The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-27


reported. How many cases, II any
physicians may have neglected to report
at all is, Of course only matter OF COL
lecture. but these figures show that the
epidemic as some people call IL mere,
has been going on for nearly thres
months now and only few cases nave
proved fatal.
But it is not only typhoid fever which
is causing apprehension in Blddeloru, M
During the hot weather of the last tWc
months, there have been
FORTY DEATHS
from cholera infantum and klnufed
diseases, the great majority of the victims
being young children. These unfortunate
little ones, it is said, have been the chill
dren of poor parents living in the tene-
ment house districts. Now, as City
Physician Fogg said today, an outbreak
of cholera infantum is likely to be an in
dication of dangerous state of affairs IN
the sanitary condition Of a city, for
cholera infantum Is a disease largely
preventable by good food and pure air
Forty deaths in eight weeks in city the
size of Biddeford would certainly seem
to indicate that something is wrong.
The existence Of evils which in many
places would be condemned as nulsances
| is we'll known to many of the people here
and the board Of health has SO far not
succeeded in giving Biddeford the
thorough house cleaning which 1t needs;
the board, talked about the condition OF
the city to PRESS correspondents today
| and was outspoken in his opinion that
the unsanitary condition of the city is
responsible for much Of the illness here
and the high death rate. MI Daniel
Cote, the other member Of the board, also
declared the city to be in q bad condition
and referred especially to the large mum
ber Of stables in the heart of the city and
the lack Of drainage. He told of an open
| sewer in that district locally known as
the HShipyard and said that in his
opinion this sewer was menace to the
public health.
evils in the town that he made trip OF
| Investigation, beginning with the group
of stables in the center. OF the town.
| Running at right angles with Main
street. only a few hundred feet from the
new city hall, are Washington, franklin
and Alfred streets and on those streets
are many stables and tenement houses.
The stables by themselves might be un-
pleasant, while perhaps not nuisance 70
health, but in some OF these stables. the
nuisance of stabling is combined with
| thai of growing pork. A Biddeford man
said that as many as fifty pigs were Kept
| in this group Of stables, but that may pc
an exaggeration. Six were seen In one
pen and behind another barn hog was
wallowing in In pile Of stable refuse in
which lay the body Of a dead cat. In one
of the courts in the rear of Alfred street is
a stable beneath which are kept several
pigs. There is sickness In nearby house
and this particular piggery is to go out
Of existence by order OF memper OF tne
health board. All Of these stables are IN
close proximity to dwelling houses and
in all Of them there is no drainage.
1t was seated today by several people
who are in position to know thai there
are many cess pools in the city which
have oyerfowed. Ocular and olfactory
demonstration Of the fact that this was
true in one locality at least, was obtained
by,a visit to the rear OF several tensmen. %
houses situated on Hazel street. Not fa1
away, on Couch street is row OF oul
houses supposed to project over the river
4 bank. but which now, owing to the low
4 water in the river, discharge onto the
ground. A physician is authority for the
statement however, that this place is nc no,
as unhealthy as others In the clty. Mile
division station of the Boston & Main,
is another unsavory spot. An attempt
has been made to cleanse this region by
draining it and much Of the water has
been drawn off. There is still a stream
of dirty water in the low lying swamps Of
several acres in extent, but Street Com
missioner Clark is confident that he has
a bated this particular nuisance. There
has. it is said, been considerable sickness
in this vicinity.
The city physician was today called to
attend case of illness in a tenement IN
which he found in the kitchen re
ceptacle for slops and this connected will
the sewer. An illustration OF the results O
carelessness and ignorance is shown DJ
the statement Of physician quoted by
local paper who, speaking OF the fever
says:
9sThe four cases that I am treating arr
in different sections of the city. l hav'
one case in Horigan's court which an
positive was caused from
DRINKING WE'LL WATER.
There are two wells on the premises
both of which I caused to be closed vi
and the family is now using the cit.
water.
"Tbe other cases also sprung from
drinking water that came from old wells
From one of these wells 1t was possible
to get but two buckets of water a da.
and if the water was allowed to stand
few minutes yellowish scum wouit
form on the top. The house in whicl
this family lives is supplied with cit,
5 wat water, but in spiue Of this the famil..
i chose to drink the water from the olt
+ we'll simply because it was colder
Ignorance cannot be responsible, now
! ever, for the failure to put water closet
in some of the business blocks on tn
principal streets One Of these buildings nam
tains the Offices of three physicians an
, the quarters of club with several hun
, dred members.
. Still there are people who say whel
! told of these things that people do not di
/ any faster in the district where they exis
> than elsewhere in the city. But for som
: reason or another, if the fgurees OF tn
State Board of Health are true, peopl
r an alarm ing rate
f GOV. GREENHALGE TALKS.
, | ,fov