Evening star., 1898-11-09
HINTS ON SANITARY LIVING.
Dangers That Confront Us and How
to Avoid Them.


From the New York Times.
DIR. d. II. kress, a leading physician of
Battle Creek. recently said: 'The disas-
trous results of bad sanitary surroundings
which have caused so much disease and
death in the army since the outbreak of
the recent war have served to call atten-
ton afresh to the necessity for a better
knowledge of health laws in this country
That which has happened in camp is IiabIe
to happen at home Instances OF unsani-
tary home life attract slight attention ow-
ing to their isolation. Such instances oc-
curing in camp are given publicity prompt
ly. Indisputable scientific discoveries have
demonstrated that germ life plays the lead
ing role in practically all OF the diseases OF
the human body.
"A person with a sound constitution, an
active liver normal skin healthy kidneys
and strong heart action is in little danger
from gems. Germs lie in wait for weak
people. There are two things they 10 not
Ike One is sunshine and the othe. cper
air. The garret, with its bats and owls
IT'S cobwebs and dust and debiis, is ideal
health resort compared to the cellar dark
dinSy and damp, with its decaying Veseta-
bies and musty smells. The musty Whit
Whcn comes from the hidden nook in the
cellar is populated with a hocG OF disease
germs compared to which the frogs Nhicn
Were sent to plague Egypt We're hut very
lonely company. In a famous lecture.
Henry Ward Beecher once. said:
The thoughtless farmer permits his po-
tatoes to rot in the cellar. The arising mi
a,sma finds its way through the floor and
permeates carpets and furniture and beds.
Baby falls sick of fever, and presently is
carried tcnderiy away 10 its tiny mound in
the cemetery. Its grief-stricken parents
mourn fer a season. and finally become
1econcled with the consoling thought that
II IS all somehow n providence of God. IL
NsN.1 lN.as- ii IA as.,.v
do with it. 1t is ali due to rotten potatoes
Sunlight kills germs within short time.
Germs are not found in mountain uplands.
They must have moisture, dampness and
darkness They multiply in the dark. damp
cellar, where neither sunshine nor air cur
rents invade to moist them. 1t is there
they feast and set up their colonies and
mingie in myriad formations, have their
empires and republics and despotisms, and
send forth their armies and naVieS seeking
whom they may devour. XerXes, Hannibal,
Alexander, Napoleon were toy soldiers and
their armies mere playthings compared to
the myriads of germs that one unsaniary
cellar is capable of turning out The z, rms
to be found in a barrel of rotting apples
would outnumber all the soldiers that have
carried deadly weapons since the days of
Adam. The stomach of man diseas sed
with dyspepsia contains germs greater in
number than all the hosts who fought on
both sides during civil war The base
ment of every residence should be provided
ton of air beneath the floors. and in all
passageways, closets and cuddy holes.
"A wise precaution against damp, stag
| nant air in dwellings is to start little
blaze on the hearth for a short while every
spring and summer day In winter germs
Go not multiply as they do in warm
weather The winter fire on the hearth
and the warm indoor air brings about
constant change of air in the dwelling.
Untidy houSekeepers often empty kitchen
slops about the kitchen door during warm
weather, where scraps of vegetables, meats
and fruits are permitted to lie and decay.
Decay is caused by germs which attack
these particles of matter. When decay at
tackS an apple or 4 scrap of meat or bread,
1t means that there are present more germs
in it than could be counted by a single in
dividual in a very long time. These myr-
lads of germs may be depended on to come
back and plague the untidy housewife who
deposited her scraps in the Kitchen yard.
Perhaps typhoid or malarial fever will
claim some one of the household. Cleanl-
ness is next to godlineSS. The c.eaner and
purer and sweeter the premises about
every human habitation the greater Will be
the security from disease. Clean in person,
clean in wearing apparel, clean in cooking
utensils, clean milk vessels - cleanliness
should reign supreme if We would barri-
cade against disease.
water plays a double role in the matter
of sanitation. Pure water is essential in
cleansing, purifying and stimulating the
human body. 1t is essential in the disposal
of sewage. 1t is essential as a beverage.
On the other hand, water is the most po-
tent ally of germ life, which cannot subsist
unaided by moisture. Water at rest soon
becomes oyer-populated with germs and
stagnates. A pitcher of water left standing
over night becomes so laden with germs as
to unfit it for drinking purposes. When the
germs of typhoid fever start on their mis-
sions OF death about a neighborhood they
sometimes follow streams of water. MIX
peddlers who wash their cans in infected
water often carry typhoid germs into many
homes. The eXcreion of typhoid patients
should be rendered harmless by heat or
some powerful disinfectant to prevent the
possible spread of the disease. Spoons and
other vessels used in giving medicines to
diphtheria and other patients should be dis
infected with the utmost care. knowl-
edge of this principal requirement is essen
tial to safety. History records an instance
where a famous queen lost her own liie
through unwisely kissing the lips of her
babe which had just died of diphtheria.
1T often occurs that porters are seen
sweeping out passenger coaches and sleep
ing cars while they are filed with people.
Germs contained in the sputa of consump-
tives and other diseased persons are thus
sent hying with the dust, and are breathed
into the lungs of others. School rooms
should be thoroughly renovated at the close
of each day as otherwise the disease germs
deposited in the sputa are liable to do
harm. Consumption is often contracted by
those who nurse infected patients. a fact
beyond question due to a lack OF proper
precautions 1t is possible for the germs 10
be inhaled through the lungs after the
Sputa by which means they were expelled
from the infected person, has dried on the
floor and been there prepared to float in the
air."