Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-20
TYPHOID IN THIS CITY
Views of DR.. G. |. Maqruder on
the Wyman Report.
DAIRY FARM WATER SUPPLY
Percentage of Cases That Are Trace
able to Milk.
CIRCULARS FOR THE FARMERS
Necessity for Change in Conditions in
Handling the Commodity-Mr.
Kellerman's Statement.
CIRCULARS FOR THE FARMERS

In reference to the report made to the
Commissioners last week by Surgeon
General Wyman of the public health and
marine hospital service, based on the find
ings of his psychologists as to the possi-
Ole causes of typhoid fever in the District.
Dr. IT, Lloyd Magruder says he thinks
more stress should have been laid on the
possible contamination and infection of
mix and of the water supply at the dairy
farms supplying milk for the District
Dr Magruder is of the firm belief that
the percentage of typhoid directly traceab
10 mix is much higher than 10 per cent.
mentioned in DR.. Wyman's report He also
pelleves that large part of the 81 per
cent or causes of typhoid, classed in the
report as unknown could be traced di
rectiy to the water supply of the various
dairy farms in Maryland, Virginia and the
District of Columbia
Water Supply at Dairy Farms.
IF the Commissioners are going to close
all the so-called shallow public wells in the
city as means of remedying the situation
theE should thoroughly investigate the wells
ana other sources of water supply at the
farms outside of the District with a view
OF concerning the contaminated ones or
me offering of suggestions to better Them
s ~ aa 5;r sad. At any rate they
should direct the dairy farmers to be more
careful. am of the opinion that good re-
suits would be attained thereby
Dr. Magruder commends the bacteriolo-
sists in question for having gone so thor
oughly into the subject and treating it so
intelilgently He says 1t is a report of
extraordinary value and should bring splen-
-dld results Dr. Magruder, however, says
he is disappointed that the ba sterioiogists
did not account for a larger percentage of
the cases. He claims that the number ac
counted for in the report has already been
shown by previous writer's as well as the
local health officer.
Is Badly Contaminated.
"A large proportion of the 81 per cent of
| cases of typhoid fever unaccounted for in
DIR. Wymans report" Dr. Magruder went
on to say, is probably due to the fact that
the water supply of many of the dairy
farms Is badly contaminated. 1 base my
opinion upon examination of the water
supply of dairy farms in 1895 by DR.. J. J.
kinyoun, formerly connected with the ma
rlne hospital service, and the field examina-
ton of sixty dairy farms last November
and December by Karl F. Kellerman of
the bureau of animal industry of the De-
partment of Agriculture. 1t was shown by
both of those Investigations that nearly
10 per cent of the water supplies were in
fected and contaminated.
Il consider the per cent of cases attrib.
uted to milk in DIR. Wymans report too
low. The per cent of cases mentioned in
the report. as imported into the District
comedies with the observations 1 have made
since 1895. That more cases of typhoid are
due to milk infection is not only attribute
BILE to the lack of precaution in handling
to the city and at the local milk depots
but from the source of supply. 1 would
recommend that the dairy farmers be en-
couraged to first boil all water used in
r0n nncti Will mill mic nSilc and
deavor to have the farmers periodically
clean the wells and springs. In certain
states the health officers have issued cir
culars to farmers, and l am informed that
good results have been noted. 1t is we'll
known fact that typhoid fever is highly
prevalent among the country population
Potamac River Water.
Regarding the investigation of the Poto-
mac river water supply which DIR. Wyman
states he is still Carrying on, in relation
to typhoid, DR.. Magruder says there is no
reason to look to the Potomac as the pos
sible for the greater part of the ty-
phoid fever cases.
THE prolonged series of experiments that
were conducted during September, October
November and December by the Department
of Agriculture and the officials of the new
filtration plant to eliminate further suspi-
cion of the Potomac water showed that
the filtered water in Washington is practi-
cally free from contamina tion' DR. Ma
gruder added. TT is very gratifying to
note that the commission of the marine
hospital service, in DR.. Wymans report
indorsed the recommendations made in 1894
by the Medical Society of Washington and
continuously urged since that date That
the public wells were unhealthy and con-
taminated from sewage, as referred to in
the Wyman report, is nothing new. A COM
mittee of the Medical Society of which |
was chairman, found that out thirteen years
ago and recommended to the then Commise
sioners of the District that they be aban-
doned More than 80 per cent of them
have, l am glad to say, been closed.
Changed Conditions in Handling.
THE report has shown most graphically"
DR.. Magruder continued, 1.-The absolute ne
cessity for "a change in the conditions in
handling the local milk supply from the
dairy farm to the consumer. The bac-
THEOLOGICAL counts are most astounding. 1t
shows the necessity of cooling the milk at
the farms: keeping it cool in transit and
in the process of delivery to families That
opens up the question of the legislation
requested by the Commissioners of the last
Congress, to require temperature standard
at which milk should be delivered 1t is
eminently desirable that milk should be kept
at tempera ture of about fifty degrees. To
avoid unnecessary hardship on the farmers
ample time should be given to prepare
for the proper harvesting of Ice. Only one
winter in fifty years. according to the sta
tistics of the weather bureau, has it been
so warm in the vicinity of Washington that
it was impossible to harvest ice There is
no excuse for a farmer not securing enough
to answer his demands.
IF the delivery of milk to the dealer in
the city could be arranged so that he
could get his morning supply in time to
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