Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1897-10-14
Another lesson in typhoid.
PhiIadelphia press.l

Philadelphia Press.l
There ale persons few, in official life at
least, who remain to be convinced OF the
immediate connection between polluted
water supply and an epidemic OF typhoid
fever. If there be such who have ignored
the evidence of past local epidemics the
case of Maidstone, England, should be
taken to heart, since it is just such an OBJ
ject lesson as was the epidemic at Plym-
outh, in this State, or the more recentepl-
denlic at Stamford, Conn. In Maidstone,
town OF some "a 900 inhabitants, there
were recently over, 1000 cases of typhoid,
which were all directly traceable to infec-
ton, the result ofthe pollution OF one OF
the three water supplies of the city. For
instance, one side of street was marked
by numerous cases Of the fever while the
opposite side escaped, which apparently
mysterious and capricious behaviour Of the
disease was simply due to the fact that the
two sides of the street were supplied With
water fiom different sources, one OF which
proved to be polluted.
When the epidemic broke out it was not
long before the sanitary experts found that
The fever developed among those who had
used the water taken by the water COM
pany from certain springs which were
within few feet of the site of the hop
pickers' encampment. Az the sanitary
conditions of the hop-piekers' camp were
of the worst and most primitive character,
the pollution of the water supply was
natural and inevitable consequence. Even
with this the city might have escaped the
epidemic had it not been for the short
sighted economy Of the city fathers. 1t
had been the practice Of the health OIL
GERS to make weekly analysis of the water
supplied the town, an excellent practice,
but on the grounds of economy this had
been given up and the water tested only
once in three months. In consequence, as
the last analysis was made on June 20, and
as the pollution occurred in August, the
infection had a chance to gain great hold
on the people without official knowledge or
prevention.
In many respects the Maidstone case is
very similar TO the Plymouth case in this
country. Both tell the same story, and
that is that polluted water supply means
typhoid fever, and the only way toprevent
the fever is by publication of the supply
and constant vigilance on the part OF those
who decide as to the biological purity OF
water. So accustomed do most munich
palities become to the steady appearance
of typhoid fever in the list Of causes of
death that its absolute preventability is
forgotten and no precautions are taken,
Many town in Pennsylvania is as likely
to repeat the Maidstone experience to-
morrow as not. While the condition Of
affairs here in Philadelphia has long been
beyond the remedy of object lessons to
change it, yet ifthere still be any lingering
doubt as to the casual relation of disease
and an impure water supply, such cpl
demic as that at Maidstone ought to re-
solve it. With filtration in sight, through
the new loan, the city is at lust about to
protect its own, as it should have done
long ago. Certainly there can be no intel
ligent opposition to spending money on
public works of this salutary nature.