The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-11
MAKING THE COUNTY RICH
Thousands Of Acres Of Land Being
Opened by Drainage.

/ The Health of the People Improved
and Their Wealth Added to Every
Year-The Difficulties in the way OF
Effective Drainage The Dangers
That Threaten Many Sections.
Inspector Desvergers, in his report of
last week to the committee on public
health of the Citizens Sanitary Associ-
alton, says that drainage work in the
vicinity of the city continues to be sys-
tematically conducted and euer-
getically pushed, under the direction
OF the committee of the county drainage
department.
More effective, systematic and bene-
fetal drainage, he says, has been done in
the vicinity of the city during the last
two months, under the direction of this
committee, than has been done during
the preceding ten years. He says it is
not only surprising, but interesting, to
the people of Savannah to go out and
look at this work and notice the large
area of territory being converted from
malarial boys, hitherto worthless, into
dry, rich soil, ready to yield wealth in
produce. These excellent results are be-
ing continually impaired, however, by the
cattle nuisance.
NEED FOR NEW LAW
1t is annoying to the county engineer to
see work upon which he bestows so much
attention, so soon marred in appearance
and impaired in efficiency. And the in
spector suggests that protection to the
drains around the city might be brought
about by the enactment of law extend
| ing the impOunding Jurisdiction of the
city n a certain Of from the limits
1t would perhaps be as easy to obtain the
enactment of such law as it was to
enact that which extended the liquor
license jurisdiction to distance of three
miles from the city.
DANGER IN THE oGEECHEE CANAL.
The inspector reports that serious COM
plants are coming in from the Newington
church district of the county. The in
habitants of that section experienced
such affection from malarial fevers
during last summer, caused by the per
nicious condition of the Ogeechee canal
feed ponds, and now that they see this
condition greatly aggravated stag
nant matter In the ponds covered with a
green scum and an intoerable stencil
arising from their exposed beds of mud
and ooze-they are fearful of what may
befall them during the ensuing three
months if these conditions are not
remedied.
DECAYING VEGETABLES.
The inspector reports that serious com
| PLANT is being made by the people living
in the vicinity of several large truck
farms east and southeast of the city,
! where the trimmings and refuse of vege-
tables, especially of cabbage, are piled up
| into huge heaps around the packing quar-
tiers, and left to seethe in the sun until
they rot down into mass of unsanitary
| matter, sending out an effluvium exceed
! ingly offensive to persons passing along
the roads for over mile from the locality,
and menacine the health of the people
living around them. The inspector says
| that in a recent trip to the vicinity of
these farms, he perceived the eiiluvia
arising from these heaps more than a mile
| away.
THE WATER MAINS EAST OF THE CITY.
! The inspector concludes his report by q
reference to the water mains recently
! laid through the Purse properly in the
/ eastern extension of the city. He SAYS
that some persons expressed apprehen-
! sion because of the opening of the ground
so late in the season, but the matter had
been carefully looked into by the sanitary
commission before a permit for the extern
! sion was granted, and on condition that
the work should be completed by June |.
! Either through misapprehensiOn or indif-
ference to the limitation of time fixed for
] JlC WOLhs buG CONTRACTOR, WHO mao 0OJ
completed the work in the time expected,
did not suspend, but kept on into June
THE WORK STOPPED.
The health officer acted with prompt
ness, and the contractor was arrested
and taken to the police barracks, but af-
| ter further consideration of the matter
! he was allowed to complete the work
The inspector says that the grounds
! through which these water mains have
been laid are so dry, and the soil of such
| harmless composition, that there could
be little, if any, danger from upturning
at any season of the year, while the bene-
hclal result to sanitation from the intro
ductlon OF ample supply Of artesian water
into that section is incalculable.
DANGER FROM BAD WATER.
The people of the adjacent neighhor-
| hood have hitherto been getting their
water from wells. These wells are in
near proximity to that abominable
nuisance, the Bilbo canal and the water
in the wells must necessarily become CON
taminaJed with the sewage of the canal
reaching them, by permeating through
/ the undersoil. No upturning of the earth
! on these grounds, however extensive
! (eyen if the composition of the soil were
not harmless), could work the injury to
sanitation that a rood length of siush
/ from this canal spread along the bank
woodland there is no way TO obviate
this slushing of the canal II must be
kept mp as long as the canal exists as an
! open sewer.
THE BILBo CANAL sLUsH.
The inspector says he has been in
formed that the etfiuvia arising from the
slush thrown upon the bank recently. was
| so offensive that the superintendent of
the cotton factory was forced TO close ali
the windows on the canal side of tho
/ building, and even then, the on
eratives found the efluvia so sick
ening That they could not work, and the