Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-24

pected In such substances a. cloth
ing, bed linen, household furniture, &c.
Some methods Of disinfection which were
formerly and are still sometimes relied
upon are now known TO be iuefficacious.
There is now universal agreement OF opinion
that heat Is the most powerful and useful disin-
fectant agent Every large city should be sup
piled with q public establishment for disin-
fecting by steam. with which il would be well
to combine a crematory for burning articles
which cannot be disinfected or are not worth
disinfecting, The disinfection OF rooms.
furniture, bedding, &c, should be intrusted to
a corps of men who are trained for the pur-
pose.
lem which offers the greatest difficulties. but
there are few sanitary questions which have
received more intelligent discussion and treat
ment from philanthropic and practical men
and women.
THE FINANCIAL AND THE MORAL PHASES OF IT.
I'VE have thus far considered the sanitary
state Of the poor more especially in its relation
to the rest of the community. l hope that it is
apparent that merely from q mercenary and
commercial point of view il is for the interest
of the community to take care Of the health Of
the poor Philanthropy assumes a totally differ
ent aspect in the eyes of the world when 1t
is able to demonstrate that il pays TO keep the
people healthy. The health Of the people is
the wealth Of the state. This may be u
I
the question: but it is the way which has enabled
reformers to convince mankind of the necessity
OF public SANITARY measures. Ii Is estimated,
and OF course such an estimate can be only q
rough one, that nearly one hundred thousand
deaths occur annually in this country from pre-
ventable causes. For each death there are of
course several cases of illness not fatal due to
preventable causes One can form from such a
statement some idea of the enormous loss in
money and productive labor which we suffer
from preventable causes of illness ana death.
The influence of unsanitary condition upon
the health. the character and morals of the poor
Is manifestly an important question In sociology.
good deal has been written upon il. but
mostly in vague and indefinite way. The sub
ject has not received the scientific investigation
which 1t deserves and MANY of the existing data
are Enthusiastically. The death rate is stated TO
be from two to three times greater among the
very poor than among those better situated.
( But 1t is not only to the influence of unSani-
tary conditions upon the heath. but upon the
: whole physical mental and moral constitution
/ of those subjected to them, that we wish infOr-
nation.
1T is Of course self-evident that insufficient
and wretched food. filthy surroundings, close
and impure air and oyercrowding must affect
not only the health but also the habits and
morals of those subjected to such an environ
ment. Ia any moral regeneration possible I'M
der such circumstances? is not the first step a
regeneration of the physical environment?
| II believe that the workers in this and sim
/ liar organizations who visit the houses OF the
/ poor can do much good in carrying TO them the
simpler lessons in domestic hygiene as to such
matters as ventilation, booking. household
cleanliness. &c. They can also make clear the
necessity of certain simple precautions. such a.
boiling the water and the milk to be exercised
at the approach of certain epidemic diseases,
such as cholera and typhoid fever.