The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-12-30
READING RAVAGED BY
EPIDEMIC Of TYPHOID
Farmers PoIIute Watershed De,
spite inspectors Protests.
THERE HAVE BEEN $50 CASES
Citizens and Municipal and State Off
Gals Join Forces to Fight the
Disease - The Epidemic Has
Been Raging Since November IS.

. DloCuSC - nH&uSAhS AA01
Been Raging Since November IS.
- Reading, Pa.-Reading Is in the
midst of a terrible epidemic Of ty-
phoid fever. It began November IS,
and up to the present time $50 cases
and fifteen deaths have been reported.
Mayor William Rick and the local
Board Of Health called on State
Health Commissioner Samuel G.
Dixon on November 20 for assistance,
and two days later he sent eighty
State inspectors and a squad Of
trained nurses here in charge IF Chief
Engineer F. Herbert Snow and Chief
Medical Inspector DR.. A. B. Moulton.
The epidemic Is attributed to the
water supply obtained from the
Maiden Creek stream, several miles
north of the city. The inspectors,
have already found various sources OF
pollution.
Notices asking people to boil water
and milk have been placed In street
cars, hotels, theatres and all public
places, and all houses In which fB-
phoid exi SITS have been placarded.
Fhe trainDd nurses are making a CAM
paign of education. For this purpose
the city is divided into districts, and
the nurses r visiting each home
where the fever exists and i%nstruSing
the inmates in methods of preventing
Infection.
The health authorities have noti-
led all milk dealers not to serve, Gus
.omers with milk in bottles or such
containers as are again collected for
Use. The Superintendent Of Schools,
proprietors Of hotels, manufacturing
concerns, department stores and 9TH
srs employing labor have been nott-'
aed that water for drinking purposes
must be boiled for twenty minutes. Z
Z The epidemic RACES chiefly in the
northern section of the city, where
the water supply is not filtered.
There are very few cases in the
southern section of the city. The
Thirteenth Ward, the largest in the
city, has $50 cases. In one family
d mother and five children are down
with the disease. In a little home In,
a narrow street a mother died OF
typhoid and two children r Ill.
One Of the nurses found food left
by the patients lying on the table, to
be used later by other members of
the household. A force OF inspectors,
with Superintendent Emil Nuehling,
Of the. Water Department, Went over
the Maiden Creek watershed again
TO search for the source of pollution.
The State officers gave out thu fol-
lowing statement: !
@The inspectors found that, intspite
of every effort, a number Of farmers
have continued to pollute theistream.
In some instances the property own
ers refuse to listen to the institutions
of the State officials. They said that
for. years they had been allowing
their disease-breeding sewage to go
Into Maiden Creek and did not pro-
pose to be interrupted in this prac-
tice."" i
The secalcitrants will be prose
At the call of Mayor Rick delegates
representing various churches and
charitable organizations have met
and pledged themselves to give every
possible aid to the needy victims Of
the epidemic.
I'VE will gladly give up our social
teas and bridge" said one society
leader after the meeting, "ald work
for the poor sufferers"
y Councils have voted $4,000 to fight
the epidemic and will vote more If it
Is needed. It is estimated that 1t will
cost at least $4,000 to stamp 1t out.
It is not certain that the water
alone is responsible, and the State
health officers are investigating con-
ditions on every dairy farm from
which Reading gets its milk