The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-16
THE MORNING NEWS: WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 16. 1896

lege Of causing to be carefully examined
any article of food, such as milk, con
densed milk, bread, -four sugar, syrup
spices and groceries; also beer, wines anC
medicines. for the purpose of detecting
Impurities or adulterationsi ice cream anl
canned goods, for lyrotoxine and metal
lie poisons. Meats fish, for germs of dis
ease, putrefactive ferments, trichinae
eggs or larvae of flies am
other insects, capable of produe
ing disease, and to ascertain the nature
Of preparation used to preserve them
This official should occasionally publish
the result of his analysis of our drinking
water, Of the milk offered for sale Q,7t
analyses of milk were made in New Or
leans last year, he should analyse tn
water used by dairy men and report nj
sources of contamination to the sanitary
authorities. Every physician should b.
privileged to have specimens of wine ant
other secretfous or excretious of Patio.
logical specimens, ETC., analysed or other
wise examined for diagnostic or for scien-
tiic purposes. This official should always
be prepared to make meteorological cX-
aminations, in culture media for the rapid
three hours) diagnosis of diphtheria. Fol-
the recognition of tubercular and other
Diseases when the microscope on chemi-
cal ANALYSIS leaves a doubt
He should also be ready to make analy-
SEES of the stomach and other organs of
the body or of the blood and other lufds
TO aid the coroner in the detection OF
crime and the physician in detecting
poisons, blood stains, etc
1t should be his duty to always keep on
hand supply of reliable anti-toxine
serum and of fresh vaccine virus.
The Importance of having an official Of
this kind is self-evident and we should
have had one long ago.
OUR CITY MARKET.
Week after week, year after year, the
inspector of the Citizens Sanitary AS
ISOLATION" has called the attention of our
people and of the health authorities to
the unsanitary condition Of our city mar
ke@. While smartinE under his constant
fire. they were forced to make many i'm
provements in the otherwise unsavory
basement of that public building. The
drains constantly filling with filth, had
to be cleaned repeatedly, Zone of our most
astute and go-ahead citizens, whose place
of business was under the market for
years, told me to-day that the amount of
money spent by the city to clean that
sewer and in attempting to make water
tsewage) run up into the Broughton
street outlet would have paid for a sewer
of the same size, extending from the mar
ket to the extreme limits of West Savan-
nah.) This sewer was finally replaced by
a larger one, discharging directly into the
river at the market dock. The very OBJ
jectionable latrines were removed the
meat boxes renovated. Some improve
ment was also shown in the manner of
cleaning-of sweeping the fioors-and in
the poultry business, coops, etc.
But the most important defects, those
which concern meats, have never been
at all. The meat, fresh from
the slaughter pens is still brought to the
market in open wagons, exposed to the
hot sun, to the dust of our roads and
streets; it is then hung up in open market
to cool %, but here it is exposed to the
foul air of the market basement, and to
the flues, some of them green and CLASSY.
The work of these need not be told here.
All flies bring upon meat, poisonous
germs, gathered from decaying garbage
always lying about
The recommendation that all meats
brought to the market shall be protected
from such pollution as described above
and be hung in cold storage at the market
have been ridiculed. Every day during the
past hot season quarters of meat could
be seen hanging in open market exposed
alike to the heat and the dust and the flies
The approaches toothe market are each
day treated tota liberal dressing of garb-
ings, decayed and damaged fruits and veg
etables, horse droppings are scattered pro-
miScuOusly upon and between the cobble-
stones of the Notwithstanding the
market, No receptacles being provided to
contain them. Decay goes on before the
scavenger can move all this rubbish, and
the millions of flies that have been feast
ing upon it are attracted by the meats
left hanging in the stalls after the close
of the market
The recommendation that all tables up
on which meat and fish are exposed for
sale be made of marble has also been dis
regarded by the health authorities, and
it must again be urged that wooden ia
bles do absorb the juices of meat and in
spite of securing and scraping, become
foul and remain so always; the neat CD
subterfuge of covering such wooden ia
bles with white oil cloth is a fatal error.
This cloth does not remain long imper-
vious. The coating of paint is full of min
ute cracks and the cloth soon becomes
saturated with meat juices; notwithstand-
ing the clearly appearance of the surface,
the worst kind of pollution lies hidden
underneath and is absorbed by the fresh
meat placed upon it.
Our people have a right to be protected
against such dangers as have been here
outlined and to demand an immediate bet
terment of the existing conditions. An
ordinance requiring butchers to use closed
wagons and cold storage closets in the
market building would remedy much of
the evil They have also the right TO de-
mand that every room in the basement
shall be amply ventilated by such appli-
ances as fans and fiues to keep up a con-
slant change of air; that during market
hours fans shah be kept in motion in the
market proper, to keep away the flies and
for the comfort nf the npOOlp
Having now been placed by his honor
the mayor, in a position to examine the
public documents of the city, relative to
quarantine and sanitary matters, I Will
continue this work as 1 may be able to
obtain the material. j. c. LeHardy