Connecticut western news., 1907-06-13
STATE SEC'Y
 VISITS CANAAN
AND MAKES AN INVESTIGATION
He says he Can Find Nothing to Indi- cate That There will be More Cases of Typhoid Fever-Canaan as Clean as Average Village.

or lypnoiu feVer- Idnadn as Ciedn
 as Average Village.
 On Friday of last week Dr. J. H. Townsend, secretary of the Connecticut State Board of Health, visited Canaan for the purpose of making an inspection of the condition of the village and to as- certain, if possible, what has caused the several cases of typhoid fever which have existed here.
 At the conclusion of his tour of the village The News interrogated him as to the result of his investigation and he re- marked as follows:' Canaan impresses me as being clean village. After familiarizing myself with local conditions was about to sug- gest that what is needed perhaps more than any other one thing is q sewerage system but I find that steps have already been taken toward the establishment of such system. Every village that has a water works plant, be it in Connecticut or in my other state, should have q sew craze system for larger quantities of water are always used than in villages where no water works. plant exists. Al most invariably the sewage is led into cesspools and the ground finally becomes So thorougely permeated that it will hold or filter no more matter and infec- tion is the result.
 I made careful inspection of the Warner House premises and believe that MT. Garfield is doing everything he pos. sibly could do to remedy the conditions there and much more than most people would have done under like conditions, and it seems to me that there will be ab- solutely no danger of further infection from that source. In fact I find, after making a tour of the village, that sani- tary conditions i'll Canaan are no worse than they are i'll many other villages where there has been no epidemic of dis ease but, of course, things could not be allowed to remain as they are without bad results later on." (when speaking thus, Dr. Townsend had in mind the many cesspools, vaults etc. which exist in the village.)
 At various times during the conversa- tion he had with THE NEWS man, Dr. Townsend emphasized the need of sew craze system i'll Canaan and expressed his qualification because of the fact that move has been made toward getting it.
 We asked the leading question:" What, ill your opinion, has been the cause of the typhoid fever cases that have been contracted ill Canaan lately"
 In reply Dr. Townsend said, in effect, that it is well. nigh impossible to answer the question positively. He remarked that his inspection had provided him with several theories as to probable cause but that he desires to further in- vestigate and consider before expressing a decided opinion. He remarked that the evidence in this instance, as well us every other instance of like nature, is, and must of necessity be, largely cir. cumstantial. He expects to make an- other visit to Canaan in about ten days and on that occasion will probably have a plan of action outlined.
 The conditions existing on several pieces of property, which conditions had been brought to the attention of local health officer Lee, were inspected hy the state secretary. He remarked that while the said conditions should not be al- lowed to continue indefinitely, still he saw nothing that requires immediate and drastic treatment. The idea he means to convey is that if the citizens of Canaan exert themselves, they can keep their premises in a sanitary condi- tion, until the sewer pipes are laid and then, connection should be made with | these pipes and the use of the cesspools. | vaults etc. in the thickly settled portion of village discontinued at once.
 He found that the conditions of the hotel, before William Garfield purchased | 1t from E. W. Warner, were deplorable but that, as above stated have now been He also found that several people have pipes leading from sinks etc. into the small stream which runs at right angles with West Main street. Dr. Townsend thought it doubtful if the is sufficient to cause disease, yet thought the practice should be dis continued.
 No Tobacco.
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