Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-09-08
! DR.. METZ IS
CHALLENGED.
Secretary Beatty of the State
Health Board Takes Issue with
New Orleans Physician.
MAKES A VIGOROUS RESPONSE.
What He Has TO Say of Typhoid Epi.
demic and the Utility of Chemical
Examinations.

To me ruitor.
The importance Of the question Is to
great 10 allow to pass unnotlced the re
ported assertions Of Or. Metz In the Des
oret News OF last evening, taxing issu
with the statements made by me In tn
paper ON typhoid fever In which clain
that mo tests chemical, mlcroscoplcal OF
bacterIoglcal could be relied upon TO de
termine the absence OF typhoid bacill
from water supply"
He Is quoted as saying that such an
| opinion was held In the past age of mcdl.
cine etc, but thanks be to the science II
| Is no longer true. As chemistry and bac-
terioogy may be felicd upon to prove the
presence or absence of typhoid fever from
| u water supply. | desire to say that Il
| was tor the purpose OF calling attention
| to the danger Of lust such doctrine as
that advanced by the doctor that the
point IN my article was emphasized.
reiterate and call upon the doctor over
his own signature to suDstantiate his
claim, | am sure he does not wish TO be
understood as holding that chemical
means can detect disease organisms, and
we VIII discuss only the meteorological
methods furnished by modern science.
No one denies that In "A given specimen
Of water subjected to archaeological test
by means Of culture, the presence OF
typhoid bacilli Will be disclosed, But what
assurance Is there that a specimen or
many specimens taken from millions Of
gallons daily flowing In the watermalns
viii contain typhoid bacilli, In point OF
fact II IL only inilnitesimal proportion Of
the water IN such system even when
contaminated that contains bacilli. III IL
were otherwise thousands of people using
the water would contract the disease in
stead OF the limited number affected. IL
the entire accumulation OF excreta from
a case OF the disease was thrown at one
time into one OF the streams supplying
salt Lake city, 1t would be so diluted that
II would only be by the merest chance
that the bacilli would be found In any
quantity such as IL used for bacteriolog-
zeal test, Water such as found In our
mountain streams Is not a good culture
medium for the propagation of disease
organism, and they certainly are not IL
able to propagate and Increase after their
Introduction into II. is It possible to bet
ter Illustrate the fallacy Of depending up
ON water analysis than by the example
Just furnished in this city? Were not
chemical and meteorological tests of Par
ley's canyon water made by the score
during the past few weeks, and was not
any evidence OF Infection?
Accepting this statement. did not thou
san Is OF people conclude that II was un-
necessary to boil or otherwise take pre-
W.
subject themselves to danger In view OF
the fact that II transplres case OF ty-
phoid fever had existed on the banks OF
that stream during all OF the time, and Is
now held responsible In part for the prev
alenco Of the disease In this city, 1t Is
no reflection on the ability or care of the
city chemist that he failed to find evil
dence Of contamination. He is entirely
competent ana simply reported on the
strength of what he found. or failed to
IA
done more 1t Is only another instance of
thousands which might be cited wherein
chemical and meteorological tests failed
TO discover the presence of the contamin-
alton responsible for typhoid fever out
breaks; and | challenge anyone to quote
a single authority who claims that any
chemical, microscoplcal or bac-
THEOLOGICAL test can be relied upon to de-
lermine the absence OF typhoid bacllli
from a public water supply" 1t would
indeed be an easy matter to settle the
origin Of typhoid In all cases Of water
Infection If II were fortunately suscepti- |
Die OF such simple determination.
II IL useful TO make chemical and bac- |
value. The detection OF large |
amounts of nltrites and alhumenoid am |
nonia liz presumptive evidence of impurl- |
" and should be acted upon accordingly. |
But their absence Is no evidence of the |
lbsence OF the disease organisms. The |
'nly practical means at our command for |
'olving the question OF infected water |
iupply, Is the study of the cases Of the |
disease as related to 1t, And the exer-
Use of infinite pains 10 ascertain any TO- |
us OF Infection connected with its source. |
uch as contagious casv OF the disease.
n distant deposit of Infected excreta,
xcluding all other possible sources.
The statement In a morning paper that
he Bullock case was discovered by trao-
ng impurities found by tests In the |
tream Sunday II Incorrect The case WAS
eported by the writer the previous
Wednesday or Thursday, he having tele-
honcd the Roach family to verify the ru-
nor Of II case IN that place. They de-
lei having had the disease but stated
hat a case had occurred I'm the Bullock
amilyl This was reported to the health
apartment with recommendations TO
make immediate investigation and was
eferred TO IN my article written satur-
ay II Is well TO be reminded that
irge proportion OF the cases during tho
resent outbreak have been among peo-
L. using well water and these should be
ondemned ana every effort made to fight
he danger existing I'm the soil pollution In
he west side OF town.