Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-24
THE DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE


The question of the disposal of gar
bage presents itself to most people as
a question of convenience rather than
as a matter closely associated with
public health, but as a matter of fact
the question of convenience pales into
insignifcance when compared with the
hygienic side of the problem. People not
infreqnently ask why the questions of
public hygiene are more important now
than they were in the past, and they
inform us that in the good old days of
our grandmothers people knew little
and cared less about diseases resulting
from the various forms of filth, from
flies, from mosquitoes or from con-
taminated water. The reply to these
people is, that If we wish to live as
they lived we must be content to die
as they died.
Up to the time of our Revolutionary
war, the population of the more thick
ly settled portions of Europe did not
materially increase. This was due to
a greater extent to the terrible infant
mortality. 1t is probable that the birth
rate was fairly normal, but infant
mortalitv was so extreme that the aV-
erage length of life was considerably
less than twenty-years; because OF
better understanding of the nature and
cause of the disease, the average
tries is now somewhat more than forty
years.
Garbage properly disposed of is not
q menace to health; improperly dis
posed of it is dangerous in several diff
ferent ways. If it is allowed to accum-
ulate in uncovered receptacles 1t be-
comes not only offensive so far as the
smell is concerned, but 1t is breed
ing place for flies and more or less
dangerous bacteria. To be safe from
these two dangers, the garbage can
must not only be kept tightly covered
but the can must be thoroughly cleaned
frequently.
Garbage which comes from families
suffering from no disease, and where 1t
is frequently gathered. is reasonably
good feed for swine. but If 1t comes
from families suffering from disease,
and especially from tuberculosis, 1t Is
extremely dangerous, as the swine are
almost certain to eventually contract
the disease, and if they do so, 1t is
certainly very easy for it to be trans
mitted to those having them in charge
and to those who may use them Tor
food.
strongly inclined to believe that true
economy requires that garbage shall
be frequently collected and burned.
AS we read of the highway robbers
who almost openly infested the sub
urbs of London, up to the early part of
the last Century, we feel that the Eng
lish government disgraced itself by not
sternly suppressing them. Our pos
terity will feel with equal justice that
it is a disgrace to our civilization to
permit tuberculosis to flourish as 1t
does in our midst. I think 1t is no ex-
aggeration to say that we have enough
knowledge of the disease and of the
methods of it's transmission to make 1t
possible for us to Danish 1t from the
earth in one generation. 1t is true that
1t would cost both care and money, but
we should be repaid for the care by the
knowledge that we have destroyed one
of the greatest foes of human life, and
we should be repaid for the money by
the fact that the increased efficiency
of the face would make return OF
many dollars for every dollar that is
spent. We can help to bring about
destruction of the dread disease by
creating a public sentiment which shall
demand the incneration of all garbage
and which shall condemn its use, either
as food for animals or as fertilizing
material for land. Perhaps it is only
to say that it may be applied to the
latter purpose with reasonable safety
if it Is used under the proper super
vision Z. A. w WHITING
The Pacific College of Osteopathy.