The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-12-29
Of LOCAL
HEALTH CONDITIONS
DR.. !. S. Martin, Secretary of City Board
of Health, Submits Exhaustive Re-
view of Matters Relating to the
Public Health of Plymouth.

I cessful in their efforts this year.
While many of the surrounding cities
and towns have been visited with
epidemics of contagious diseases we
have been practically free from them.
The multiplicity of these cases be-
comes a serious draft on the public
fund and sometimes they create a
source of great embarrassment. Seven
years ago when Plymouth was visit
ed by an epidemic of small pox as ]
have since been told by a member of
the Council at that time it cost the
city over a Thousand dollars to de-
fray the expenses of quarantine. The
quarantine expenses this year have
been for disinfecting material $26.60.
H.. Registration.
The system of registration was IN
stalled by an Act of the Legislature
in 1882. The City was furnished
with three large books of uniform
size: one for the registration of births
one for deaths; and one for contagi-
Gus diseases. Each of these books
has a capacity of registering about
1900 names, with provision therein
for recording in connection with each
name, 25 items of a personal or
statistical interest. For the first if
teen years of the use of the system
the report Of deaths and births was
not complete, and especially was
this so in the case of deaths but since
the law has becomes more rigid in
this regard, allowing no burial to
occur without a written permit from
the Health Officer, all eases are
necessarily reported. These records
have become of much value, for they
are a proof of deaths and births for
legal uses.
Up to the present date there are
recorded 1865 births and 923 deaths
in Plymouth since the installation OF
the system. Over 1000 of these
names recorded are in the handwrit-
ing of the present incumbent Of this
Office. While the whole of the names
recorded have been carefully indexed
by him and this are made of practi-
cal use. Many of these 1865 persons
whose births are thus recorded are in
our public schools, some have gradu-
ated and gone from us, while the 923
whose deaths are recorded we're more
or less identified and some were
prominent in the business, profession
al. social. civic, and church life of
Plymouth during the last quarter Of
a century of its history. We met them
often In social nver land have
transacted business with them. But
they have passed away, and in the
course of time they will be remem.
bered no more by the inhabitants of
Plymouth, save as their names and
twenty-forr incidents of their lives
will be found in this registration.
III. Department of Sanitary Work.
1t would be impossible to enumer
ate all of the sanitary work done by
the Board of Health in a body and
by each member singly. / cannot tell
how many miles we have travelled
Through alleys and streets; how many
observations we have made; how
many verbal suggestions, advices and
orders we have given either alone or
collectively. / know that my collea-
CUES MI. w. f. Bailey and DR.. Aspin-
all, are enthusiasts and very effective
in this line of work. We know that
the people have learned to come to
us for redress, from every sort of
grievance imaginable, and we have
given to all a respectable attention
and remedied the evil to the extent
of our ability. We have the salts
faction of knowing, by close observa-
ton, and examination that our streets
and alleys, cur public buildings, with
their yards and Enclosures, including
our churches and schools the privats
homes both small and great of our
people, with condition Of cellars,
front yards, and back yards, and
manner of housekeeping duly consid.
cred are in a remarkably clean and
sanitary state, and will compare very |
~favorably with the best sanitary re-
gulated cities in the state. OF course
as in all cases, there is room for i'm
provement and much yet Is to Be
done, and as our worthy president,
w f. Bailey and associate DR.. Aspin.
all, are present they will make some
suggestions on this line following |
this report. A list Of some of the
work lone by the Board, as taken
from their minutes, is as follows: \
Visits to slaughter houses 4; visits |
to butcher shops 20; notices to clean
poultry houses and pig pens s; notices
to remove manure piles II; privy
vaults cleaned under inspection "a;
notices served on contagious diseases
guarantees established and raised ii |
quarantines established and raised "a
notices to remove manure piles 10.
| abatement of other nuisances 2S: |
dwelling houses examined II; cellars
examined 3; cellars ordered cleaned
4.
As heating and ventilation are the
most essential sanitary features OF
public buildings We are able to report
that our county buildings, school
houses and churches and halls where
people congregate are well equipped
with these essentials as are our stores
and business houses especially those
that have been recently erected stand
ing as monuments of pride in oul
beautiful city. In this connection
special mention should be made Of
tbo new heating plant recently INSTALL