The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-03-29

Favorable natural conditions and the
rigid enforcement of sanitary require
ments have united in keeping ST. Paul
healthfulness. Comparative sanitary
statistics reveal much that the people
of st. Paul have reason to be thankful
for and proud Of The ratio of mortality
to population has in the past told a very
encouraging tale concerning our city;
and the work which has been in progress
for some time past by our local health
department is, everything else being
equal quite likely to result in present
ing even a better record for the future
than the past has to show
There are dangers comprising the
health of our people day after day which
they know little or nothing about, but
which DR.. Ohage, as the citys health Of
ficer, is devoting himself assiduously to
the control Of. These dangers require
hard work and constant activity and
watchfulness. They are not always pc
origin in causes which are not in the
power of our health authorities to con-
troll. One of these Is the Importation Of
disease and disease-breeding conditions
from abroad. The struggle against these
is unceasing, and the cost of it TO the
taxpayers of the community is much
greater than appears on the surface.
Among these dangers from the outside,
and perhaps the leading of them. is the
danger Of smallpox Infection. Against
it our health officers are ever on the
alert and are constantly struggling. At
this time, and for some time past the
danger Of the spread Of smallpox infec-
ton has been much more general than
We permit ourselves to think From the
lumber camps, and from communities in
the state and outside, the seeds of the
disease are being introduced. For every
ten cases of smallpox which have been
treated in st. Paul probably not one is
wholly of local origin. The fight Of our
health department is steadily against the
L. UUfnD1nR
ground for smallpox contracted outside.
SO substantial is this danger that it is
not at all an unusual experience for Dr.
Ohage, or, no doubt, for the health or
fcer of Minneapolis or Duluth, to have
injected patients actually sent to him
from outside communities for city treat
ment.
There is natural disposition to with
hold from general knowledge the more
fragrant cases of infection and the
causes which produce them; but it is not
possible to conceal the vast expense and
labor which is entailed on the principal
cities in having to deal with disease in
troduced from outside, and. especially
at this time, with imported cases of
smallpox. - -
We in ST. Paul are especially fortunate
in having so well-equipped and so ably,
conducted health department as we
have. By sheer dint of hard work and
constant watchfulness the city has been
able to avoid the more serious conse-
quences which come from imported in
fictitious disease not to speak of the oe-
casions of local origin leading to danger
to the public health. The state health
authorities ought to be looked to for
lessening of the dangers which thus at
tend the people of the cities. There has,
We believe, been the most COM
plete cooperation between the city
health officers and those of the
state in the efforts put for
ward to minimize the danger to the
health of the people. But it seems not
unreasonable to demand that that CO.
operation should be continued and that
the state should exhaust every means
to save the cities from sources of public
danger and expense which should not be
imposed on them