St. Paul daily globe., 1893-07-12
TAKE THE PRECAUTION
SECRETARY HEWTTT'S INTERESTING
TREATISE ON SANITATION
WILL THE CHoL ERA VISIT US
Better Protection Afforded by
the Improved Quarantine serv-
ice in Canadian Ports Our
People Should Learn the Les
son Of Personal CleanIin ess.

People Should Learn the Les
son Of Personal Cleanliness,
DR.. Hewitt, the secretary of the state
board of health, hasn't entirely given
up the idea of possibility of a cholera
epidemic. The board met at the gov
ernor's office yesterday in quarterly
session, and Secretary Hewitt submitted
a report in which his views of the mat
ter are set forth. He also gives an in
teresting review of the work of the
board. 1t follows:
Twenty-one years ago the 4th of last
March this board was established for
the purpose of directing and building
up the public health service of the state.
Since then, from few and feeble local
boards of health with little power OF
popular support, that service has grown
into great and powerful Instrumental
lty for public welfare, and has won the
confidence of the whole population of
the state which it serves.
There are today Ill Minnesota l, ,3337
| organized townships, with a population
| Gn 1890 of 700,9 ,949: PCS villages and
boroughs, with a population of LAG. 80 :;
81 cities. with population of 454, 745.
Of these all but three townships have
boards OF health in association with the
| state board; all but five villages and
boroughS and all but one of the cities.
This statement means that these
| boards have been organized and Ie-
ported to the state board, have called
for the laws of the state relating to pub
lie health, for the circulars and inStrUc-
| tons OF the state board, the forms and
| blanks i'll use for their local work and
| for communicating with the board. and
| have pledged themselves to a formal and
active cooperation with that board and
every other local board i'll the work
which has, by law. been imposed upon
them all. That this service is
A Living and Active Force
the lastreport of this board gives ample
| evidence, and that its efficiency Is in
creasing at rapid rate is also proved
Dy the facts and figures there presented.
| But the most Jealous activity, if lin
| tied to state lines alone. would come far
short of the needs of the case, and,
therefore, this board has avaled itself
OF every opportunity to become ac-
! quainted with the facts of infectious
disease outside onr borders. both of
men and domestic animals, and with the
measures there being taken which
| could affect the probability of the i'm
| portatlon of such diseases into Mime
sofa. In doing this we have entered
| into communication with health author
| tiles, both in and outside the United
| States, with view to mutual notifca-
tion and cooperation for the control of
| infectious diseases with very important
| practical results.
In 1879 this board, through it's repre-
sentative, began the movement which
resulted in the Interstate notification of
| an infapfiODS dicpaca XJbjoh iC mum n
| rule III the United States, Canada and
| Mexico.
In 1883 we secured the assistance of
Canada, and last year Mexico came into
the agreement through the influence of
the American Public Health association.
But this was not enough, for most of
| these diseases come TO us through for
eign immigration. To deal with that
| became pressing necessity for Mime
sota,a the recipient of great numbers of
| Immigrants Tor residence, and in transit
to states farther West. This was a more
difficult problem, for it involved dealing
with foreign nations, and was hindered
by the supposed antagOniStic interests
of trade and commerce. The question
was reSolutely attacked, and upon the
organization of the immigration bureau
of the United States for another pur-
| pose, 1t seemed possible to use it for the
| notification OF the
Approach of Infectious Disease.
April Z. 1891, this board asked that the
| immigration service at Atlantic sea-
| ports be directed to notify it of the ar
! rival of immigrants coming to Mime
sofa who had or had been exposed to
! such disease on shipboard, with the
name of the ship. the date and place of
| her arrival, the disease, the name and
| local n Dsllinr mt hor
The suggestion was adopted for Mime
sofa Immigrants as ali experiment. 1t
! has been success as a practical meas
| ure as the following statistics from our
| daily use of. it since 1891 demon
strates. Since June "a. 1891, | have
received from the immigration bureau
162 reports of immigrants arriving at
Atlantic seaports destined for Mime
sofa as having or having been exposed to
infectious disease. These lists gave the
| name and local destination of SAP i'm
migrants going to 1,542 localities in this
state. Local boards reported their action
| in the matter.
Three thousand and seventy-one I'M
migrants have been reported as arrived
sick, 81 with some form of infectious
disease, who were cared for and the
spread of such disease prevented, and
the remainder were found to be well.
Seven hundred and sixteen notifications
to local boards were not acknowledged,
| and they related to 2343 immI-
grants. Inquiry developed the fact
that many had arrived, but as they
were we'll notice was thought unneces-
sary. 1t will be seen that 81 per cent of
the whole number have been traced. :.
and when it is remembered that a large
proportion fail 10 reach the stated des-
tinatiOn because OF change ell route, the
result is very satisfactory. The small
| proportion who arrived sick of Infec-
tlous disease IS satisfactory evidence of
| the efficiency of the SeabOard ouaran-
tine. Another good result has been Sc
cured which was not thought OF; there
has been large amount of activity and
| practice of health officers aud chairmen
| of township boards in this outlook for
infection which will tell with great eff
feet should any infection gain a footing
in this state. either from without or
within our borders. But
Another Difficulty
was discovered in the growing practice
OF immigrants, or rather agents, of en-
deavorlng to evade the United States
inspect on by landing in Canadian sea-
ports ostenSibly for Canadian destina-
tion, but really intending to enter bv
our Northern border. This was the case
with some of the immigrants who
brought smallpox into Winnipeg last
April and diphtheria through Sault Ste.
Marie in May.
This led to correspondence with
Surgeon General Wyman, of the marine
hospital service, which has resulted i'm
an order for notification of such immi-
grants from Neche in North Dakota and
Sault Ste. Marie. which has already be-
gun from Neche. Cooperation has
also been, asked from the provln-
cial board of health of Manitoba
which will be given so that
we may rely on better protection than
before along our Canadian border.
have entered into these details because
we are coming to the season of the
year when, if it come at ALL we NAV
expect cholera. That disease has re-