Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-23

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matrimony? Through
III hard struggle 1
IT, have been forced to
realize this myself;
negatively at first. AS a housekeeper, re-
sponstble for the health and happiness of
five persons. l was placed face to face
with vital problems, for the correct solu-
ton of which 1 had neither academic
knowledge nor experience to guide me-
Yet had sufficient general information to
goad me with the consciousness that in the
pale face and diminished vitality of any
one under my care were involved principles
OF right living, which somehow my best
efforts were failing to compass. So long as
l remained in ignorance of these principles
and neglected to apply them in my house
mold provisions. so long l virtually con-
n1Ved at slow murder, moral degeneration
and spendthrift economy in my house. for
without conditions of health established
there is no power in maternal love nor in
religion to maintain any feature of good
government in the domestic sphere.
Sanitary Science Club.
For, two years I struggled under the bur-
den of a conscience overshadowed by mi
crobes, bitterly realizing the scriptural as
sertion IF ones light be turned to darkness
how great shall that darkness be-" Finally
l fell in with Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, pro-
fessor of chemistry in the Massachusetts,
Institute of Technology into whose sympa-
thet.c ear and scientific mind l poured my
tale of woe, with the result that she guided
me to the salvation afforded by en- institu-
ton which she helped originate. that IS de-
signed to rescue from the depths of despair
and lead in paths of peace just such IN
happy housewives as l eXempiiied-this is
the Sanitary Science Club of the Associa-
ton of Collegiate Alumnae, which was or
ganized in November. 1885, for the study of
home sanitation, and during the years Of its
activity has perfected a simple concise and
comprehensive scheme for impartng a
knowledge of sanitary science to women
That this science is the especial province
of women moments attention to the mat
ter will show you.
Importance of Sanitary Houses.
Sanitary law, to attain its end, depends
first of all upon sanitary homes. and with
out these secured no amount of legislation
no municipal provisions that refer to other
matters can do more than check to lin
tied degree the development of definite dis
ease. which is secondarily to be considered
in estimating the health conditions of a
community. There is first the most wide
spread. the most ibsi6uously evil conse-
Quence of unsantary homes. general lam
guor. exhaustion. which is any disease in
potent and is Furthermore source of
immortality and positive loss to the COM
mercal interests Of country. Nordan, in
his generally read Degeneration. has
shown the why and wharefor of what
every thinking person has experienced or
observed of the relation between diminish
ed physical vigor and vice, AMI in his re-
cent report on housing the laboring people
Commissioner Wright has furnished Zig
ures of what unsanitary living costs in
time and money by reducing the working
capacity of people.
Sir James Paget, the DISTINGUISHED Eng
fish physician, says statistics snow that the
whole population of England between fif
teen and siXty-five years old in each year
work 2ODOO,OOO weeks less than they might
if it were not for sickness Estimating
those for the domestic, Industrial and agr-
cultural classes as numbering !.Job.0b' he
puts their loss at fl1.O00.V0U iS:li .53l SOD an
nually NO one who lives among the poor
can doubt says he, that a very large pro
portion of the sickness and loss of work
which one sees might have teen prevented
He reckons this preventable proportion at
one-fourth. One entirely preventable dis
ease-typhoid fever-cauSes. he calculates,
an annual loss of 23O.0OO " eeks OF work tc
those who survive it. The royal commits
sion on the housing of the working classes
-lSS5-Spaaking of the housing Of the poor
In the low parts of London, say that the
statistics of annual disease consequent
upon unsanitary living would not convey
the whole truth as to the loss to health &C.
casioned by it to the laboring classes.
''Some years ago the London board in
stituted inquiries to see what was the
amount of labor lost in the year, not by ILL
ness, but by sheer inability to work. 1t was
found that upon the lowest average every
workngman or working woman lost about
twenty days in the year from simple ex-
hauStion.''
DespOtic Health Board.
That the home is the center of health and
the fount from which disease radatas is
recognized by state and municipal pro-
vision for health less generally in this couH-
try than in those older civilizations of Eu-
rope, along the lines Of whose development
we more and more closely follow. New York
city, which is conceded. to have the most
effective sanitary system Of any in this
country, most particularly provides for the
promotion of sanitary homes. The health
department has such unlimited power in the
exercise of this function that 1t IS said the
Sultan of Turkey at one time contemplated
sending an expert to this country to learn
from the New York health department the
most recent discoveries in the extension OF a
deSpotic rule.
ANY member of the board of health NAV
enter upon examine and survey all grounds,
buildings, apartments, &c, and inspect their
safety and sanitary condition, making plans,
drawings and descriptions.
For the purpose of carrying out the pro-
visions of the sanitary code forty-fve DO
jects that. in addition to location, cellars,
yards, front areas. waste pipes and soil
pipes, includes such particulars as the fol-
lowing:
General inspection-Cellars;s stairs and bal
listers throughout the house; walls ard
ceilings of halls and rooms throughout the
house; floors of rooms and halls through
out the house; slop sinks, whether trapped
and ventilated; wash basins, whether trap
ped and trap ventilated; bath tubs, whether
trapped and trap ventilated; Croton supply
pipes; roof; wash roof; skylights; leaders;
caves cutters; chimneys; fire escapes: water
closets, whether trapped and trap ventilated
privy vaults; school sinks. privy houses
cesspools; urinals. whether properly flushed
clothes poles; fences; hydrants in yard; air
shafts.
Ash eceptacles-Whether sufficient; in
sanitary condition; whether kept within
stoop line
Refusal to conform to sanitary regulations
is punishable by a fine Of $3.50. the minimum
penalty being $40.
The New York board of health directly
takes cognizance Of the relation Of wo-
men TO microbes, and employs a special
corps of fifty physicians during the sum-
mer, whose duty it is 10 visit from house
to house, for the purpose of not only giving
medical advice AMI treatment. but also
a1p fharl hav