The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-06-29

NN. one or the puDuc8t1OnS O1 the No-
 tional Society for the Prevention
 and Relief of Tuberculosis there Is x this significant statement: The friends of tuberculosis, or consump- ton, are Dirt, Damp, Darkness and Drink: the enemies of consumption are Sunlight, Fresh Air. Good Food, Rest"
 Now the thing that Is worth think ing about in those eight words Is the fact that all but one of them, drink, relate directly to houses and house keeping. A while ago everybody thought that tuberculosis was heredi- tary. Now we know that 1t is a house disease, thriving because we don't live enough in the open air and sunshine, and because we have chosen to live in cities so crowded that air and sunshine have a price set on them. The worst of 1t is, more and more peo- ple are going to live in cities because if ia a necessity for them to do so, and fortunately for us this does not mean that more and more are to die of tuberculosis. Statistics show that in New York, Philadelphia and Boston the death rate has decreased forty, fifty and even sixty per cent in the last twenty years, while in great many rural communities 1t is as high as ever. Doesn't this sound like a contradiction?
 It takes us back to the house and the housekeeper. In great cities 1t Is the municipality and it's important delegate, the Board of Health, who are really the housekeepers. They don't go into details, but they do say that you must do thus and so with your waste and garbage, and there must be a certain standard for plumb ing, and certain rules about the least amount of light and air that will be tolerated by a. civilized community. The municipality had to step. in and say this, and 1t ought to say good deal more than 1t does, because 1t learned by bitter experience that pub lie health was not a matter to be decided entirely by the house owner and tenant. The reason, then, why we still have a high death rate from consumption in rural communities is because there is no public house keeper to watch over drainage and water and the kinds of plumbing we should have. In the country every womaHs house is her castle and she does as she pleases. The windows are nailed down in winter and the feather beds are drawn up, the drinking water often comes from contaminated wells, and cesspools are not emptied often enough. You see living in cities has a good many advantages; you see also that in the suburbs a great deal re- mains to be done by the individual housekeeper, and on her must fall most of the responsibility for house disease like tuberculosis.
 < Water, light and air are natures great dfsinfectants. If the house keeper bears this in mind she need not fear tuberculosis or many other diseases that love dark and unsanitary surroundings. First of all, remember thak while no one can live without air, anyone can get used to bad, stale air, and living in 1t will so lower the vitality that we are likely to catch anything that is floating around.
 ventilate.
 A properly vetilated house is essen tial to good health, and proper venti1a- ton means windows open at bottom and.top, so that the air in all the halls and rooms is stirred and changed at least once day. There should always be a window open in the bedroom sum- mer and winter. Begin with a few inches at time, if you are not used to it, but by all means have some pure air in the room at night. Night air is purer than day air because there is less dust in it, and during or after a rain the air is purer because it has been washed. We need sunshine in our rooms, all we can get of it, and especially in the rooms that are used by old people, invaiids and children. It is the best and cheapest tonic in