El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-27

! of the germ carrying plush car seat,
which ali hygienists admit ought to be
! banished, or to protect the human
/ traveller from the careless splitting vic
tim of tuberculosis.
With an eyer-grOWing number of
/ people who must travel with more or
| less frequency, and with the products
of the whole world circulating over
our arteries of traffic as the blood
runs through the arteries Of
the body, the problem of the
relation of travel and traffic to
the public health becomes more and
more VITAL and the hygienists now
make it one of the eight great sub
jects of hygienic investigation and
! the hygienie congress, Just closed,
some very remarkable contributions
were made to the thought upon it, and
it is confidently predicted that it will
result in new activities in the protec-
ton of the public from the ills that
grow out of traffic and Transports
ton.
Protection from Accidents.
When congress framed the inter
state commerce law it did not entirely
overlook the matter, and in some
health as well as the public pocket
book. For instance, it incorporated
rules for the transportation of ex-
plosives, intended for those who travel
and for those who operate the We
hicles of travel 1t has enacted nu-
merous laws to protect the public
from accident. The steamboat inspec-
tion laws. the airbrake law. the law
limiting the time trainmen and others
assisting in the operation OF trains
may work. all bear witness to the in
terest that congress has taken in the
protection OF the travelling public and
its protection from accident
But it has done much less for the
peoples protection from disease. It
might have required the railroads and
steamboat companies to furnish indi-
vidual drinking cups, but 1t has not
done so. It might have compelled
them to use vacuum cleaners in clean
ing their cars, but It has failed to do
so. What congress has done is to be
commended according to the santa
rians, but a whole bOokful OF whole
some laws might be written upon the
single question of traffic and trans
portation in its relation to public
health.
The Common Drinking Cup.
If congress might do more for the
public health protection by railroads
and steamboats,, the majority of the
states are in the same situation 1t
is true that some Of the states have
abolished the common drinking cup By
law, but even these do not go further
to see that wholesome water IS always
furnished. Anyone who has Travelled
much and has had his eyes open while
water coolers are filled with water and
ice, must feel that sometimes lie might
rinse off a glass but that separating
the germs from the water represents
an impossible task This does not ap-
ply with such force TO the way the
work of replenishing the supply of
drinking water is done IN big terminals
as it does elsewhere. But even there
to see the ice hauled in all kinds of
trucks handled by men who know
nothing of the principles Of cleanli-
ness. and put unWashed into the cool
ers is not a very pleasing sight to him
who has to drink the water One often
. sees, when travelling where Pullmans
p four rr~e1F r anna n = n
old watering can that has not been
washed out for goodness knows how
long, get it full of water from a by
drant. pour it into cooler that is
Shiny from going unwashed, and then
add chunk OF ice that is dirty and
grimy from contact with the sidewalk,
with never an attempt at cleanliness
Noisy Street Cars.
The Hygiene congress heard a num-
Der Of speakers on the part the city
street car plays in the prevention Of
health 1t was declared by some Of the
speakers that the abatement of unnec-
essary noise is absolutely essential to
nerve hygiene, and that the flat wheel,
the baby adjusted brake, and the i'm
proper control of motors is responsible
for more cases Of nervous proStration
than the public would believe. It was
also declared that the part played by
the poorly ventilated street car in the
health of a city is far greater than is
ordinarily thought
1t is conceded by all sanitarians that
tuberculosis may be transmitted
through bad air. In 147 samples of
dust collected where tubercular peo-
pie had BEEN more than a third con-
tained tuberculosis germs. Out of IS
guinea pigs inOcculated with air borne
dust from tubercular sputum, 46 took
the disease. Not only are the germs
of a number of diseases to be found in
badly ventilated street cars. but the
bad air increases the susceptibility of
those who have to inhale it.
It was proposed by one speaker at
the hygiene congress that every COM
mon carrier should have a sanitary de-
partment, and that it should take ac-
tive steps to insure clean cars, good
ventilation, pure water. and the like.
The Pullman company already has such
a department, and has been engaged in
a long study of car ventilation Those
who have to sleep on the road a great
deal are ready to believe that much
more remains to be done by the depart
ment Of sanitation OF the sleeping car
company than has yet been accom-
plished.
Eating on Trains.
Secretary Crumbine, of the Kansas
board of health told the congress
something about the sanitary problems
involved in feeding the travelling pub
lie. To more than two-thirds of the
people who travel the dining car is alb
solutely unknown. The high prices
there and the tipping nuisance keep
them out. so that the problem with
them is one Of going without anything
to eat, carrying it along. or taking a
chance on a way station lunch counter
or sandwich men.
The Pennsylvania railroad, in order
to pOpularize its service, is expecting
to establish some lunch cars, where !
the people who have to count their /
dimes can get something to eat. While |
the character of the railroad feeding |
business is such that the best cooks in I
the world are not to be secured there, !
the tendency among all roads which !
operate their own diners, and with the /
Pullman company as well. is to re-
quire a higher standard of cleanliness !
in the handling and preparation Of the 1
food of the dining car patron.
Lake Steamers Cause Epidemic.
One of the ways through which in !
fictitious diseases are spread is through |
an improperly guarded lake and river /
traffic. 1t has been demonstrated that |
the steamboats, which ply on many I
small bodies of water and on many /
rivers dispense enough infection to /
cause many epidemics. For instance. /
many cities bordering on the great J
lakes have had epidemics of typhoid !
fever that could not be traced until at 1
tention was turned to the water sup /