Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-14
A WAR AGAINST FILTH.
The Sanitary League and It's Purposes--what
Has Been Done in Berlin.

| A WAR AGAINST FILTH.
The Sanitary League and Its Purposes-what
Has Been Done In Berlin.
Both the municipal authorities and citizens
are taking active steps to improve the sanitary
condition of Washington. The health officer of
the city has, as announced in yesterdays STAR,
mnde number Of importan. recommendation
looking to waging active war on filth and
rendering the city cholera proof, in the event
Of cholera's securing q landing place
on this continent this summer. The
Sanitary League, which is organized to
cooperate with the authorities and to carry on
BY voluntary effort work which the autho ri ties
with the means at their disposal could hardly
undertake. now has its operations well planned
out. The purposes and plans of the league will
be explained tonight in an illustrated lecture
by DR.. j. S. Billings. U. s. A., in the Columbian
University Lecture Hall, 18th and H streets. A
general invitation is extended to residents Of
the city TO attend the lecture.
THE SANITARY IMPROVEMENT OF BERLIN.
In no city, perhaps, have the effects of care
full attention to sanitary matters been shown
in a more marked manner than in the city Of
Berlin. The STAR reproduces the following
extracts from "A Study in Municipal Govern
ment; the Corporation of Berlin" by James
Pollard, chairman of the Edinburgh public
health committee and secretary Of the Edin-
burgh chamber OF commerce. which are inter-
esting at this time in connection with the move
ments begun in this city to promote the public
health.
In 1871, just after the war with France, with
population already exceeding 500 600. the sani-
tary condition of Berlin was, with the exception,
perhaps. of the city of Koln, the worst OF any
city in Germany. Not only there no pro-
per system of drainage. but the dwellings of the
poor were most unhealthy. Until that time,
aud, indeed, down to recent years, the
houses of the poor were either In the
basement floors of the tenements. in the
cellars or in the top floors. to which
cases from those used by the weil-to-do who
occupied the better floors. Three-story tene-
ments were then common, while now, even in
the wealthy quarters of the town, tenements
are often five stories i'll height There were
then as many as 1865 dwellings in which there
fireplace. and there were $4,000 which
had only one room with fireplace. Reckoning
four persons to family, there were thus almost
half the inhabitants living under such comfort
less and unhealthy conditions. This was the
state of matters only twenty-one years ago.
The mortality Of the city was, in consequence,
extremely high.
For the bencfcent changes that have been
brought about in the sanitation of the city no
man is so much entitled to public gratitude as
Prof. Virchow. He is one Of the most indus
trious Of the worlds workers He is celebrated
all the world over as the most eminent patholo-
gist OF MS age, but for hve and twenty years OF
the busiest portion OF his life he has found time
to discharge the duties a member both of
the landtag and reichstag and of the humber
Office of town councillor as we'll 1t is in
the latter capacity that he has rendered such
splendid services to Berlih. In 1872 Virchow
presented his report to the town council, in
which he showed the urgent need there was
to grapple with the whole question of sanitary
a
ing the preceding fifteen wears into three
periods of five wears each, the mortality of the
city was advancing in the ratio of five seven
and nine. so that in a fourth period it would
have been more than doubled on the first. He
showed that over the same periods the mortality
of children under one wear was in the ratio Of
five seven and eleven SO that il ctuslly donbled
within fifteen wears OF the 81. 800 deaths
which occurred in 1879 no fewer than II LAG
were of children under one wear.
Cholera and SMALLPOX ALWAYS found n hannv
hunting ground in Berlin until what NAV be
called this munic1pal renascence in 1872
The corporation is wisely resolved upon no
half measures. The result was that in 1873
works were commenced which transformed the
CITY in a few years from one of the most nm
healthy To one of the safest ON the continent
Not only was the increasing mortality checked.
but it has been reduced from over 40 to abont
20 per 900 inhabitants. and the tendency ia
toward further diminntion.
DOMESTIC SANITATION.
Concern Tor the public health may now be
said to dominate the mind of the corn Grafton
for though a renuine and exemnlorv thor
.,.,a- .,.o-;.,o
,.a, - a. ~, ia esers par Oh .neir
80, 80 20 NJ we 'neis III "iiicn s,'cn
alta ~ IN. ii' nave oeeii nIecteu as IN 'nat
SnIita wiz ,no o'.e oi the neai'n OF 'he IN
aDi o'eity mere Is; misery anu suHer-
ntS,rs orc co;,,r,,oIo a,,D:,c, $50 VI
where frall human beings gathered
.osethef, pay MIN. whieh Is so usually the
local babitat;on fEor -, ras, en-. Ia, - ~
the CORPORATION have waged constant and suc
cessful war against dirt and material pollution
among people and dwellings in apv form in
which these evils menace the general health of
the community. Every house proprietor is
bound, when he finds his tenants keep
ing their dwellings in filthy state to
warn them TO cleanse them forthwith. II tbev
do not. thew are turned out without further
ceremony should the landlord neglect or fail
to perform his duty in this respect n COMPLAINT
made by the neigLbors-a ha,f-penny po,t-card
addressed to the proper ouarter-will insure a
visit from an officer of the sanitary denartrnant
This officer will. if be find, the bouse filthy
order out the inhabitants and cleanse it at the
IF cboIero sbonId ranch pou,;r dru;, .,o
present epidemic it will be interesting to com.