The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-23
HEALTH OFFICERS REPORT.
1t Is Now Being Transcribed and
VIII BE Presented to the Mayor
To-morr0w

VIII BE Presented to the Mayor
Tomorrow.
Health officer LeHardy has completed
his annual report to the mayor The re-
port is now being transcribed, and will be
presented to Mayor Medrm tomorrow
AS might be expected, the report is writ
ten in DR.. LeHardy's usual vigorous
style. In the beginning of the report he
says:
Upon entering my office on the Sth of
last May, 1 found awaiting my arrival the
chief inspector, five inspectors, an office
boy, a colored man, who has charge of
disinfectants, and the mail carrier for
quarantine station. This office, although
originally room of goodly dimensions,
has been much reduced by partitions. One
of these takes away about one-third of
the entire space, TO make storage room
for books, papers and other city property.
Another, reaching half way to the ceiling
makes a 10x14 private office for the health
officer The office and furniture are insult
ficient for the proper and orderly transact
ton of the business of this department.
and should be remodeled at once.
Il find that, although we are regularly
receiving health reports from nearly ev-
cry city of any consequence in the United
States, there is no evidence that any re-
turn of this important courtesy has ever
been made and the wisdom OF making the
necessary provisions for doing this should
be impressed upon Council, without de-
lay.
1T is a surprising fact that this inn
portant department of the city govern
ment has never been provided with the
means of carrying out the most important,
perhaps of all its duties, the prevention
of diseases. No chemical apparatus or
microscope for detecting adultera tons,
poisons or impurities, in either food, drink
or medicine. No meteorological outfit to
make culture or to prepare toxins, etc,
for the prevention and cure of tuberculo-
sis. diphtheria and other fatal diseases.
That | might fully understand the sam
itary defects of the city, Immediately upon
undertaking the duties of health officer, /
caused house to house inspection to be
Instituted Starting at River street, it
ended at Twelfth street. The inspectors
were instructed to have every cellar open
ed aired and cleaned to examine the con-
dition of very house, yard, vault ana sur
roundings, and to make a daily report OF
their work 1t was soon ascertained that
was the privy vault, and thai the evil was
incre asing. The prevailing system for the
removal of night soil being entirely made
quate | proposed TO replace the vault by
the sanitary pail" system, the contents
to be removed twice week, and although
bids on very favorable terms were offered,
Council decided 10 make no change, Fail
ing in that, l requested the city engineer
TO have a plan made, looking to the ulti-
male establishment Of a separate system
Of house drainage for he whole city. The
idea being to induce the city to begin
work with the $1,000, at that time avail
able and 70 do the work in sections, year
by year, with whatever appropriations
could be secured. The necessity for THIS
most important Improvement impressed II
self upon Council and through the prompt
action of the drainage conmitee and 9th
ers, the necessary steps were taken ana
under a most advantageous CONTRACT nnd
ski .lful engineers, the work is now going
ahead, and within a very short time the
city of Savannah will have what she has
long needed, and what many administra-
lions have endeavored unnecessarily 10
give her a complete system of separate
house drainage.
"Outleis into TIE river, directly in front
of the city, were recommended by the en-
gineers in charge, and adopted by Coun-
ell over the very emphatic protest of your
tensions that the lack of wisdom in adopt
ing said outlets VIII demonstrate itself
in the future.
at is provided in the contract for build
ing this system that whenever. the soil
is of such character as TO contain ground
water, a. any time, at the depth OF the
sewer, underdrains shall be provided and
laid" This is Of Importance, second only
to the house drainage system itself, and l
deem IL OF moment to call your attention
to that fact in the strongest terms | can
command. The strictest attention should
be paid to this matter particularly on
both TANKS of the Gay, for 1t is in those
localities that the ground is wet and
means to get rid of the water are so mea-
ger. The building of this system OF sew
ers. accompanied by underdrains when
ever necessary, together with the creation
of the offices of food inspector and plumb
ing inspector, will advance Savannah TO
one OF the foremost cities In health and
sanitation, and her people have every
reason to congratulate themselves
that Council has seen fit to IN
stitute these important measures.
1.-THE work and bearing of the sanitary
tnspectors connected with this department
is deserving OF high praise, and to the
patient and careful training given them
by Chief Inspector Melvin is due, TO
large extent the success of their hard
work. In addition TO their regular work,
these men have taken probably the most
complete census ever taken in Savannah,
showing street numbers, owners or agents
of premises, kind of buildings, size of
same numbers of rooms name and num-
Der of occupants, white and black, or
Monaghan condition of Easements, cell
lars, wash-tubs, sinks, faucets, closets,
sewer traps, privy vaults, storm pipes,
supply. and waste pipes, dry wells, vacant
lots and all other Information that is nee
essary to this department. This work
has been carried TO the extended limits
OF the city and includes every house and
tenement, and l consider that in recogni-
ton OF the results achieved the city could
well afford to pay the chief inspector a
salary of $1,000 per year, his assistant 5000
and the inspectors $65 per month. l would
also suggest that it would be of great adj
vantage to the service If these men were
suitably uniformed. The following tables
will show the amount of work done, in a
very condensed form, and the only ex-
PLANTATION necessary, is to say that Inspec-
tor Lufborrow was sick for two months
and lost one book of his daily records, and
John Dinon was detailed a great deal of
the time for office work. hence the work
done by these two inspectors seems small,
IN comparison with the other inspectors"
The table shows that there were 5,479