The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-08
FoR CLEAN cITiTEs AND coon
 WATER.

'clean city" Sometimes 1t Is the city I authorities themselves who are head. ing and sustaining the movement.
 sometimes . society or other organi-
 zation of citizens, and often 1t Is the
 women who are most active. And by
 the way, the good women of . city caR always be depended on to work
 for the best interests of all if they receive the aid and encouragement their efforts should have.
 | Whatever or whoever may be be- hind or in the lead in such . move ment 1t Is always to be commended and should receive the active support of all citizens who desire health and comfort for all the people. The es- sentiai requirements for this are clean streets and premises and pure drink ing water. While we do not take very much stock in many of the extrava- gant statements put forth about germs and microbes in the streets. be- cause some of them are really ab- surd. the fact remains that many dis ease germs are to be found in the | filth and refuse of the streets and sidewalks of most cities. It is proven beyond the possibility of error that in the very dust itself. as we'll as in lowed to accumulate. there are dam
 gerous germs to be found. and these are released and disseminated in so many forms that 1t may be stated as an axiom that no city can be free from danger unless the streets and sidewalks are kept clean.
 Tn old tinaes little thought was given to the possibility of danser from lit tered and filthy streets. We often read of the plaques and other deadly vIsItations which have come to the large cities. both In our own and in foreign countries. and in every case we may simultaneously read about the terrible condition of the streets and alleys which were rarely cleaned. The doctors and other scientific men did not apparently understand or realize the close relation between dirty streets and disease, and the people resignedly accepted the dangers which so often beset them and did not seem to real ize that man, not Providence, was largely to blame for the haryests that death reaped every year.
 It is different now, thanks to the advance that has been made in medi- cal and meteorological science. Now the relation between cause and effect Is coming to be well understood and acted on. Those who understand and take note of diseases. their causes and effects, and who have given thought and observation to the subject, know that It is a constant peril to the people to allow the streets and sidewalks to remain uneleaned and without any ef- fort at disinfection. So It comes about that in these days we find so much interest taken in all movements to keep the streets ft=ts=uot only In the interest of civic beauty and comfort. but of general health.
 The same Is true now of the water which the city people must use. We do not know whether the people and medical men of former days were ignorant of the fact that foul drink ing water produces disease, but if they knew It they did not act on the knowledge. They might be fully aware Of the fact that polluted water did not taste good, but seemed not to know that In many cases the bad taste meant sickness and death to the thinker.
 Knowledge has advanced wonderful ly since those old days. Now the ex- animation and analysis of drinking water enables the doctor to trace many diseases to their legitimate source. In a number of the large cities of the Union fearful epidemics, | are widespread. local disease prevail | 3AU Nh~tJS SAS VI tiO Bdtct 9iIQWb lHdl 1t is literally loaded with germs of typhoid and other diseases. The water in most cases is taken from streams which have their sources at a distance | from the city and in their course they receive and carry with them the seeds | of death in various forms. It has be- | come evident that disease cannot be | exterminated or prevented unless the | water is purified. and to do that is | 8 problem that the wisest and best | thought among medical men and | health officials are trying to solve. | In addition to the foul streams 1t is now a known fact that wells in large cities are not safe to drink from, for | they also may be polluted from the surface of the earth or from sewers and drains. Such water as we are blessed with in this city is not to be found in many others.
 And so it is that a clean city and pure drinking water have come to be regarded as essentials, and to ensure them is a work that may well engage the best efforts of all who have at heart the good health and welfare of