The times., 1897-11-06
HEALTH IN THE DISTRICT.
Exhaustive REPORT on the Sanitary
Condition OF the City.

Condition OF the city.
Health Officer Woodward late yester-
day afternoon submitted his annual re-
port to the District Commissioners as to
the sanitary condition OF the District. 1t
starts out by giving the population OF the
District, 1882, of which 32 per cent
are colored. or the whites the proper
ton OF males to females is 33 to 35, and
Of the colored, to / 3.
The entire alley popuia ton of the District
Is 1S,97S, of which 1888 nve within
the city proper. or the population OF the
entire District, therefore, 6.93 per cent live
In the alleys; of the White population, /. i 3
per cent and OF the colored l9.05 percent
There occurred during the year just
ended 5,737 deaths, of which ,216 were
OF whites, and 2,621 of coIored. The
corresponding death rates We're, therefore
4o.fl Tor the population as a whole; 17.O4
LOT the whites, and 2S.5S for the colored.
Upon comparing these figures with those
LOT preceding years, We find that only once
curing the past twenty-five years, the entire
period for which Reliable figures are avail
aple, mas the general death rate fallen
ioWer than during the past year; having
Deen 2o-57 for the fiscal year 1895. AL
together the most remarks able feature of
the mortality tables is the Unexpectedly
low death rate in the alleys. For all
alleys IN the District OF Coluubia the death
rate is 20.34; or some what lower than that
Tor the District as a whole
IDerets gredtdecrease in the number OF
ported which is traced to the closing of u
number OF surface wells. better sewerage
ARRANGEMENTS and a closer inspection of
milk during the last year.
Tie total number or births reported was
4,hl3, or Which 2,761 were of whites and
I,sl2 OF colored.
The births reported as ilIegittmate num-
bered 513, of which SO Were white and477
colored. During the preceding year the
number or such births reported was 617.
Attention is called to the great diff
- fra mar ia 100
certulcates and II is suggested that each
ceftiIlcate be issued upon particular
minister so that som cone can be heldresponsi-
PIE; In table accompanying the report
III Is shown that Washington stands ninth
In q list or fifteen large cities in the number
or cases OF dinhtheFa. With regard TO the
spread OF disease the report saws:
me public must look to the proper
ulsiniecton or Infected premises for its
immunity from contagious diseases quite as
lituCll as 10 the proper iSoia tion OF the sick.
And as in nearly every instance the families
IN wnlcn sucn diseases occur neither ha sc
noi 10 are aDie 70 secure trained assistance
TO perform such diSinfection, it is neces.
satS tIat means be provided a public eX-
pense whereby this work may be done. An
appropriation Tor the maintenance of
dlSlnIecting service is, therefore, respect
IullY recommended.
Ol the sampl es of water from public wells
14.7 per cent, and of those from priyatt
wells 49.2 per cent, have been found i'm
pure.
fhe chemical analyses of Potomac water
lidfC uOt rev edieu TIE presence IN excessive
amount OF any Of those ingredients upon
| whose presence the chemist depends in
| ordeT to determine its 'pCtability." The
| iaiIacy OF chemical tests alone, no wey eT,
| as criterla OF the quality of water from
a sanitary standpoint Is now so general
admitted that the above findings cannot
| DC allowed 20 negative the fact that IN
| tcstlnai bacllli have been repeatedly found
III Potomac water.
And while no bacilli have been found,
at least So far as the information OF this
~ mt .fna ar.I.
lively identified a S those of Uphold fever,
| or other specific disease, the finding OF
such organisms in any public water sup
ply Is exceedingly rare, Judgment being
usually based upon the presence of al
| lied bacli.
An investigation was made during the
| year into the character of the confec-
| lions ordinarily sold in this District And
! while in one instance sticks Of candy were
| found To he made up entirely of flour and
| sugar or milk and in another chocolate
| drops turned out TO be flour, coated with
| brown clay, with just enough sugar to
! give II sweetish taste, and In third gum
! drops We're found TO contain lamp black,
IL may be said lDsgeneTal that the materials
| employed In the manufacture of candy
offered for sale here, as far as NAV be
| learned from the Investigations made, are
! not such as would be considered injurious
/ to health. Although. as the chemist ex-
/ presses it, IL must be- conceded that some OF
| those mentioned above might well be
dispensed with.
! Attention is again invited to the condi-
| tiOn of lie fish wharf, at which an marine
| products coming into the District by water
/ are by law required To be II nded. This
/ wharf Is the property of the District. and
1 is leased To the highest bidder, IL is,
| therefore, or should be, a source OF
| revenue. Upon it are unloaded each year
| millions of oysters, clans, crabs, and
| fish OF various kinds. A very large mum
| Der or them are condemned without leav-
| Ing the wharf, and very Considerable
portion OF the remainder is shucBed, OF
Cleaned, before removal There is, there
! fore, an enormous quantity of condemned
material and otGai, which must be disposed
! OF each day during the fish season; ma terial
| winch constitutes during decomposition,
| one of the most offensive f.rms Of refuse.
The handling and cleaning Of this fish,
etc, requires also the use Of a very con
| siderable quantity OF water some, after
| being touled, finding its way into the
| river but much soaking into the surface
| Of The wharf, which is made up of earth
| and wood. A : IL TO hasten the decDmpOsi-
/ ton which is going on, III tie condemned
| fish offal, and fifth sa turate1 eartn and
/ planis, the wharf is without helter of any
4 sort, SO that the suns rays find ready ac-
| cess. The entire place is very natural y
| source oI complaint, especially during the
| fish season.
IL is, therefore, respectfully recommended
/ that this fish wharf be equipped with
1 suitable conveniences for carrying on the
| traffic which is by law limited TO 1t.
| There have been analyZed during the year
| 2i4 samples of milk, OF cream, 13 of
| condensed milk, and L OF '-evaporated
| cream" or the entire number of samples
/ of milk which have been analyZed z a per
| cent had been watered, 1928 per cent
| had been SKINNED, ana 8 per cent hao
| been both watered and skinned; 20.65 pei
cent of the entire number had been tam
pered with. OF the samples collected by
| this office from railroad stations l pei
| .ent Were ahulte rated. while of those col
| lected at random throughout the city &c
| per cent had been tampered with; from
| which it is apparent that much Of the
| sophisticated milk sold in the city is TIN
| result of local enterprise.