The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-01-08

The regular monthly meeting of the
Scranton board of health was held yes
terday afternoon in the health office
in city hall. The business transacted
was largely of routine character, con-
sitting of the presentations of reports
of the several officers of the board.
After reading of the minutes of the
preceding meeting Secretary briggs
presented his report for last December.
The report showed that there were l25
deaths during that month. The NOR
tality for the DeCembers of the last
four years was as follows: In 1892, 1O2;
1898, 1917 1894, 131; 1895, 122. In De-
cember of the last year there were re-
corded 159 births and 6S marriages. In
the year 1896 there We're 1854 deaths
in this city according to the secretary's
report.
Inspector of Food and Mix r. N. Cul-
len next presented his report for De-
cember which was as follows: Milk
inspections, 225 meat and poultry mar
kets inspected, $50. There We're cOniis-
Gated during the month 240 pounds of
| fish, 10 pounds of dressed poultry, 80
| pounds of pork and two carcasses of
| bob veal
The report of the health officer DR..
w. e. Allen, was read and contained
| several suggestions that We're received
| with interest. The report says, of San
| itary officer Burke's work FIFTY
eight inspections of streets and alleys
We're made during the month, thirty
notices were served ordering the abat
| ing of nuisances, and all houses report
| ed to contain contagious diseases We're
placarded.
CONDITION OF STREETS.
Scranton" the report of DR.. Allen
| continues, contains over one hundred
thousand Inhabitants and is a city of
| magnificent distances, covering an i'm
| mense amount of territory. There are
116 miles of streets and avenue, 26l2
miles of courts and places and of all
| this, less than one-tenth have been
| graded and this is the greatest diff
| Guilty the board has to contend with.
| Stagnant pools of various sizes are
| found in all sections of the city, in out
| lying wards particularly, and as long
as gravity exists and water will not
run up hill unassited these conditions
will continue. If all streets that are
built up could be graded and cutters
put in, it would be comparatively easy
to keep them in a sanitary condition.
Some effort should be made to have
this brought about.
Scranton, in all things, is an up-to-
date town, but there are some things
we do not have that can be found in
older places. For instance, everybody
can eXpectorate any amount of filthy
matter on the floors of street cars, on
the sidewalks and in fact everywhere
while in New York, Boston and many
other places such splitting is forbidden
and is considered, very properly, mis-
demeanor. 1t is fact that about nine
tenths of the people living here suffer
from catarrh and where forty or fifty
; passengers in a hot street car eX-
change microbes for half an hour, the
effect may be imagined, especially
when some percentage of the odor is
favored with half digested whisky
which may not be germicidal, but nasty
when mixed with the cadaVerS of ro
bust germs | think the board OF
health should look after this matter.
MILES OF SEWERS.
'I am glad to be able to state tha
= there are forty-four miles of sewers
f now in use and more are TO be erected
soon. The time is approaching whel
= garbage will come to the front anC
h some plan will have to be thought o
V before a great while. Fifteen hundred
and eighty-four deaths occurred las
u year. SiXty-five from diphtheria, on
. hundred and nineteen from pneumoni;
: and twenty-one from typhoid fever
which speaks volumes for our waite
supply. The garbage crematory ha
done an immense amount of work eff
fectively, but | think at least more i
y already needed"
- The amount estimated to be neces
f sary to meet the expenses for the Ell
o suing fiscal year is as follows
w wages '9-'o-
Crematory Expenses ................., l,N
/ Purchase of crematory lot ...,......... 3,Ot
= Salary, health officer Observation-Disclosures. 81
Salary, food inspector .................. 81
- Salary secretary OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. u
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