The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-07-08
The Growing Contest.

kuQ / Cal seltie tOG great question tuoI 10
now claiming undivided public atten ton, |
would suggest that the Stale canvass be
called off. Human minds are pot capable OF
bearing 100 much, and TO crowd two large
issues noon the multitude at one time mi ight
result in Injury to some one. This modest
suggestion may be taken only for what it is
worth.
The vital and immense issue seems now %
lie between Mr. Mason and myself, the two
candidates for the high position Of place on
the Board of Health would urge the
twenty eight registered voters 10 remember
that upon their honorable and august fran
cbse the destiny Of nations may depend. a
mistake made now may pass beyond the reach
of all human remedy, and the coming years
will witness large and copstaAt regret
Ny numerous friends and constituents lof
whom there are said TO be ten in twenty J
have urged me to state my position and de-
6ne my platform, Just as senator's and county
dispensers do. am informed tha, more
than ore man voted agaips, me because they
said was in favor CT hogs being kept 10 our
b>@
and hapce can endure some people. have
great gift in liking some things. A hog in a
back yard is he best scavenger, aud eats up
fensive. 10 return for this service, We turn
around and eat the hog. But hog coo6ced
in pen is an animal of another sort, for it
is then the pen that becomes offensive, while
| the hog remains as he was before, except that
be becomes more 80. My humble opinion is
tba: it should be left to the Health Officer to
say when hog becomes a nuisance 10 q
backyard, and be should feel called upon to
enact law of emancipation for every hog
which be finds shut up in pen.
The nex, glowing question upon which 3y
numerous constituents and admirers say am
in duty bound to express myself is, the one
that concerns household sanitation. 1t seems
that one or two or more of our honored ciii-
zens are tearing their hair on the matter Of
dry wells and the decree has gone forth that
dry wells are the main cause of much sick
ness and Many demises. The argument is
that these wells corrupt our water supply as
furnished by driven pumps, and therefore
abated 1t would be better, some sag, 10 al
! low dead morse to remain on top of the
earth and undergo disintegratioD, than to
bury him under the earth. So it is better 10
allow all of the offal 10 remain on the ground
and smell to heaven rather than bury it un-
der the earth My natural obt1seness will
not allow me to see the force of this argu-
ment. ali decaying matter passes back toto
the earth or air, whether buried or not. To
bury it simply puts it ou! Of the way during
the process of corruption. Left on The earth,
it vtia,es tine air We breathe, and makes some
sections uninhabitable. Buried, it may cor
rupt q well that is near by, though this hon.
orable candidate is not unmiodful of the fact
that some of the finest wells of water have
long stood within few feet of horse LOT,
and no one ever complained Of being made
sick By drinking therefrom. Sometimes
body is almost ready to conclude that We
scientific people know too much that is not
So Of late. the germ theory has run rife
over the world, aud men have been driven to
madness by the fact that they were all the
time taking these germs into the system in
uncounted thousards. But more recently
still another school of wise men has come to
the front who say that al! nature is alive,
and that these millions of germs which we
breathe and drink and eat are provided by
wise God for hygenc purposes, and that
they conduce to our health and hsppiness.
So, really don't know where am at. But
| DO know that since the day Abraham
buried Sarah in the Land Of Promise and
until now, it has been the law of nations to
bury dead and decaying matter of all kinds
The Bible model is a burial, and | am not
sure that we can improve .ou it, no matter
how many things We learn that are not true
But our scientific authorities are not