Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-12-19

ileath-dealing infusoriae taken into
their bodies with rank water and ill
smelling odors, even those American
cities which are poorly managed in the
two respects spoken of are vastly bet
ter Off. But hygiene has made such
strides of late years that it is really in
defensible if the utmost care, both as
to water and drainage, be not taken
nowadays. And yet but few months
ago there was bad water scare" in
San Francisco, with reports of many
deaths due to this cause. The Chicago
river and Lake Michigan continue to
be the dumping grounds for the vile
refuse and offal of the worlds fair city,
and her health department continues
to attribute large portion of the NOR
tality to the contaminated water sup
ply. In New York matters in this re-
spect are not SO bad, perhaps, but still
very far from satisfactory. And thus
it is with the large number of other
The need of absolutely pure
drinking water and of perfect
sewage must be generally recognized
in every part of the union before a thor
ough reform may be wrought. In this
matter the example Berlin furnishes
may be instructive.
1t was in 1873 that the Berlin munic-
ipality acquired control of the water
supply, and at once proceeded to create
a new and improved system At the
same time it determined to abandon the
grovvingly dangerous practice of drain
ing the city sewage into the dimin utive
Spree, and it entered not only upon d
marvellous system for the disposal of
sewage, but also proceeded, in the inter
est of the public health, to create a
Is
The sanitary authorities at Berlin had
led the world in recent inquiries into
the relu atoms of water supply to public
health, and now the character of the
service rendered by the Berlin water
works is constantly improving. The
water is taken from the Tegel and
Nugget lakes, two sheets of water Is
and 20 miles from the city. This water
goes through series of publications
so chemically perfect that all germs of
disease possibly lurking in it are de-
.stroycd. During the last two years there
was only part of one day when the wa
ter was not as clear and wholesome
as desirable, owing to n defect in the
machinery which was ut once remedied.
No epidemic of any kind at all traceable.
directly or Indirectly, to the water sup
ply has occurred in Berlin for 20 years.
More than that, there was not a single
case of serious disease which could be
laid to the burden of the water supply
within the same time The supply Is
ebundant at all times, and the pressure
is so gauged that there is never any
--water famine" not even in midsummer
up. in the highest stories of the tall
downtown buildings.
But a greater undertaking still was
the solution of the sewage problem.
h.
had used vaults for solid waste instead
of the modern all-receiving sewers.
Good drainage was as necessary as good
water. and the permanent discharge of
impurified sewage into the Spree was
out of the question. Artificial purifica-
tion, and the manufacture of fertilizers
from the precipitated solids, would
have been possible But 1erlin wisely
adopted the better plan of natural puri-
fication by the irrigating of land. I'm
mense research was bestowed upon the