The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-30
Delivers Address on Present Sanitary Conditions of
 Birmingham
SAYS CONDITIONS
 ARE NOT ALARMING
North Birmingham Water Supply Cause of Disease-Dry Closet Problem Being Handled Sue
 cessfully, Says Officer


 cessfully, Says Officer Dr. Robert Nelson, city health officer. delivered short talk on the present sanitary conditions of the city of Bir mingham before the meeting of the Jeff ferson County Medical society last night In the auditorium of the Chamber of Commerce. The attendance at the meet Ing was not all that could have been desired, but the few members who did show up were very interested in the re- marks of Dr. Nelson.
 pr. Nelson stated that there had been some newspaper discussion about the in sanitary conditions of the city and that from all reports he gathered that the city was in an alarming condition.
 However, to my knowledge, Birming- ham is not very bad off in health condi- tlons." said Dr. Nelson. T have to leave the city at S:45 o'clock tonight and only have a short time in which to address this meeting.
 Woodlawn Crematory
 
 present status of the crematory in Wood lawn. The crematory Is going to be built right away The materials for the construction have been received and the only drawback is the exact situation of the site The good people of Woodlawn objected strenuously to having the crema- tory built at Sxty-fourth street and Fourth avenue, giving as their objection that the wagons would have to pass the public school on Sixty-third street be- fore they could reach the crematory. However. it is possible for the wagons to go down Sixty-fourth street now. l am practically certain that the crema- tory will be built near the site of the present garbage dump in Woodlawn, a little to the left of the negro cemetery
 The heavy rainfall of the past month caused the escape of sewage through the manholes, due, according to the opinions of the city engineer the street commis- sioner and myself, to the seep water This is one reason for the great objec- ton.
 Il also want to state that the war against the mosquito will be waged even harder than ever from now on, on ac- count or llt Illdny poOlS ol WaNSi SohoSd by the rains Draining will be strictly enforced and oil will be used freely. It Is the obscure collections of water that are the breeding places of mosquitos as often as the larger bodies.
 Typhoid Situation
 "The typhoid situation in Birmingham is the only one l could say was out of the ordinary 1t is not alarming, but is worse than it has been in other years, especially in North Birmingham.
 To find out the cause of the trouble, the health department inspected the dairies of the city and they were en- tlrely exonerated. The old abandoned Dolomite quarry of the Sloss company was found to be very suspicious though It was finally done away with as water supply source on the Twenty-sixth of March of this year and the Five Mile creek water was used. However, it was piped through the same pipes as were used for the quarry water and there are still some cases of typhoid caused thereby. l think it is due to the fact that the pollution from the old water was still in the pipes. The only means of communication of typhoid is by water, milk or by case communication.
 In telling of the present typhoid situa- ltion in Birmingham, Dr. Nelson said; From January 1 until April %, inclusive, of this year, there have been 110 cases Of typhoid reported To the health depart ment. Of this number 6 have been from North Birmingham. In January there were 26 cases reported, with F of them from North Birmingham; in February there were 23 with 10 from North Bir- mingham in March there were 15 with 10 from North Birmingham and in April there were 46 with 25 from North Br- mingham. The number of cases this year has been three times the number of cases for the same period last year. advised the people of North Birmingham in the middle of February to boil all water for domestic use, but they appeared to have ignored my advice, and rather resented 1t also.
 Conduit Is Open
 Upon investigation 1 will state that the Birmingham Water companys Five Mile creek water is by no means beyond suspicion. The conduit for this water is open for long distance and is bound to be subject to pollution. Bacillus examln- ation has shown the presence of bacillus coli In this water The Cahaba water, according to laboratory results, is good and there is no fear of 1t.
 T want to say one other thing about the typhoid question. After some difficult ty I had the commission pass an ordi- nance regulating the construction of dry closets. There are at present 9o0o dry closets in Birmingham, forced to exist on account of lack of sewers. Of this num- Der 25oO have been notified to either re- construct or remodel and 1900 of them have complied, mostly in North Birming- ham. By this means we hope to lessen the danger of case infection of typhiod. The fight against the stables is being waged fiercely The stables of the city are inspected every Friday and arrests are made in case of necessity
 Dr. Nelson was forced to leave off on his discourse in order to catch a train for Louisville. where he will attend the meeting of the American milk commis- sion. which meets there today and to- morrow. Dr w. P. McAdory. president of the society, announced that Dr. Nelson's report would be filed w1h the board of oensors at once
 A number of scientific addresses were delivered before the Medical society, thop1 baipD hx,D Dr n or;.,