The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-01-18

success OF the treatment OF tuberculosis
10y the out-ofdOOrs method, ought to
assure us that we need not fear cold fresh
air, even ii il is night air. SO that the
body Is properly protected by clothing.
Experiment has determined that a min
|, imum change of thirty cubic feet of air
per minute per individual, is required TO
, keep the atmosphere in any place OF as
scmbly in wholesome condition. The
state of Massachusetts requires this in
the ventilation of its school houses. With
an audience of 600 in the Auditorium. a
change OF $1,000 cubic feet OF air per min
ute is required TO keep the atmosphere
iii TO breathe. This can be done and
done without drafts, with the introduced
air at any desired temperature. With
such ventilation, one would never take
cold or have the headaches that are so
commonly the result of attending any en-
tcrtainmcnt. Such u plan was prepared
last Year and an article inserted in the
warrant for the town meeting TO provide |
for il, However, the assembled wisdom |
at the meeting voted il down. II would |
cost about two thousand dollars to prop |
erly ventilate the Auditorium. ! will |
venture to say that the people of this |
village pay more than that sum every |
year in doctors fees, medicine and lost |
time because of this lack of ventilation.
Since the prevention of disease is the
primary object OF sanitation and the
purpose of the sanitarian, the early de-
lection and isolation of infectious cases
| becomes of the greatest Importance You
are all well aware that our epidemics of
contagious diseases affect largely our chill.
dren of school age and are propagatcd
| through contact in school How shall
we meet this condition. There seems 10
be but one way and that is by medical
INSPECTION. a paper read at the Health
Officers school last summer suggests that
teachers be required TO qualify themselves
to make this inspection. ] think il would
be asking rather too much OF our teach.
ers, at their present rate of compensation,
TO add TO their qualifications course in
clinical medicine. ! would rather propose
a more practical plan, which is that Dis
trict No. 2 have competent trained
nurse, one familiar with an contagious
diseases, devote her entire time, during
the school session, TO visiting the schools
and watching for suspicious cases. with ,
authority to send the case home and refer /,
to the family physician, and at the same
time notify the health officer The nurse
should also visit children who are sick. !
| believe that that would do much TO
avoid cpidemics We have had fifty chill +,
dren ont of school with whooping cough !
Why? Because nearly every child with :
whooping cough is in school at least one !,
week AFTER ne OF sIe ~ HdDdDIc Oh tOIll- 4
municating the disease, and before il is ,
thought to be anything but cold. The |
measles can be detected by the experience
ed observer "a to As hours before the /,
eruption appears on the surface of the :
body, and very frequently this day or I
two the child is in school, exposing every u
other non-immune in the room. Hence | 4
think il is not difficult 20 see that the !
cost of such inspections would be money :
tVnl aNnnpdpI II IL only hpFuuSn pF !
the loss of time and the suffering Of the 4
acute attack that we would use our best 4
efforts to prevent them, but the many y
lasting after effects that may more or less
cripple the individual for the rest OF h
life. =
1t is stated on reliable authority that y
since Boston introduced medical school i
inspection in 1894. the saving II expense 4
in the city hospital alone has been great (
er than $4,000 year which it has cost. i
The eases of diphtheria have fallen off 4
and scarlet fever tive,sixths. y
| can best illustrate the value of medical !,
school inspection by relation of a case II
i'll point, Three years ago there was n,
enough diphtheria among us to make 4,
school inspection seem wise and il was a,
ordered by the then health officer. The Il
Inspector of the Canal street building i,
found one suspicious case, which proved II
TO be diphtheria of the nasal variety, and n
il took about six weeks to cure this case \,
so that there was no danger Of infection. =,
And the important point is this, that this n
boy was not sick and would have re ~
manned in school during these six weeks, m
al the time capable Of injecting Others e.
but for his removal through the inspec N
ion. se
As communities reach certain popula- Il,
ion. which We are fast approaching, the m
disposal OF garbage that Is. all the waste m
hat cannot be taken care of by the sewer III
system, becomes very important prob
EN- Up to date, we have employed various
Methods of disposal Dry ashes and tin @
ans are useful in filling up low places .
md making road surfaces in some places,
md the big producers gather up most
If the house waste of food But this will
lot long continue to answer the demand,
md some system of collection and dis cr
,osal will be demanded The most practi-
al perhaps is the incinerating plant If
my OF YOU will take look at the west
hannel of the river along by the railroad
ard. YOU will be convinced that the
present methods are hardly satisfactory
To summarize the subject, we want,
irst plenty of air as free from dust as n
possible, with sunshine, when we can get
/. Next, an abundance of good water ga
nd facilities for every one to use it. I'll
bird, a completed system OF sewers, to is
are tor all OF the waste dlspOsable IN no
hat way. Fourth intelligent heating bn
leaning and ventilation of all of our pub 81,
c places Of assembly. Fifth liberal M
treet sprinkling to mitigate the dust
Sixth, systematic medical in ev
pection of schools to detect contagious lit
iseases. When this is accomplished, we hil
hall have made long stride in santa Bo
ion and the prevention of disease. or,
The rain water cistern for drinking
imposes and the old wei in thickly set = ~
led sections must go Only recently | ga
ave had analysis made of water from Az
wo such wells and they proved to be ba
ighly contaminated by privies within pla
hirty or forty feet of them, and in both of
asses the families were dependent on and so
bliged to use the water which was a..
lought to be very bright and good ~
Ladies, and members of the club: If in WI
his fragmentary talk, | have furnished mi
on any food for thought and secured ant
our aid in the work of sanitation, ma
lall have accomplished all | contemplate ma
l. The subject is a very large one and
have only touched its most prominent
oints. | thank you for your patient Gr'
-tention. Be-
Dr.. Miller's Remarks in Discussion. Ia Ia,
In leading the discussion DR.. Miller Cal
i'd: lnasmuch as sanitation touches c
iman life at every point from the time
birth to death, and even before and goa
ter, the subject matter and its pleas Gre
G presentation in the good paper of the 3,
,ening- before supper-demands the goa
ILL Al 4 Il