The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1913-10-14
Splendid Address of DIR. c.
Fl. Vaught
Mr.. President and Gentlemen:

here under the auspices OF the Prandennidi
Club as my guests, it is particularly graft
flying to begin again the consideration OF
such subjects as this organization may elect,
which will be most beneficial to US, and to
our community During the existence OF
this club few years ago, there was no
proposition too big for it to grapple with;
and say this advisedly, for we reached
far beyond the confines of our own city,
and went into the state and the nation,
and dealt with all interests pertaining there
to. We decided upon the route of the
Panama Canal and fixed it; we did away
forever with the propaganda of the free and
unlimited coinage of silver, and established
the gold standard once and forever; we
prevented wars, averted famine, and stayed
the gaunt hand of peStilence. We favored
the election of United States Senators by
direct vote, and while others dreamed, we
had much to do with such measures becom-
ing law In fact, so broad and comprehen-
sive were our deliberations, so far reaching
in their range, and so finally were all the
questions settled to which we had address
ed ourselves, that the Club took recess,
knowing that the country was safe for
time at least; and now conveneS again at
the call of duty, hoping to relieve the ten
sion now apparent at Washington, and
elsewhere If our efforts in the days just
before US, we Can say in all seriousness,
shall be as pleasant and as profitable to
us all, as when the Club made its former
history, we shall not have come together
to night, nor shall we come together
in other sessions, in vain.
am to speak on subject of vital inter
est to us all, viz" Existing Sanitary Con-
ditionS in Richmond, and the Remedy" 1t
is our hope, not only to narrate the facts
but to suggest the remedy as we'll.
Let me assure you as one who has been
seeking remedies for some years, has found
few, and has many more to find, that
the remedy we seek for our community will
be much more difficult to discover than to
find a remedy for specific disease however
serious the disease may be. To find the
remedy for existing unsanitary conditions
1 in Richmond or elsewhere, is a mOnumen-
tai task, especially in our city, where for so
many years we have been satisfied with
things as they are, absolutely content, that
we almost felt inclined to do physical in
jury to anyone who dared criticize our
/ institutions or point out our shortcomings.
So with some trepidation, and my foot on
the soft pedal all the time, | will take a
chance at breaking precedent, and saying
a few things which ought to be said
In the first place, the practice of santa
ton is practically unknown in our munic-
ipality; it is almost as new and much more
neglected than the subject of Eusenics, of
which we heard so much from those who
know so little 1t reminds one of the daily
bulletin which reads as follows: The cru-
SADIE on Hook worm has begun in Rowan
County; thousands of specimens have been
examined, and as high as 80 per cent. of
these have been found to be infected. DIR.
Bolus who is in charge is working jointly
mission and the State Board of Health.
Now and then some wag offers fifty cents
gallon for flies killed with his regulation
fly killer, and everybody smiles. The Hook
worm bulletin is taken seriously; the fly
| killer bulletin is not But of the two evils
, which is the greater? We know that the
Hook worm has never killed anyone, and
never will We know for certainty that
:. every house fly in helpless community
means another chance for typhoid fever
dysentery, tuberculosis, and many Other
diseases that have been spread by thi:
greatest of all pests. None question his right
to live and no commission has yet beer
: established to make war upon him. We
admit him to our parlors our bedroom and
our sitting room. He is our unbidden CUES
at lunch. He maintains an absolute RICH
of way to walk over and spend as much
) time as he wishes on our food before w,
ever see it. Our cake invites him; he i
fond OF our salad; he begins to inspect GU
r beefsteak before it leaves the slaughte
house. He comes in upon us in the earl
Is spring, does thriving business in tn
long days of summer and departs only wit
the cold, chilling winds of November H
is almost omnipresent, he is always read
to do deadly execution, to make of himse
the greatest nuisance and pest. AS "a roug
estimate should say that one fourth of OF
houses are screened; our stores swarm wit
flies. Where sanitary measures should pr,
vail as in butcher shops and groceries, ther
the flies seem to be the most numerou
, Why such condition should be above
can be accounted for only because of OIL
satisfaction with ourselves; and as long {
we are thus satisfied we deserve no bette
protection than we are getting. | hav
seen sick children in some homes in TIL
community covered with flies; while pa
ents and guardians wonder why the chi
is sick. and why recovery is so slow.