Evening star., 1896-11-09
mission granted to obstruest streets; as is

mission granted to obstruct streets; as is
done in this city.
I'm some cases the permit has been asked
for by the family of the patient apparently
because aeneighhGr hes. had q similar per-
NIT. and when extensions OF time are re-
the ss ssa Us Stss tse
corner, had the ropes up for five or ten
days, SO that the applicant must therefore,
be entitled to do HkewEtse., Such applicants.
when referred to the attending physicians
for the necessary certificates, have uni
formly been able to secure them, the ply
sician complying in e6me cases with the
request of the patients family lest he
should be compared unfavorably with the
physician who attended Mr.. - And upon
the presentation of a certificate to the
health department 1t must be duly honored,
or the physician who issued it may be dis
credited before his patients. Some fixed
rule must. therefore. govern the entire mat
ter.
THAT the demand for the roping off of
streets does not come from the medical
profession is shown by the following res
olution. adopted at a meeting of the Medi-
cal Association Of the District of Column
bia, October 4, 1892:
custom in the city Of Washington to OBJ
struct streets to travel where sickness ex-
lists, be it Resolved, That the barricades to
streets heretofore permitted in cases of
sickness by the Commissioners of the Dis
trict of Columbia be condemned by this
association. That committee be appoint
ed by the chairman Of this association to
wait upon the Commissioners, expressing to
them the action of the body, and urging
the adoption Of means used in other cities
of the United States to secure quiet with
out cutting off travel.
Il respectfully recommend, therefore,
that the maximum time for obstructing the
streets on account of sickness be reduced
to thirty hours for any one patient in a
single month; that, If the use Of the street
after the expiration OF that period Is IN
furious TO such patient, permiss. on be grant
ed to cover the same with tan bark or
some similar material; and that the matter
be regulated by law, instead OF simply
tolerated by the Sufferance OF the puphc'
as at present
The health officer urges the establishment
of meteorological laboratory In connec-
ton with the chemical laboratory now be-
longing to the office.
The MIX Law.
In reference to the enforcement of the
milk law, approved March .. 1895, the re-
port states that 395 permits have been Is
sued for the maintenance of dairies, 139 for
the maintenance of dairy farms, and 402
to bring milk into the District from neigh
boring states The inspections made dur
ing the year revealed in many cases an
entire ignorance of the most rudimentary
sanitary principles connected with the pro-
Guction and marketing of milk. The health
officer recommends that the law be amend
ed in the following particulars:
All cows from which milk is to be taken
for sale in the District of Columbia should
| be registered; the sale Of milk which has
been brought into the District, in violation
of law should be explicitly forbidden the
method of sampling and analyZing milk re-
auired by section L. should be changed by
Pre- viding that in the case of sampling the
inspector should. after taking a sample.
Of ffininn fnr
aiSsiS, properly sealed, to the person from
whom the sample was taken, so as to en-
able him to have an analysis made by his
own agent, If he so desires.
The Garbage Service.
Considerable space is given in the re-
port to the subject of The collection and
disposal Of garbage and dead animals
The circumstance attending the letting Of
a contract under the appropriation act of
March 9, 1898. to cover the brief period of
four months pending the installation of a
permanent system are set forth, together
with the data on which the pay of the
contractor was calculated. review Is
given also of the Investigations made by
the health officer of the reduction works
in various cities and tthe relative merits of
the reduction system and of cremation are
considered. i-tr
Whether or mol" says DR.. Woodward
the reduction system is a success, so far
mains to be demonstrated: and if 1T is not
a success in this particular there is not
a single good reason why it should be
employed IN preference 10 cremation. a.
The service under the new contract was
inaugurated November 1, but owing to
delays arising from various causes no gar
bage was cremated until March IA. when
the Brown furnace at South Capitol and T
streets began operations A Smith fur
mace was to have been erected. but has not
been begun up TO date of this report. ow-
ing to the difficulty of securing suit
able site.
The Brown crematory. in use in this
city. differs from those elsewhere. in the
use of coal instead of oil fuel, and In
various structural particulars. An express
sion of opinion as to the character Of work
done would be, at the present time, prema-
ture.
Owing to the delivery of the garbage
Sometimes at the garbage wharf and AT
other times at the crematory with the re-
sulting variations in the length of haul
from the various parts of the city. the d.
vision of the collection area into districts
has not been made upon permanent basis.
The character Of the collection service
has been improved during the latter part
! CT the year because Of the close supervision
which this department has been able to
give, through two special inspectors ap-
pointed for that purpose.
1T Is to be regretted that no progress has
been made toward the establishment of a
public scavenger service recommended in
tue preceding report OF tQlS department [,
and that even the appropriation of the
small amount necessary to provide for the
destruction Of combustible waste was re-
fused"
COntaEiOn in the Schools.
Referring to the necessity that has arisen
during the year to close schools for the
| purpose Of disinfecting where cases #
diphtheria or scarlet fever have occurred,
DR.. Woodward says that the custom now
prevailing in the sci ools of the lower
grades of permitting the same school books
to be used by two schools each day cannot
be too strongly condemned He says pro-
vision should be made for the partitioning
OF the space along the walls of the cloak
ICONS of the schools so that the hats and
wraps OF each pupil can be left in this
room during school hours without danger
OF their being infected by the garments
| OF pupils coming from houses where con-
tagious diseases may exist. He urges an
appropriation for the maintenance of a
public disinfecting service. He urges also
an appropriation of $4,000 to purchase a
site for hospital for the treatment of
minor contagious diseases. He urges the
need for revision and codifcation of the
sanitary laws of the District.
The preparation of a code of sanitary
law says the report should preferably
be intrusted to commission rather than