The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-07
THEY THREATEN THE
PUBLIC HEALTH
DIR. ALIENS ESSAY ON STAG
NANT POOLS OF WATER.
Several School Buildings of the City
Have Dangerous Pools Close to
Them That Are Apt to Cause Much
Mischief-Necessity of More Sew
ers--A Remedy That He Suggests.
Reports That Were Made by the
other officers Concerning the
Months Work.

The board of health met last evening
| in their rooms in the municipal build
| ing and discussed and acted upon sew
| eral important matters. Miss Nettie
! Sweeney the new secretary. acted in
/ that capacity for the first time at a
| board meeting.
The report of the secretary, which
was read and adopted showed the fol-
| lowing: Number of deaths, 1877; num-
her of deaths from accidents, {; actual
| city mortality for last four years, 1895,
| 1872 1896, 153. 1897 154 1898. 15e cases
| of contagious disease reported, diph-
| therie g., typhoid fever, s. measles, 2;
scarlet, fever 25 whoopng cough, /:
deaths from contagious disease meas
| les, /; typhoid fever, 3. scarlet fever,
| 4; whooping cough, /; diptheria, 6;
nembraneous Group, j. total, IL.
FOOD INSPECTORS REPORT.
Food Inspector Widmayer's report
was next presented and accepted 1t
was as follows: Store and market in
| spections, $50; milk tests, lactometer,
! 21I; milk tests, Babcock, 81; average
| per cent total solids, 1884, average per
cent butter fat 405. Food destroyed
sausage. 925 pounds; fish AGO pounds;
| muskmelons, 1892 lima beans. lG
baskets; bananas 30 punches, eggs, SC
dozen: milk, SO quarts.
Plumbing Inspector O'Malley's report
was then presented. 1t was as fol-
lows Water tests. "a: smoke tests
IA. old buildings inspected, 5; re-inspec-
tions, Q: sets Of plans approved, 90
| Health officer Aliens monthly report
was read by him and is printed below
in full:
Scranton, Pa, Sept c. lS99.
Gentlemen: ] have the honor to sub
nit the following report for the month
of August, 1892: Sevcnty-iive nuisances
were complained of and abated where 1t
has been possible. Contagious disease
| placards were placed on ninetytwo
houses. A large proportion of cases of
| contagious disease come from localities
] where there are no sewers nor drains.
| Good dwellings with modern improve
| ments, inside closets, etc, are erected
where there are no sewers and no pros
pect of any, trusting entirely to cesspcOls,
| which must of necessity fail in a short
time and then the board of health is
| called upon to correct this evil, which
should never have existed.
| REMEDY SlGGESTED.
If IL were possible for councils to pass
an ordinance giving the building inspector
| power to prohibit all buildings being
| erected where there is no means of
drainage, much of the trouble from un-
sanitary conditions would be avoided, and
| | do not see why il could not be done
| l have written about the old-time stag
| nant pools so often that / am ashamed
to mention them again, but there are
some that really demand attention at
once. / refer particularly to those in
the immediate neighborhood of the pub
| lie schools. There is a vile pool of long
| standing within 100 feet of No. "A school
| on Perry avenue, which is exceedingly
| dangerous and must be gotten rid Of in
/ some way. The street has not been ac-
cepted by the city, though it has been
| built for years.
There are other school buildings in the
city nearly surrounded by stagnant wat
er. No 49, fine building in every othe-
way, has an odor-bearing stream slowly
winding its way on two sides of 1t, and
there are others" If the board of con-
troi, whose powers are not so limited
would cooperate with the board OF
health In this matter, / think our present
difficulty could be arranged, and believe
there is no doubt that the board of con-
troll would be entirely willing to do all
|
deal.
Stagnant pools of filthy water and I'M
perfect drainage are subjects for serious
consideration which will soon have to be
met That Scranton is a great town
Electric City" Metropolis of the Coal
Fields" etc, ETC., there can be no ques-
tion but it might be profitable to remem-
Der ION the dead" that we have no sys-
tenn of collecting garbage, not enough
sewers. and only n little river with a
beautiful name and such very small
| amount of water, that some Of the time
it is as nasty as that part of North Main
avenue which is crying for a pavement
to carry away the sewerage.
w. +. Allen, NJ. D., Health Officer
ACTION ON REPORT.
The board realized that the instance:
and suggestions contained in Or. AL
lens report were pertinent and should
he attended to.
Mr.. O'Malley offered a motion, which
was carried, providing that the por
tion of the report referring to the
schools be sent to the board of contro
with the suggestion that that bod!
take immediate steps towards having
the trouble removed.
In regard to the suggestion will
reference to the proposed ordinanc
restricting the erection Of buildings II
localities where there were no drain
age facilities it was decided to defe
action. The rules and manual of tht
board are about to be revised and al
effort will be made to have this in
corporated in the revision.
A very peculiar fact was brought VI
| in connection with the next matter