The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-04-29
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.
To the Public:

to the health OF our people and they
must go. have humored this ques-
ton as long as | intend to, and when
explain my position as your humble
servant / know | am more liable to
criticism for being derelict rather
than harsh.
! | feel | would be guilty of no
greater offense to invite the inno-
cent, confiding public to an apothe-
cary shop to select their own drugs
than to any longer encourage the use
OF the public and private wells of our
city.
Water In motion in the form of
running streams by Its constantly
rolling and turning and preciptating
: its contents In this manner may keep
pure, but as pure as it can be made.
even distilled water. allowed to re-
main in a basin, subject TO the sun s
rays and the atmosphere, readily be-
comes impure. The same submitted
to positive temperature of 60 de-
grees Fahrenheit, with vegetable de-
composition, generates the deadly
organism that has killed more people
by odds than any known disease or
other cause in this country.
And this is not the only bad effects
of impure water. Its most patent
quality as disease producer is in the
drinking water, and may and Will
eventually develop in any well or
cistern in the city that is continually
lreplenished by sipe water No matter
how pure and sparkling II may APP
pear, you never know when this
water is full of germs until 1t begins
to develop its dreful effects upon the
bowels in the form Of typhoid fever
dysentery and worms. This is the
principal cause of these three mala-
dies. Typhoid fever is not a con-
tagious disease by contact with the
patient direct, but comes from the
germs floating in drinking water from
the wells and cisterns adjacent to
stock barns and outhouses, and in
some extraordinary instances, the
source OF contagion in wells has been
traced to a distance of 10 and IL
miles, that is in well this distance
from a city or large stock barns this
distance away.
No one better knows the condi-
tons of our city. with little more
than half the population years ago,
with reference to the mortality in
typhoid fever, when well water was
the only source of drinking water
than our oder physicians, one OF
whom emphasized that fact in this
remark. that when he first came 10
this city people died of typhoid fever
about as rapidly as from cholera.
numbering all along from 60 to so
per year.
! You will certainly observe that in
the year of 1906 that only IL deaths
occurred fom typhoid fever. is from
the same disease in the year OF 1907,
and as yet so far in this year, one
third of which has about gone. the
deaths have to increase to reach
either number.
The same reduction in the NOR
tuary report of the city you will also
observe in all the bowel diseases since
filtered water has been the principal
source of drinking water.
There Is but one salvation for the
wells of our city that is continually
replenished by sipe water. Make a
jug of them by walling them up at
least with two layers of brick. well
cemented and plastered this subject
to continual inspection of the sani-
tary officers with the approval of the
board of health.
In this manner you perceive that
sipe water is barred out altogether
and only the rain water allowed to
run in from the top OF the well or
cistern.
Also as much as the winter has
been so very mild and spring seem
ingly developing very early. allow me
to insist on the public cleaning at
least the resr-PFemises before the adj
vent OF hot weather. Your obedient
servant. w. r. GRAVES,
Health Officer City of Paducah.