spite of
its muddy color. Some of the men frankly
admitted they drank the tap water but
others denied it. DR.. Mercur took the
pains to run them down, and found in each
case that they had not told the truth. In
some instances the men had taken the water
ignorant of what it was. Often boys were
sent for water, and instead of going to the
regular supply stopped along the way and
got the "tap."
The water for the rolls was pumped from
the river below point where the sewerage
of the own empties into the stream. In
addition DR.. Mercur found barrel of sau-
sage half buried in the pool near by, that
some careless fellow had thrown there
The sausage was in putrid condition, and
the Doctor hasn't any doubt that it injected
the water. Between the decaying meat,
the town sewage and the low stream, the
''tap" was in filthy condition. If such q
conglomeration were offered mill men to
drink, and they knew it, the very thought
alone would turn their stomachs.
Would Knock Out the Hardest Stomach.
Still they persisted in consuming the
putrid ''tap" water, and DR.. Mercur saws it
is not much wonder they were sick and un-
able to work. Such dose would knock out
the hardest people. Fortunately the Doc
tor said the sickness was not dangerous, and
the patients recovered rapidly as soon as
the cause was removed. To make sure that
the men would not drink any more of the
roll water, in spite of the warning, Mr.. Nc
Murtry had the tanks filled with crude
petroleum, and in the spring at great ex-
pense intends to go above the bridge for the
supply. AS long as the men find this
water so palatable the firm is afraid thev
will keep on drinking it, and the change of
base is to be made to avoid sickness in the
future.
DR.. Mercur thinks if the river had been
trouble. The barrel of sausage was re-
moved, but the floods would have carried
it away anyhow. The Doctor was surprised
to hear that the epidemic was common in
Leechburg, and he asked if the town was
below Apollo on the river. The chances
are that the bad water is also responsible
for the disease in this place, and the trouble
can easily be remedied Owing to the
drouth this fall many small streams dried
up and the minor rivers became little more
than stagnant pools This was true of the
Youghiogheny.
Disease Bred in the Youghiogheny.
The river in places turned green and a
thick scum formed on the water along the
shore. The result was that typhoid fever
and other diseases were common in Nc
Keesport West Newton, Connellsville and
river towns generally. 1t may be possible,
as some doctors claim, that the sickness in
the Homestead mill can be accounted for
in the same way, and that the poison theory
is incorrect. Physicians state that too
much attention can't be paid to the water
supply of towns, and ii people will exer-
else ordinary cannon sense about what they
drink mach illness can be avoided.
It is not the dirt held in solution that
makes water injurious, but the presence of
decaying organic matter. Clear water is
not an indication that it is pure. 1t NAV
be reeking with the worst forms of bacteria
Running water is likely to be good, be-
cause the movement brings it in contact
with the air, and the organic matter Is
oxygenized, or burned out. Boiling water
even for several hours will not sterlize it of
bacteria The spores that spring from
veoetahlA life have or.ak youars 80 -u.;.t