Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-16

To the Editor Of The Evening Sta-:
Allow me to suggest that vigorous dis
cussion of the typhoid fever situation, such
as The Star has been carrying on, is badly
needed. If scare is developed it will do
great deal more good than harm. In fact
first-class scare is exactly what is need
ed.
Some of the theories that have been adj
vanced as to the cause of so much typhoid
fever in Washington, not only this year,
but every year, 1 think will not stand
alysis. For instance, DR.. Johnston in his
interview lays considerable stress on the
matter of vaults. Now, as a matter Of
fact, 1 venture the prediction that there
are no more privy vaults in Washington
per 1000 of population than in Baltimore,
which has one of the very best records in
the country in the matter Of typhoid fever
These vaults are charac seristic of every
city in the country. Their rate per 1000 Of
population varies but little but the typhoid
fever rate does. Hence there must be some
other 6ause than vaults of the disease.
A great deal Of comment is heard on the
subject of defective sewers being the cause,
or one of the principal causes of typhoid.
If this is the case why do not the large
gangs of men employed by the city IN the
sewer department suffer unduly with ty-
phoid fever? I talked the other day with a
superintendent, who has done much of the
city's important sewer work. He said for
close down over a rotten sewer, one of the
worst he ever saw, yet his men did not
contract any zymotic disease. While have
much of the popular prejudice against sew
err gas even when it discharges into the
open air, 1 cannot subscribe to the opinion
that the cause of our annual outbreaks lies
in this direction.
A curious fact about typhoid fever that
cannot well be disputed is this: The cities
Ike Baltimore and New York, that are
known to have good water supply, have
a low-very low-typhoid fever rate, while
cities like Chicago, Cincinnati and WASH
ington, with defective water supplies, have
the highest rate in the country, Washing
ton being only second to Chicago. To each
LOCO of population there are about six
deaths from typhoid in Washington to one
in New York
1 think if The Star sends competent
observer along the upper Potomac as far
as Cumberland it will find an astonishing
| amount of filth of all kinds poured into the
stream. My own observations confirm in
this respect those of your correspondent,
who showed in a recent issue that the up
per water of the Potomac between WASH
ington and Cumberland is becoming so foul
that it is not only in places repugnant to
the sight, but destructive of game fish.
recent survey of New York city's water
supply found similar state of affairs,
and although the chemists there, as here,
said the water was good, the people needed
no argument to prove to them that they
should not drink the contents of hundreds
and thousands of foul sources of pollution.
The result was the city moved on the water
supply region and cleaned it up. And that
is what is needed here, coupled with good
system of filtration.
If no one Is able to point out single city
which has at once good water and high
typhoid fever death rate it seems to me
pretty plain that the straight road to a
low typhoid death rate in this city lies in
the same direction. And as Congressman
are also patrons of the hydrant in this
town, they should be open to speedy con-
viction that good water means health to
them as well as to us. G.