The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-06
or oc OUR METHODS COLONIAL
so SAID PROFESSOR ". II. .BREWEB LAST NIGHT AT UNIFIED CHURCH.

An Isolation Hospital Is the Need of the
 City ss Urged by Various of Our Promi-
 nent Citizens-Interesting Addresses on
 the Subject.
 The need of general hospital for contagious diseases was discussed be- fore the Mems Sunday Evening club of the United church last evening, Tal- colt H. Russell, Dr. c. A. Lindsley and Professor w. H. Brewer were the speak, CTS. They have had much to do with the health of the city and have been interested in perfecting sanitary condi- tions.
 The first speaker, MT. Russell, pre- sented some of the legal aspects of the question, as well as related the history of the steps that had been taken to es- tablish such an institution in New Ha- ven.
 The public had never been made suf- ficiently acquainted with the reasons why the finance committee had never made the necessary appropriation for the establishment of hospital of this character. The power to establish one had been granted in 1S93 There was certainly a greater need of an "Isola- tion Hospital'' now since the passage of the ordinance forbidding the estab- lishment of private institutions for such cases Delay was criminal. The pecu- niary argument, which is the weakest to be advanced, should not be without it's effect. Placards meant loss of busi- ness in all the marts of trade. Mech anics cannot go to their work and stores lose customers. Many people will not enter crowded stores g
 Much has been said concerning the danger from theNlocation of a general hospital in a thickly populated portion of the city. It would not be right to locate an institution which was a men, ace to the value of property without damages.
 Difference would be paid to the real estate owners. but the loss of values was much exaggerated.
 The case of Hartford was cited by the speaker to maintain the statements as to decrease of values. Good roads and educational facilities were to be praised, but the crying ne- cessity was the establishment of an iso- lation hospital.
 The two important questions to con- slder," said pr. c. A. Lindsley the sec ond speaker, are, first Will the estab- lishment of an isolation hospital dimin- ish the aggregate of the diseases treat ed; second, Will there be an increase of the disease in the immediate vicinity of such an institution?" In the support of the affirmative an- swer to the former question the doctor made the statement that the "preva- lence of epidenics are due to conditions under human control" This he proved by the decrease of smallpox fatalities since the introduction of vaccination In the early years of this century a dis tinguishing mark of an Irish emigrant was the smallpox pit. Now for years there has not been a. death in Ireland from this disease. The. armies of Eu- rope are free from this dreaded disease Scurvy, yellow fever and cholera all had succumbed in a great measure to hu- man knowledge applied to sanitation
 If recent discoveries teach anything it is that the cause of contagious dis eases is the disease and contact in some form is necessary for innoculation.
 If this be so isolation is the only rern- edy and this is impracticable in our own houses
 Dr. Lindsley then drew two examples showing its impracticability, one from tenement, the other from the resi- dence of the well to do.
 The second questions had been met with experiments which showed that atmospheric contamination could not be made without a radius of forty feet. Professor Brewer, who closed the dis cussion, could endorse every word that had been already spoken. Tt is be- cause our methods are those of colonial days that we have epidenics of diph- theria and scarlet fever. Public opin- ion has not kept pace with the science of bacteria, which is one of the young est sciences"
 "Only few years ago prominent phy- sicians would not admit the truth of dhs bacteria. theory; now knowledge on thie subject is incujcated in institutions all over the land. The money value of this science is not so potent as in the ad- vancement of the great inventions. The money side of the question has not talk en hold of public opinion.
 In five years the death rate has in- creased 52 per cent, the population but 29 pen cent Why should not the death rate be smaller? It is the price we pay for our civilization. We have a good board of health, but the methods at their disposal are those of colonial times"
 In conclusion Professor Brewer said that it was the business of every one present to see that some provision be made for the unfortunate and for pro- lection of our homes. Just as soon as public opinion demands that scarlet fe- yer and diphtheria be stamped out t will be done as completely as typhoid
 I.