The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-11-09
Dust is Cause of } Municipal Diseases

Irritating, injecting dust, contami- mating the city atmosphere is the most prominent factor in the produc- ton of city diseases. This dust men ace and nuisance is preventable, not only in the streets but likewise in our living and working places. In houses, cars stores, factories, shops, offices stations theaters and church es. At present there is a vicious cir cle Street dust is blown swept and tracked into habitations, to be swept back into the streets again. Much house-dust pollution would be avoid ed if the original street-dust were re- moved or allayed.
 This was recognized by Benjamin Franklin, whose many talents and rare common sense are as well known as his courageous patriotism and eminent public service. The dust evil was seriously annoying problem to ian; to him dust was at least neisome- ly offensive if not infective.
 As long ago as 1870, Tfchborne and Tyndall showed that most of the particles of fine dust suspended in city atmosphere are composed of or since shown that the invisible part of visible dust is the dangerous ele- ment that calls for determined movement for the suppression and removal of the menace everywhere. This applies mainly to cities. Country road dust is composed principally of ground-up rock and is a comparatively clean dirt, irritating but relatively harmless. Municipal dust represents the accumulation of debris of various kinds, animal and vegetable, such as dried sputum of human origin, horse and dog drop pings and slobberings. dead and dis integrated insects, scattered garbage and house sweepings, loaded vehicle losses smoke and soot-in short, mainly an organic combination which in warm, wet weather is seething with mostly blown into our houses; noses and clothing by gusty winds, or suck ed up as noxious, stifling clouds by motor cars while they speed and troll ley cars while they are running or braking for a stop.
 To the average pedestrian, dust is hardly more than an annoyance. It is necessary to educate the public to the dangers of dust; to show that it
 Is not simply an irritant to the eyes, nose and throat, but serious carrier of infection by inhalation and swal- lowing.
 That most of the communicable diseases of the throat and lungs are produced and transmitted by dust is doubtless true. For years we have QaQ DGIOTc us tAc 0Cdoly TCldlAOd VI the dust evil to tuberculosis. Were
 that the only danger. surely the aw- full prevalence and mortality-rate of the ''great white plague" would alone | justify the fight for street cleanliness
 and a ldeclaration of independence one adds to this the host of other dust-borne diseases, catarrhal, tonsil-
 lar, bronchial. influenzal, pneumonia, rheumatic, cutaneous. the need for I efficient public service in remedying and removing the evil becomes in- tensely imperative and the demand | inexorable for right results. In a recent number of The Journal of the American Medical Association. i Dr. HIS. finders, of Philadelphia dis lates the efforts made in Philadelphia
 to suppress this evil. Letters were sent to the mayors of Baltimore, Buff
 falo, Birmingham (England). Berlin.
 GGsrman9y> BudapeSt pstroit SHungary0 pnbjyD l (England), Minneapolis. New Or leans, New York, Paris (France), St
 Louis, Stuttgart (Germany) Toronto
 (Canada), Vienna (Austria), and
 Washington. DC. A summary of the
 1. In a majority of the cities where
 results were satisfactory, the princi- pal cleaning was done at night, or
 completed before 6 o'clock in the
 morning.
 | 2. Thorough sprinkling preceded sweeping Sprinkling was also done two to four times daily in dry (non- freezing) weather to lay prevalent l dust.
 | 3. Flushing wagons or flushing from curb to curb with hose Is the method used in preference to sprink- l ling and machine sweeping in the best cleaned cities
 | 4. Hand sweeping by blockmen in daytime is always preceded by wet Y ting with a hand sprinkler.
 | B.. Piles of dirt are immediately removed while wet or damp in cOv- cred wagons.
 6. Last, but by no means least is the duStleGs operation of dust and