The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1901-11-05
HEALTH DEPARTMENT NEEDED.

its last issue thar there has been but one case OF
typhoid lever In that section OF country during
the whole summer and fall Another OF her
papers reports that IN. Gum, Dr. Fletcher and
wife, pt. Baker and Dr Gordon are sick with
fever, the last named doctors wife having died
short time since with the dreaded disease.
We understand from persons who have leit
North akima with their families recently be-
cause OF this disease being SO prevalent, that
the hospital is full and that there are five hun
bred cases in and around the town. ii this
statement be true, and we bave every reason to
credit IL 1t would certainly be very wrong for
newspaper OF the town to III isrepresent the
health OF the place aud lead the travelling put
lie into deadly trap. North lasima is on C
OF the best, most thriving and preitiest towns
i'll the state Its business men are Thoroughly
enter rising and have The push II is sur
rounded by one OF the best agricultural coun-
tries in the world. What have they to be afraid
Of? Why misrepresent? This is a mere TEN
porary aiiliction that every town has to undergo
in its time II anything 1t ed be said abou; the
place give us the straight OF it or let it pass.
Your town and country is all right-Elens
burg Localizer.
This Is the kind of information that is
sent broadcast over the country by peo-
ole careless about the truth While the
facts in the above clipping are ridicu-
;ously distorted, ut the same time there
is cause for such report being circulat-
ed, and the people of North Yakima are
TO blame for it 1t has been customary
TO conceal and cover up the real situation
here, and many people have gone so far
as to condemn the newspapers for giving
the cause OF death when it resulted
from typhoid fever, or even malarial fe-
yer. Such procedure may seem all right
at first glance, but in the end the result
is q hundred times worse than had the
truth been told for veritication, note the
above from a paper in a neighboring
town. And this is not the only item OF
the kind that has appeared in the coun-
try journals Of Central Washington.
While there have not been five hun
dred cases Of fever, as above stated, nor
more than one-tenth of that number, it
must be acknowledged by the people OF
this city that it is an unhealthy place
u
Der and part of October. And the
reasons for this condition are manifold.
In the first place North Yakima is
far from being clean city; in the sec
ond place it needs public health de-
partment conducted on modern sys-
TEN of sanitation. So long as the peo-
ple overlook these two important items,
Just so long viii they have condemnatory
outside influences to contend with.
The assertion that the city is filthy
can be substantiated by any one after a
little investigation. There are hundreds
Of outside closets in the city that are
not cleaned out once in six months and
some OF them not once in six years.
The air IS contaminated by the foulness
arising from these places, which in many
instances are so situated as to allow the
all-pervading winds to blow at will
through their neither parts. In some
localities these outhouses are so foul
that person is compelled to hold his
aose while passing, and on calm even
ing it may be noticed by any one how
rank the smells are that pervade the air,
often sickening in the extreme. This is
not all. Cesspools are in almost every
back yard, and offal piles clog the alleys
and make them disagreed BILE even to a
canine. In the central pant Of the city
everything Imaginable is thrown into
alleys to purify and to contaminate the
air. Cellars are dirty, sewers are clogged
and the irrgating bitches are often the
receptacles for unspeakable filth from
campers and shack inhabitants. So is
it then any wonder the city is unhealthy
when the hot season sets in?
Men familiar with the subject say that
ness every year; it is the things above
mentioned. And a remedy must be
sought What is needed is a health Off
Ger who is not practicing physician, SC
that he can devote his entire time to
the work. The present head of the
health department has large medical
eractice and it is absolutely impossible
Tor him to give the city the time neces
sary to make the sanitary conditions
what they should be, however faithful
and Jealous he may be. The health
officer should have city scavenger to
carry into execution all his orders. A
department of this kind should be es
tsblished with two competent men, both
on salary, and could be made self-sus.
tanning by monthly fee collected from
residents. 1t should be the health off.