Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1905-09-15
PHYSICIANS GIVE
THEIR VIEWS

1t is pretty obvious that there is .
good deal OF illness about town, which
in view of the bad sanitary conditions
prevailing is not at all reassuring to
our citizens. At the same time it 10
worth relating that our physicians
while they admit the prevalence of
disease see nothing in it that is alarm.
ing at present. althou gh they take the
view that the unsanitary conditions
are bad feature.
Our town has got a good deal Of
cleaning up to do before 1t Is either
entirely presentablo in appearance or
free from suspicion of breeding dis
ease How far the reeky and foul SMELL
ing canal is responsible for malarial
and other fevers that afilict humanity
is problematical. That it has q bane.
full effect no one will dispute. It 10
here, however, apparently to stay. too
big nuisance for the Borough to cope
with. But there are other SOURCES Of
disease, however, less in extent but
quite as noxious, that are plainly IN.
der the Borough's control and which
should be gotten rid of very soon.
Not the least of these is the bed Of
Blizzard's IS run. It borders on the par.
adoxical to assert that the bottom of
this stream since the sewer has been
laid, along its course is more foul and
disgusting than it. was before. yet this
is just the way leading Citizen OF
our town put it the other day.
The pipe sunk under the surface
suffices to carry off all the water SO
that the bed of the stream Is dry. Pre-.
viously the steady flow Of water dilut-
ed and carried off much Of the foul
matter. The sewer is all right In
theory. 1t was the croper thing to
oblige all persons whose establishments
polluted the creek to connect with the
sewer But the order should have been
made very sweeping and have been
strictly enforced. There are still
sources of shameful pollution and thus .
the very object and effect of the sewer
is neutrslized, as the filthy matter
dropping into the bed of the dry
stream lies there an offense to the eye
and nostril alike and rendering the
second condition of BiNard's run
worse than the first.
There are many places about the
town that could be improved and this
applies quite as much to private as to
to af tho hank
yards. cleaned out In the spring. by
this time show quite an accumulation
of garbage that should be gotten rid
of as soon as possible. Imperfect drain.
age is a bad thing, one that is re-
sponsible for more unhealth than most
people dream Of Yet at how many
PLACES at the very threshold of the
dwelling one sees stagnant water ly-
ing in the drains. A remedy for this
in large portion OF the town of
course, could be found by connecting
with the sewer; where this Is i'm
practicable the next best thing can be
done, which is to keep the drains clean
and to exercise as much care as possi-
BILE.
One of our leading physicians inter-
viewed stated that in his opinion. now
that the Hospital is again draining its
sewage into the river the proper thing
to do is to boil all the hydrant water
used for drinking purposes. He stated
that with the immense volume Of sew
age draining into the river such short
distance above town it was preposter-
ous to think that at least portion Of
it does not find it's way into our water
system and assuming that such is the
case it is equally preposterous to think
that our filter plant is going to elimi.
nate the bacteria, which are indissolu-
bly, linked with the idea of sewage.