The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-12-08
READING RAVAGED BY
EPIDEMIC OF TYPHOID.
Farmers PoIIute Watershed De.
spite Inspectors Protests.
THERE HAVE BEEN $50 CASES


Citizens and MuDicipaI and State OFF,
Gals Join Forces to Fight the
Disease - The Epidemic Has
Been Raging Since November is.
Reading, Pa. Reading is in the
midst Of a terrible epidemic of ty-
phoid fever. II 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 % for assistance,
and two days later he sent eighty
State inspectors and a squad OF
trained nurses here in charge Of 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 ty-
phoid exists have been placarded.
The trained nurses are making a cam
paign of education. For this purpose
The city is divided into districts, and
the nurses are visiting each home
where the fever exists and instructing
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,
2roprietors of hotels, manufacturing
concerns, department stores and 9TH
ars employing labor have been noti-
ded that water for drinking purposes
must be boiled for twenty minutes.
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 ESQ cases. In one family
mother and five children are down
with the disease. In little home in
narrow street a mother died of
typhoid and two children are i'll.
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 the fol-
lowing statement:
The inspectors found that, in spite
of every effort. number of farmers
have continued to pollute the stream.
In some instances the property own
ars refuse to listen to the instructions
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. +"
The cecalcitrants will be prose-
3uted.
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.
"We will gladly give up our social
teas and BRIDGE said one society
leader after the meeting, land work
for the poor sufferers"
Councils have voted $4,000 to fight
the epidemic and will vote more IL it
Is needed 1t is estimated that it will
cost at least 100000 to stamp it out.
1t 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.