The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-04-14
MOSQUITO and FLY MUST CO.
THE SOUTH is WAGING WAR ON
DISEASE DISSEMINATORS.
the Southern States n
systematic Campaign Has Been Re-
gun TO Stamp Out The Winged
spreaders of Yellow Fever. TX.
phoid and Malaria-Famt us Fever
Expert Draws Up Rules of Santa
ton.

New Orleans, La, April 1.-THE
entire South has notified the festive
mosquito and the ubiquitous house f,y
that they are undesirable citizens. and
that under no circumstances will they
be permitted to reside in or FREQUENT
the inhabited communities. But the
authorities have not been satisfied
with declarations. Not much! They
have not forgotten the lesson taught
them In 1905, when the yellow fever
came.
So all over the South, in the small
er villages as well as in the bigger
cities, the health authorities are open-
Ing an early campaign against the
disseminators Of all the deadly dis
eases-the mosquito and the house
fiy. 1t has been demonstrated that
the mosquito is not the only disease
spreader. He-or She rather-does
spread yellow fever. hut the house
fly has been tried and convicted of the
crime Of disseminating malaria, ty-
phoid fever and several other diseases
nC less deadly.
Under the direction Of Dr. ]. :.
White, the famous marine hospital
surgeon, who fought and whipped the
yellow fever in 1905, regular set Of
laws and precautions have been de-
vised. These are practically the same
in all the Southern cities and States.
To begin with, all tanks of water
cisterns or vessels, which hold water
or which might be covered and
screened with screen Of at least IS
meshes of wire to the inch. Stand
ing water on lots or commons is not
permitted. All shallow lots must be
drained and kept dry, or the owner
Is subject to severe penalty. All
stables must have air tight recep-
tacles for refuse and this refuse must
De removed each week. Where there
are large natural bodies Of water,
which 1t is impossible to drain. the
surface must be disinfected and oiled
at frequent and regular intervals.
Even the water used in the sprinkling
carts is heavily charged with the
strongest disinfectants.
But the authorities do not stop even
here. They go into the restaurants.
cafes. butcher shops, dairy depots and
bakeries. They force the proprietors
to screen their premises with copper
screens and to screen the receptacles
in which food is kept and prepared.
In the public and parochial schools
the teachers regularly and insistentlv
impress upon the children the danger
OF contamination and the necessity of
obeying the rules laid down by the
health authorities. This not only in
sures care On the part of the next
generation, but the children are grad
ually instructing and converting their
parents to belief in the great doc
trine of sanitation.
or course, in the cities, regularly
organized force of sanitary police en-
force the laws. In the smaller cities
the health-preserving rules are looked
after by State officers.
In connection with this campaign.
1t Is interesting to note that those
years in which vigorous and careful
campaign VISA waged against the
winged pests, showed a greatly de-
creased death rate and a most COM
forting and encouraging decrease in
the number of deadly diseases.
Several of the larger cities have
stringent anti-weed ordinances, which
make 1t crime to permit the growth
of weeds under penalty of fine and
Imprisonment. In some places the
weeds must be cut when five inches
tall. in others greater latitude is per-
mitted.
The boards of health in one city
exchange ideas with others. and thus
uniform system of defense against
disease is being gradually worked out
SPEECH BY EMMA GOLDMAN.