The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-03-06


Indian School, who recently came he
and after hasty glance at the town we
back and reported that he consider
Mount Holly "a very unsanitary place
came again on Friday to look over t
4 ground and see if he might not ha
been mistaken.
| This time he did what he should ha-
done on the first visit-he called on an {
fetal of the town who was able to sta
him right in his Investigations of Il
sanitary condition of the place. He cal
ed on DR.. Parsons, medical inspector
the Board of Health, to whom he intr
duced himself with the statement that |
had come to either correct or confir
the first report. DR.. Parsons assured IL
visitor that he would be given every Of
portunity to carry out one of those ideai
and invited DR.. Diven to ride with hi
through the town.
Before going, however, the Carlisl
| physician attempted to show that his r,
port to the superintendent of the India
school had been misintrepreted by thos
who had read it. His entire report, b
said, was aimed at one place, the residenc
of Mrs. Branson. He said that lady ha
applied for another girl, and his remar
that ito send others would be criminal,
applied solely to that residence. His at
tention was called to the fact that his let
ter did not read that way, and that sucl
construction could not be put upon it.
applied to the town particularly.
The two physicians then took carriag
and drove over the town. They VISITED
the water works, examined the plant ant
the intake, then they drove to the mil
dam, where DR.. Diven admitted that i
would be hard work for the water from
the lower creek to reach the source of tn,
water supply. From there they went tt
the reservoir, and finally drove over tn,
town, paying especial attention to tht
surroundings of the houses where there
are Indian girls now living.
One thing that impressed DR.. Diver
was the dark color of the water, and b.
admitted that he had been misled by
that. During the trip he was compelled
to acknowledge he had been somewha
hasty, and it is expected he will recall tn,
very unjust report that followed his frs
visit. 1t would have been better for hin
if he had taken the same pains on hi
first appearance here that characterized
his second trip.
There is not much doubt that the In
dian girls now here will be allowed to re
main and that others will come to Noun
Holly, as it is said DR.. Diven went to the
residence of family who had an appli
cation for two girls and assured then
that their desire would be granted.
Naturally the report of DR.. Diven in
censed the citizens of Mount Holly to {
great degree. and justly so, too, as the
statements he made regarding the town
were baseless. While they reflected up
on the place they did not do him mucl
credit, either, for they showed conclusive
ly that he had made snap judgment,
either through prejudice or ignorance
An Indian girl living here wrote to Cap
tain Pratt and told him he would remem
Der she was one of his sick girls at thu
school, but since she has been in Noun
Holly she had enjoyed better health thar
she ever had.
Barclay White, with jealous regard
for the good name of the town, wrote
letter to Captain Pratt. We give it here
and those who read it will coincide will
Friend White, who has put facts in con
vincing manner:
MOUNT HOLLY, N. j., Sd Mo. I'd, 100
Major r. H. Pratt,
Superintendent Carlisle Indian School
My Dear Friend:
! notice in local newspaper the pub
lished report of DR.. T. II. Diven, Carlisle
School physician, to you, upon a case OF
typhoid fever in Mount Holly, N. j., and
a copy of your letter to those persons in
the town having Carlisle Indian girls in
their homes, intimating that in conse-
quence of DR.. Owens Consideration that
Mount Holly is very unsanitary place
you must withdraw the girls from the
town altogether.
/ regret you have formed such con-
clusion and hope that upon reflection you
will see the propriety or yourself making
some Investigation before withdrawing
the girls altogether. Although l have
never had Carlisle girl in my family,
have been deeply interested in the placing
of them in families here, and as far as my
knowledge extends believe they have been
very satisfactory, that their conduct has
been good, and that their withdrawal from
Mount Holly is not necessary for the rea-
son stated.
DR.. Diven is reported as writing to you
"a creek which runs through the town is
always reeking in filth" Can it be pos
sible that the doctor has mistaken the am
Der color of our creek water for filth 2
The Rancocas creek, branch of which
passes through Mount Holly, drains an
ideal water basin for furnishing pure
water to towns. Its upper sources are
from springs in cedar or juniper swamps,
where miasma is unknown, in the pine
region whose inhabitants probably do not
average five persons per square mile. The
water Is soft, sweet, and of an amber col
or, deepest near the sources. This color
is popularity supposed to be derived from
the cedar or juniper roots, but it is proba-
bly, caused by the beds of bog iron ore nu-
in those parts.
From the settlement of the country
cedar swamp water has been pronounced
healthy and desirable Many persons,
when visiting those swamps, take kegs
with them to fill with the water, keeping
it upon ice until used, and considering it
the best to be procured. The northerly
branch of said creek, above this town, has
a current of about six miles per hour, its
tide water reaches to the lower part of the
town and at the townIthe stream is damned
for milling purposes, the mill dam having
a rise and fall of about twelve feet.
The water supply of Mount Holly is OBJ
tanned from said creek. The intake is at
the upper end of the mill pond and by
steam power the water is pumped into
upon a hill at the northern end
of the town and distributed thence through
iron pipes over the town. All portions of
the town are supplied upon demand and
citizens have no need to use unwholesome
well water for drinking or other purposes.
Some years ago Mount Holly was drained,
under the special direction Of Mr.. Waring,
a government expert on that subject,
through sewage pipes, laid under the prin-
cipal streets, the outlet being into the tide
water of the lower creek where the cur
rent and ebb tide take the sewage from
the town.
DR.. Diven is probably the first person
who has discovered Mount Holly to be 50
very unsanitary place" All the facts and
records of the town point to the contrary
There are probably few towns in the
United States where people live longer OIL
are more healthy. In proof this / cite
the case of Capt. Douglass Ottinger, U. s.
Mau,r rotirad citizen who died rncantl1