Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1904-01-15
DlJ TRIBUTE DISEASE
Street Cars as Disseminat.ys of In
fictitious Maladies.
Initiated Air and Expect orations Rem
der These opnveya nces Fruit
ful Sources OF Contagion-
Eeed of Stringent Rules.

In the larger cities of this country
the street car is as potent a factor in
the dissemination of communicable
diseases a. many Of those usually eata-
legued in the standard works Of by
eiene. In these larger centers Of popu-
lation the caaddtion is one Of an ex-
cessiye number Of passengers CROWDED
into a mited.number OF ears. In some
cities this continues throughout the
entire day, and in all Of them during
the morning and evening hours. Dur
ing the period Of conpested traffic, the
ears are crowded 10 the limit. every
seat being occupied and the aisles and
rear platforms literally packed with
all classes OF our yariegated popula-
ton, says the Interstate Medical Jour
nal.
The ventilation Of these cars is in
ferior. both on account of inattention
to this important matter on the rart
Of the builders Of this class Of rolling
stock, and also because the passengers
CiiTer so widely as to the proper tenn
perature and circulation necessary
10 their comfort
Tuberculosis is undoubtedly propa-
gated through the medium Of these
cars which become infected by the
promiscuous evncetoratien INDUCED
in by consnmniives. notwithstanding
notices of va eGing. Hannnn. Of fleve-
land. rereu;ly examined % srocimens
Of sputum found in street cars az
from TIE interiors and ten from the
rear platforp,el; the tubercle bacillus
was pres ent in three instances. Other
frecinaers showed the nreumococcus
and the bacillus infncn9ae.
These conditions. tie person-to-per-
son contract. and the breathing of
vitinted air frequently laden with
contagious exhalations and with dust
from dried seutum. are most favora-
bic 10 the distribution of CONTINUOUS
1isesses. OF course, IL is only prob
lenaiiqaf as to the nuaaher of small
poX cases which were infecte ell
through these conditions during the
recent epidemic, but il is certain TINT
hnt few better onnortunities of in
fiction are offered than through the
street-car contact of all classes.
very easily he, and no doubt are, com
municated in the same way.
The solution of this problem is not
easy. Street railway companies are
not inclined to relieve The present
situation without compuleion. Health
officers, however. have authority over
the sanitation OF these public con
veyances. This authority in most
municipalities gives sufficient power
to prevent undue overcrowd.ng of
ears when such prevention would he
for the protection of public health
When necessary, as in times of q
general epidemic such authority
should be exercised. Under all cir
cumst3nces regular disinfcction of
street cars shcald be praeticsd in al
efficient manner In this way the
cars can be made biologicallr clean,
and the health of the community bet
ter protected. There is Just as much
occasion for this procedure as there
is for the disinfection OF Pullman
cars, now theoretically practiced at
different points. Investigation has
developed the fact that there is but
one city in the country Philadel-
phia, where any pretense is made of
disinfection CT street cars. The
Union Traction company Of that city
G'sinfects its cars with carholie acid.
This possibly answers for the killing
,of bacterial life on the floors and
walls of the oars, but does no good
for the contaminated Places where
dust has settled, and which nothing
but gaseous agent would reach,
President g. Stanley Hall, of Clark
university, has been studying the al
most total absence of insanity among
negroes. He believes it is because, be-
ing new to civilization, the race has
not run through SO many different and
crucial experiences as the white race.
In piece of carpet taken from the
floor of the house Of representatives
at Washington were found several mil.
lion germs, the influenza microbe pre-
dominating Specimens Of almost all
the known germs were found. 1t
would seem that an easy and cheap
remedy might be devised, and the next
generation may be expected to en-
joy it.
Fire being now prohibited in Paris
ian playhouses, the manager of the
Chatelet theater has devised an elec-
trio boiler for stage steamboat. This
Shas a capacity Of 10 gallons and is
provided with a whistle, siren, pressure
gauge, and the other usual accessories.
Through heles in the bottom project
ten tubes, IA inches long. closed at the
top. Into each tube is pressed a so.
called candle" consisting cf eyln-
der OF fireelay, surrounded by Ger
man silver wire, spiral, covered with
asbestos cardboard. and tie passage ~
an electric current heats the wire ta
5edness. With the candles all in cir.
cult, a current of 40 amperes gives SUIT
fcient steam pressure for whistle and
siren in about an hour and a half
Too smart.
&c hind of yOu sir m Give N