The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-07-24

a contingent fund. 1t should provide
for the poor, and was in duty bound
to see that they are properly cared for.
He called attention to the condition
of Patterson avenue, where manure
is dumped, and said that Sunday night
at the Chautauqua the northwest wind
took the smell to the tent and the
stencil was something awful. Some
people who are sick near there attrib-
ute their sickness to it. The city
should prevent more manure being
dumped there and should see that
what is there now is covered.
After some further discussion, Aid.
Eichstaedt moved that $3.50 be set
aside as contingent fund. subject to
the order of the chairman of the
health committee. to be used by the
committee and the health officer as
they saw fit. This was carried.
Surplus Energy Wasted.
Dr. Bjelland, who came in at about
this time. said that a great deal
of howl, surplus energy and hysteria
was being wasted on "these poor
marlre piles" They We're not right,
and inspectors had been to some of
the owners many times trying to get
them removed. The fruit house had
also been frequently notified. 1t was
impossible for him to 90 personally.
Some of the best citizens leave their
manure piles, and it ought not to be
necessary for the health officer to GO
to them. Citizens can help in this
emergency by keeping their own places
clean and by not ringing up the
health department all the time about
manure piles on their neighbors' lots
He had to answer hundred tele-
phone calls a day about such matters.
Some people think that their own bad
places and manure piles are better
and sweeter than their neighbors' A
man who complained of the Fruit
Commission company's plant had to be
told to remove manure pile on his
own promises. The slough has smelled
like it does now a hundred times
before The pools are not dangerous
to health if people do not get down
and drink out of them. He had six
or seven men at work cleaning up and
notifying people to clean up. 1t could
not be expected that he could attend
to everything at his salary
of SIG a month. The situation was
serious and he was trying to get at
the real cause, which was the city
water All the steps that it was pos
sible to take had been taken in regard
to this. He had asked and received
the aid of the state dairy commissioner
and the state board of health. DR..
Bracken would arrive tomorrow WED
nesday) evening, and he wished to have
a meeting with the aldermen. DIR.
Bracken had proposed to secure the
services of two active young men to
visit the houses where there is
typhoid fever and advise what to-
do to prevent the spread of the dis
ease. 1t was the secondary cases
the cases have all been initial cases,
All of the doctors were overworked
and were advising their patients how
to prevent the spread of the disease.
The milk supply is good-better than
any other in the state of Minnesota,
and he was not afraid of it unless
some dairy employee came down with
the disease and continued to work.
He proposed to employ two senior
medical students and through their
work hoped to prevent the spread of
the disease. He recommended that the
mayor appoint commission of repre-
sentative citizens, physicians, sanitary
experts and engineers, to provide the
city with sanitary wells. The ones
that the city has can be made sani-
tary, but it will take time. The cases
coming down up to now have been
those that got the infection from the
city water. There is no cause for get
ting hysterical The city is up against
the real thing, and the sooner it faces
the situation as it is, the sooner the
epidemic will be over. If people will
stop getting hysterical about manure
piles it will give time to act on more
important matters.
Aid. Gary did not agree with the
health officer about manure piles. He
was in favor of cleaning the alleys,
etc. and would give the ten days
notice and then remove the piles and
charge the expense up to the property
owners as it has done in years past.
Statement By Mayor Andrews.
Mayor Andrews said that he agreed
with both speakers. The manure piles
and bad smelling places should be
abated at once, but the main point at
issue was the city water. The people
are not getting typhoid fever from the
manure piles, but every case thus far
has been traceable to the city drinking
water. Only one patient from Min
nesota street, where they have wells,
has entered hospital, and that party
got the disease from. the city water.
Minnesota street mas been overlooked
by the river so that people had to
go about in boats, and there are nu-
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