Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-16
HEALTH OF rHB STATE.
Report of the State Board for the
 Month of April.


 Month of April.
 The report of the state board of health for the month of April has been published. There were 1, deaths in the month, IF less than in March, 53 more than in April, 1902, and 53 less than the average number of deaths in April for the past five years. The death rate was 16.8 for the large towns, for the small towns 15.7, and for the whole state 16.5. The deaths from infectious diseases, including diarrhoeal, were 295, or 23.6 per cent of the entire mortality. The causes of death are given as follows: Measles, 27; scarlet fever, 28; grip, Al; diph- theria and croup, 16; whooping cough, %; erysipelas, 6; typhoid fever, 20; ma- larial fever, 8; puerperal fever, 1; di- arhoea, under 5, 10; over 5, 6; con- sumption, 111;s pneumonia, 16S; bron- chitis, AS; diseases of nervous system, 10S; heart disease, 133; accidents and violence, 58; all other diseases, Al.
 Smallpox is reported as follows: In Killingly, i; New Britain, l. Norwich, IT; Norwich Town 4; Putnam, g.; Thompson, g.; total, 84. There were SAT cases of measles in "A towns, 349 cases of scarlet fever in 54 towns, of diphtheria and croup 93 cases in 30 towns; of whooping cough 132 cases in 30 towns, of typhoid fever 52 cases in IS towns The epidemic of typhoid fever in Bristol is reported as over.
 Dr c. A. Linds1ey, secretary of the board, says in the matter of gathering garbage:
 The time Is at hand when the health officers get increasingly frequent com plaints of the neglect of garbage col lectors. of ma1odorous garbage carts, and of the far-reaching and disgusting stench from the pens of garbage-fed hogs.
 When towns and cities like Hartford, New Haven and other places make contracts for the collection of garbage but two or three times week from private houses, during hot weather, to be fed to swine, they make most ef- fectual provision, deliberately and df- rectly, for the creation of two well known dangers to public health, to wit: the widespread pollution of the at mosphere in populous communities and 1 the production of diseased meat for 1 human food.
 The chemist can scarcely devise a LuOIS Idplu LuGIuUu VI udSLCuluS Luc process of putrefaction than the com l mon practice of keeping wet organic matter in a high temeprature, shut off 1 from air and light, as garbage is usual ] ly kept until dumped into the hog pens.
 Garbage Is defined as the refuse ma terials from kitchen cookery. What. ever part of it is edible Is not unwhole- l some food for animals when properly used. The farmer feeds his hogs from his swil1 barrel two or three times 8 I day while fresh, and they thrive upon such nutriment. But our city fathers I whose ideas of economy blind them te l other considerations, make regulations l which oblige citizens to submit theil I garbage to conditions which ensures l the destruction of the food qualities o1 a large part of 1t; not only that, but il Is also so managed that the fresI garbage shall be so intimately mixed with that which is putrid that ths whole is destroyed for any useful pur pose.
 Such practically are the terms Ghough not so expressed) upon whicI contracts for the public collection ot garbage are too often made. l It is the uniform experience of al communities that no satisfactory dis posal of garbage has been discovered except while it is fresh. The presenc,
 of putrescent garbage is always un sanitary