The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-07-03
SAYS NEGLECT TO PURIFY
WATER AMOUNTS TO MURDER.
Psburg Authority Filtration Arragns the City
Council of That City Failure Adopt Some Means of
Cleansing Water Suppy-Siuation Parallels That
n l. Gnia.

Arra!gnlng the apathy of Pittsburg with
regard to the water question. city in
which the situation very nearly parallels
that in ST. Louis. Doctor w. ]. Holland,
curator of the Carnegie Museum and an
authority upon matters relating to the pub
lie health and to thu filtration of water, de-
clares that the failure II install an ade
quate filtration plant is little shor, of Grim
!nal.
in Pittshurg and ST. Louis the typhoid
fever death rate is high. In Pittsburg i,
averages three persons day. This IA
he asserts. ~ ! standing charge of murder
against that element of the community
which has the power to rise up and demand
remedy. Continuing. he says very hlunt-
ly that the remedy is easily found; that it
lies simply in filtration. sand filtration he
prefers
The problem has been solved abroad: why
not here? he argues. In Berlin. a city of
two millions. the water is sand-tlitered.
There typhoid once was rampant: now Il is
very rare. At many places in Europe the
standardization beds have been in use fifty
years and now are useful as ever. Hence
the practicability and durability of the Sys-
TEN is demonstrated
These are the arguments in brief Doctor
Holland extends the lesson to all cities
which draw their supply from stream
polluted by the sewage of other towns Dis
regarding the fact that the Mississippi at
the Chain of Rocks intake is laden with
Chicago's offal. this city nevertheless must
be more or less affected by the pollution
which cities to the north dump into the
river. Chicago taken into account, the water
supply Is additionally threatened with dis
ease germs from the second largest city of
the United States. city situated heyond its
natural water shed that the Mississippi
drains
DIRECT CAUSE OF FEVER
THAT typhoid fever" said Doctor Hol-
land, lis propasated in the main BY con-
taminated water supplies is a fact no longer
open to question. The scientific men OF the
world who have given their best thought
TO this matter are agreed on this point.
While 1t is true that oysters grown in
polluted waters, fruit that has been de-
filed, and milk that has been contaminated
may occasionally cause an outbreak of
the disease. the common source is water re-
ceiving the outflow of sewers, household
drainage and the filth from barnyards.
When d community is compelled TO drink
water that is defied in these ways. it is
certain that typhoid fever will prevail in
that community.
Experiments carried on over fifty years
ago in Europe have shown that typhoid
fever germs can be eliminated from the
water by sand filtration. In the German
Empire every city and town supplying
water to the inhabitants is required by law
10 filter that water through sand.
In England, IN France; in fact. in all
civilized countries on the other side of the
Atlantic. ii is now considered TO be an
offense against decency TO compe! people to
drink water that has not been treated in
this way. unless the supplies are obtained
from high levels and nonpopulated districts
There are a few European cities of great
size that get their water supplies from
among the mountains, the watersheds of
which are un;nhabited, and kept purposely
free from the habitations of men. or from
lakes. the shores of which are carefully
patrolied and into which detiing sub
stance is allowed to he cast. The expert
ence of European cities shows that where
water is sand-filtered typhoid is practically
eradicated
BERLIN BANISHBD TYPHOID.
In the city of Berlin. where typhoid
fever once was rampant, cases of typhoid
are extremely rare. and the majority of
them imported cases. the disease hav
ing been contracted elsewhere.
IF there is any subject with which
can claim familiarity as the result of con-
tinued and widely extended study. it is this.
l was chairman of the committee of the
commission formed by the city OF Pitts
burg, charged with carrying the scien-
tihc Investigations that We're made, and the
results of which published in the volum
inous report which was issued by the city of
Pittsburg number OF years ago.
AT the same time the work of investiga-
ton was begun we resolved that We would
investigate the whole subject, would open
the doors wide to 4 full and free discus
sion, and that we would invite ali parties
who had any methods for purifying water
to present their methods and subject them
to rigorous scientific tests. Side by side