Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-24
TYPHOID FEVER.
Contamination Which Causes the ID
ease and the Remedy.

Contamination Which Causes the Dis
ease and the Remedy.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star: .-
notice the suggestion in The Star, that
| If the physician detailed to investigate this
matter can demonstrate that the increase
| is due to change Of water. ETC., by those
| who leave the city for the summer. 1t will
| be creditable to reputation Of the city for
health.
It is obvious that this cannot be truth
| fully cone, because the increase Of the dis
ease, as reported, was for the preceding
three or four months, and while the people
had not returned from the country or sum-
mer resorts. 1t was rot they, but those
who remained in the city who suffered. and
| among whom the increase of the disease
has taken place. 1t is therefore clear that
the existence of the disease cannot be &C
counted for in that way.
While there may be reason for inquiry as
to the cause of the sudden increase Of ty-
phoid fever in the District. there can be no
question why it and malarial diseases exist
as they do, in the mind of any person who
listened to or has read the report of the
Medical Society before the House commit
tee on the District at the last session. pub
lished in full in Senate Report No. 623
second session, F'ifty-thrd Congress.
On page 20 they enumerate the causes, as
follows:
1.-The close relation Of soil polluted by
rnitted to be a casual relationship. and no
argument need here be adduced to support
a theory so universally adopted. In Wash
ington and the District there are three
modes Of infection of the soil with human
excreta and sewage:
81 The overflow and leakage from privies.
"2. The leakage from defective drain
pipes in the soil
"3. The backing up of the sewage in the
sewers draining the lower part of the city,
and the flooding of the Easements and cell
lars.
1.-The existence of the privy method of dis
posing of human eXcreta in cities Is suffl-
cient evidence of a contaminated SOIL
Map No. shows the numerical distri-
button Of the privies of Washington. There
are in the city limits $3.50 box privies.
5.113 in the county; total Of 1902"
Now, when 1t Is remembered that the
great mass Of these are connected with the
alley houses. occupied by the lowest class
Of our population, who pay but little atten-
ton to keeping them in order, and that this
saturaticn of the soil from these 1900
privies has been going On continuously for
years past, ore can readily understand
how thorough the contamination has be-
come. To say nothing Of the other causes,
this of itself is sufficient reason for the
great prevalence Of typhoid fever in Wash
iEgton, and which, as shown by the chart
on pege % Of their report, is. on the aver
age, more than double that in New York
and twelve of the principal cities In Eu-
rope! Many of these places are owned by
peer, and who refuse to comply with the
law, which requires water closets. with
sewer connections wherever there are
sewers and a water supply.
Their condition is shown by the follow
ing from the report, on page q:
1.-THE report of the inspector shows that
for the nine years ending June 80. 1891,
there were AZ, 1877 full or overflow privies
! reported, 6,455 boxes with leakage and 663
ole and dilapidated boxes. In one year,
1892, there were 465 boxes noted with leak
age" Is 1t any wonder that typhoid fever
exists, and more especially when it is
borne in mir d that the occupants of these
alley houses get their water from the wells
polluted with the drainage from the soil
contents of these thousands of boxes scat
tered all over the city7 The only wonder is
that it is rot worse than it IS, and If Wash
ington were not in other respects an I'M
usually healthy city the death rate would
be much greater than 1t is.
In some instances within my own knowl-
edge the health office, even when complaint
has been made. has refused or neglected
with that law, alleging as a reason that
under the ruling of the Police Court the
law cannot tie enforced except on proof
that the privy is a nuisance to the sur
rounding property holders. 1t has been
enforced during the past year against poor
people living on the alley in my own
was made to enforce it against wealthy
PIC perty holder on one of the business
streets in the very heart of the city, where
complaint was made.
The medical report further shows that
the deaths from typhoid fever have con-
tinually increased the ratio to the whole
Eumber of deaths in 1881 being 49, and
which had increased SO that in 1888 it was
6.5, or almost double; much greater during
that period than ever before. 1t further
shows that the existence Of the disease is
coincident with the location of box privies
ard the contaminated soil and wells. There
VI
printed and citizens ought to get and read
1t. especially as it can be had for the ask
ing.
Now, the remedy for this is a thorough