The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-28
TWO DOCTORS OF MEDICINE
JOIN A DOCTOR OF DIVINITY IN
ADVOCATING sTRrCTER QUAR-
ANT7NE LAWS.
DRs. STONE, ABBOTT AND SMITH
Give the Subject OF Municipal Pre-
lection From Disease Germs
Vigorous Treatment.

meeting last evening. The speakers
on the subject were Rev. Samuel G..
Smith, DR.. A. j. Stone, health commits
sioner, and. DR.. p. J. Abbott, president
of the board 70 education. Mayor Doran
was expected to take part in the dis
cussion, but his absence was explained
by Rev. S. G. Smith, who stated that
the chief executive was slightly indis-
posed, and after consulting with DIR.
Stone had taken some medicine and as
a result was not able to be present.
DR.. Smith, in opening the talk said
| there was one city Of which there was
no record of any physicians or sick
ness, and that was the New Jerusalem
1t was not to be expected that anything
like that city could be realized at once,
but it was not impossible that the time
would come when the inhabitants Of
earthly cities would be free from the
plant of sickness. The time would
come when i'll health would be looked
upon as an indication of crime. The
question of the public health was a
manifold one, and the ideal city of the
future would be one in which there
would be no adulterated foods, pure
water, pure milk and pure liquors,
clean streets and alleys, all garbage
burned, and the laws for the quaran-
timing of diseases properly enforced. In
the ideal city the highwayman would
| be looked upon as a rather harmless
individual who might be given a short
term of confinement, while the law for
plumbers and carpenters who did I'M
sanitary work would make them liable
to be hanged with short ceremony.
DR.. Stone, city health commissioner,
said the death rate following surgical
operations had been reduced to a mini
mum owing to the surgeons having
learned that dirt killed. The same
cleanliness observed by physicians in
surgical operations should be imposed
on cities, as cleanliness was Just as
important in one case as the other
A part of the public health that in
terested all was regarding contagious
diseases. 1t was just as necessary that
germs of diphtheria, scarlet fever and
smallpox should be eliminated as it
was that the disease should be cared
for. He called attention to the small
allowance and number of men in the
health department of the city and
said it was impossible to make an
ideal city under the circumstances, but
the department was doing the best it
could. The number of cases of diph-
in the city was AIS. and of this num-
Der 10Y died. In 1896 331 cases had
been reported and the deaths were
only S., This decrease was not due
alone to the health department or
the Weakening up Of the citizens, bur
to the system of quarantining the dis
ease and the intelligence of physf-
clans, Who realized that this was the
all-important question. In 1885 there
had been 220 cases of scarlet fever re-
ported, and this year only 173 cases.
Contagious diseases could be prevented
from spreading by quarantine laws be-
ing enforced and the patients and &C.
cupants Of the house isolated 1t was
an utter impOssibility however. to pre-
vent the spread of the diseases when
occupants of houses in which there
were patients Travelled around the city
Scarlet fever was ten times as dan
gerouS as smallpox, but what a howl
would so up from the public if q
smallpox patient was not at once re-
moved to a hospital and those eX-
posed to the contagiOn quarantined In
cases of scarlet fever, however it was
hard to get the people to take any
precautions. tuberculosis was also
dangerous, and laws should be passed
and enforced to prevent eXpectoratioh
in streets. in cars, and in public
places. Special attention should also
be paid to the food supply, especially
that of children. The scrfptural verse.
Suffer little children to come unto
Me, he thought was not to be taken
literally but in categorical way, and
all that could be done to make them
well physically and morally should be
the aim. Cows should be kept healthy
aNd clean, milk receptacles sterilized,
and the utmost care taken in this re-
gard. Until laws looking to this were
cd Il
among children would not be greatly
decreased, and there would not be ideal
public health. The death rate of chill
dren under five years of age in the last
three years had been 743 in 1894, 648 in
1895 and $50 in 1896.
DR.. Abbott said the answer given by
Cain when asked where his brother
Abel was could be quoted by the aver
age citizen when spoken to about the
public health. Am l my brothers
keeper" seemed to thousands of peo-
pie to be as far as they could see re-
garding the question of public health.
They were just as guilty as Cain; not
that any stick, stone or weapon was
used, but the result was the same
He instanced case where an intelli-
gent woman, after the death Of her two
children from diphtheria, explained to
him that she had taken great care
that her remaining child should not
catch the disease, had sold to a sec
Ond-hand store all the furniture, bed
and bedding which was in the room
and had moved from the house. People
had an idea that it was a disgrace to
have sign announcing that there was
a contagious disease placed on the
house, and did not cooperate with the
physicians and health department so
far as quarantining and preventing a
spread of the disease was concerned
So many persons labored under the
impression that measles fell like the
rain on the just and unjust, and it was
as necessary that children should have
the disease as it was for them to cut
teeth. This was a mistake, as the dis
ease was often fatal, and the troubles
resulting after recovery serious and
lasting in effect. 1t used to be consid-
cred that consumption was a hered-
itary disease, but it is now known bet
ter. Investigations made in a certain
ward in Philadelphia showed that two
thirds Of the deaths from consumption
occurred in one-third of the houses
proving that the residences were con-
taminatad with the germs of the dis
ease. Smallpox was practically I'M
known in civilized countries, owing to
the strict quarantine measures taken
This might be the case with all dis
eases, or they could be stamped out as
nearly as smallpox was if the same
preea utions were taken. While the
death rate in the case Of adults had
decreased, the rate as applied to chill
dren had not diminished perceptibIy.
and there was still room for improve
ment in this regard. This was due to
carelessness in preparing food for chill
dren, and dense ignorance of those
who had the care of them. If an in