Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-12-21
SANITARY REPORT.
Frecaut1Ons for Good Health Recon-
mendCh bV DIR. Field

mendeh by DIR. Field
AT last evenings meeting of the COM
mon council Health Commissioner Field
submitted the following report, which
was referred to the mayor and board
OF public works, and ordered printed
in all the city papers:
To the Honorable the Mayor and Com
mon Council OF the City of Water
town, Wis:
Gentlemen: Complying with your
resolution Of October 4, 1898, | have the
honor to submit the result of my eX-
animation of the public alley running
from First street to Second street in
block eleven in the First ward. and all
tne premises abutting thereon. My ex-
cnse for reporting on this matter at this
late date is that | was not aware of the
adoption of said resolution, having re-
ceived no official notification of the
same by your honorable body. | would
have nevertheless complied with your
request If | had seen the publication of
the council proceedings of said date in
our city newspapers.
Said alley is lined on both sides with
row Of twelve OuthOuSes, the vaults
OF some OF which have not been emptled
and cleaned for many years, Such
prlYy vaults, III my OpInlUn, constitute
public nuisance enQaugerlng the pub
llc health. 1t Is a we'll known fact that
one OF the most common causes OF pre-
yentable diseases III the country comes
from we'll water polluted by leakage
from ceSSpOOlS ana prlYleS. 1t there Is
one sanitary necessity Which stands pre-
emlnently above all The rest IL is the
abolition OF prlvles and ceSspoOls, which
undoubtedly cOntaminate the ground
water. " hen prlvles built over such
cesspOOlS are deprived of sunshine as
they are, standing between rows OF nigh
buildings, another danger is added TO
| that OF water contamination, namely,
the pollution of the air OF the neighbor-
| hood with the germs OF disease which
may arise from such priVy vaults and
which would be rendered harmless by
an abundance of sunlight. Thus, the
OuthOuSeS in question constitute two
fold nuisance which, for the sake Of
! public health, ought to be abolished as
! speedily as possible. The mere empty
ing of such vaults is but a temporary
| measure of relief. Having a good sys-
tenn Of WaterWorkS, | would suggest
| that an ordinance be passed requiring
all premises facing on Main street with
in the densely populated district of said
| thOrOughfare to be connected with the
city sewer. ( could point out instances
! where water closets are established and
! nave been, until quite recently, extern
! slVely used that have no outlet what
! ever. What use is it to compel the
| owners Of such places to clean them
Out? The remedy must be a more
radical one. Such buildings must be
| rendered fit for occupancy by civilized
! beings without endangering the health
! of their inhabitants and their next door
! neighbOrs or else wholly condemned.
| PriYies should be absolutely abolished
unless they are placed far from any
| we'll and made perfectly Watertighr.
Instead of prlvy vault, it is better to
use dry earth closets where connections
| with sewers and WaterWOrkS cannot be
made. In the average country town
not one person in a thousand uses an
earth closet, or, in fact, seem to know
anything about it, If we could get peo-
pie in small cities to understand the
sanitary value of this method of excre-
tai disposal, it would be a great step in
progress. There are many ways and
methods of making these dry Closets
They are simple in construction and
very cheap. With proper care they are
absolutely odOrless, and their mainten-
ance, including emptying and cleaning,
involves neither expense nor work
worth mentioning. 1t would be emf
nently proper therefore, to inform our
citizens as to the construction of such
dry earth closets, and indeed, a greater
service could not be rendered the inhab-
itants of any town by its health depart
ment. This could be done without
much expense by the free distribution
OF illustrated pamphlets or the publica-
tlon Of instructive articles in the local
papers. I would further recommend
this matter to the earnest consideration
Of your honorable body. and ! assure
you that [ am ever ready and willing to
give to you and to your and my fellow
citizens in this and all other sanitary
questions such assistance as may be in
my power to render
respectfully submitted,
Carl r. Field, M. D.,
Commissioner Public Health.