Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-05-09
DEADLY TYPHOID.
Bangor Now in the Throes of
a Serious Epidemic.
Many People III and Some Lay It to
the Water.
While Others Present a More Difficult
View.

certain that the two cities of Bangor
and Brewer have very serious cpl
demic Of typhoid fever. 1t may he>the
water and. certainly. that is what the
great majority of the citizens Of the
two places attribute it to. The fever
has been raging for some weeks past
and there have been 4 considerable"
number of deaths. In this respect it il
proving Il more serious matter than
was the smallpox outbreak of last fail
and early winter. No deaths resulted
from that epidemic, the worst thing
about it being the great expense to
which both cities were put. With the
typhoid it is different and i'll way
there is more general fear of it than
there was in last years danger time.
At the present time. as said, the sit
uation is very serious. 1t is Impossible
to secure trained nurses to care for
those afflicted with the fever and the
result is that in many cases the patients
suffer from want of proper treatment.
at the Eastern Maine General hospital
they have not a nurse which can be
spared. To an inquiry made there for
one last week the Off answered
that it was impossible for them to let
one Of the nurses go: that they barely
had corps sufficient" large to care
for the inmates of the institution.
1t is practically impossible to get
very near to CLOSE estimate OF the
number of casessin the two cities but
from what the few physicians. who
will say anything on the subject, state
it is very evident that the total is largo.
To the writer one physician stated
| today that there was something
strange about the fever this spring.
1T does not act like typhoid altogcth-
| err" said he The patient IL friEntful-
| " sick ut the first and during the
stages when the Illness should be the
slightest and when the third week, or
the time when they should suffer all
| that the fever can make them. it eases
up and they are but slightly i'll and
! the fever. Is very light. In some cases
Tx re is an eruption which is different
| from typhoid. az | have known II in
| the rast on The other hand there arc
all the other marked symptoms of the
! dcsCas"."
I Hut as T. tho cause. most people IF
7 The two cities say it IS unqncstionably
the water supply. There are those
| however, who take Il different view of
the case and say it is something en-
tircly different Among this latter class
are many of the city officials. They
s1v that the water is all right and that
| Their. have been no typhoid germs
, found in it, when analysed but they
| fail to make public amy later report
which would sustain this claim.
The FOREGOING applies to Bangor only,
for Brewer does not own the municlia'
water supply. it being the property OF
the Public Works. tn" Pooh bah or tn
electric car. light and water business
of this part of tn" state. SO FAR rs
known this company has never said
word. Iro OF con. concerning the quail
~ of water which it pumps into
Brewer. beyond the fact of announcing
that it had n fllt'rinE plant ut us
Ncasic pumping station.
| I,rc,urntlv this company has been
obliged to supply the city Of Rrewer
with water, mfil:crcd, pumped from
the Srgeunkcdunk stream. in South
Ercwer. because Of the breaking of the
Trunk mains. which cross the Pcnobscot
q snort NlStiitf b'iIN i@''iiiif,' 800 - ''N
N = pond many RESPECTS Brewer pcopl"
are inclined to prefer tn" ScGenhke-
dunk water to that of the river. for
This reason: There are only about q
dozen o. fifteen houses along the banks
If the stream, or its sources. Hines
rond while there 1rc nearly that mum
her Of populous villages alonE inc
river above Bangor.
Said n Bangor man in discussing th'
suit,Ittion, yesterday:
"It scarcely seems sensible that thu
r;vor water can he fit for drinking pur
noses. To start with. there is Miilinock
Of n decently large town. which rour'
, ia sewerage and the refuse from the bit
, n,lp and paper mill there into the river
= Then there is Mat;awamlIcaG. Enfi"t'
lincoln with its pulp mill, Montague
and Rowland with their pulp mills, an'
here let me call attention to tn" fac
,bat nj Montague the Piscataquis cmptie:
into the Penobscot. This brings 1t tn
{ roy,,se of Dover. FoXcroft and MILO
rben we go down the river and through
n number Of small villages I" Old Town
ctty with a population Of at least 600
n cotton mill and two mills There is
n,ora or less extensive sewer system IL
this city. Next below is Orono. towr
Of between 5000 and 400 inhabitants anf
I knC
Iition 10 this all of these towns have saw
,iiiS INIT no one considers them rs be
.i,'s;, :, tho same class as the pulp aui
e Miner rS mills, so far as impurities are con
s cerned. -, ,on ~, ,,o
n - ,Trhoid was epidemic in Old Towi
a .,d Aji;iinocket before 1t was in Bangor
c there seems to be some grounds for sup
,osing that the present outbreak in Ban
e po or and Brewer is due to the water sup
It ply. ,,. MANY nersons believe IN III,
d oil, saving that water will run itself pur
7. OH afher words that impure water will
: IN Ter having travelled certain distance
H. a; h,'s stream, become pure: It is nsuall.
By these m Nao is a1 tne III, ws n
DRY u viii remain impure This clair,
may right but d Esaa ,h lt As mat
II ! ter yaartifir. men. who disputed it,
n of SciefieiiiS me-, ~
n Go, ~, track meet So+rr,.,