The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-01-06
BY J. NJ. AURTY.
OF STATE HEALTH COMMISSION.

OF STATE HEALTH COMMIS SION.
Alltown has about 1900 Inhabitants.
Its electric light plant, installed about
five years ago, is the only public util-
ity, and ii has been mismanaged from
the start until now ii is about ready
to quit. You see, the members of the
town board of trustees saw chance
to load some relatives upon the burg
instead of employing men with bust
ness ability and who knew electric ma
chinery. The rusty out-of-order FIRE en-
CINE, which cost twenty five hundred
dollars, is another example of patho-
logic public management at Alltown.
Other pathologic conditions are, no
sewers, poorly graveled and rutted
streets, a public hitch rack with its
elastic bed of horse manure. an insan-
itary school house and reeking privies
everywhere. Nevertheless, some very
good people find their homes in All
town. The cashier of the bank has an
interesting family of four girls, ages
respectively about thirteen. eleven
nine and six. The mother went to the
city one day on a dirty, unwashed, I'M
ventilated trolley car, taking Mary, the
youngest child. Exactly where they
went and who they saw and who they
talked to, even the mother could not
remember upon arrival home. But she
did remember seeing several tired
looking, coughing persons, who did not
| hold handkerchiefs before their faces
when they coughed and sprayed their
spittle into the air of the car.
Little Mary, though tired TO death
day in the city and went early to bed.
taking with her in her stomach, the
undigested ham sandwich she ate in
the one-arm lunch-room. The mug of
coffee her mother had made her take,
had been absorbed, its caffein had
whipped her nerves and brain cells
into undue action and now the ner-
vous reaction appearing. Mary was
quite all in. Mary didn't sleep we'll
that night. She was restless and talk
ed some in her sleep, but she appear
ed at the breakfast table despite her
"all-over-tired-feeling her coated ton
que, and slight rise in temperature.
She hurried to school feeling very mis-
cradle, drank water from the common
tin cup, breathed the foul air of the
school room, visited the unspeakable
clubhouse. and arrived home in the ev-
ening not having heard nor remem-
boring a word of the lessons given by
the tired airstaryed nervous teacher
The second and third day after the
visit to the city, Mary evidently was
,n -aII
wouldn't eat" The fourth day she had
a severe headache. red tongue, bleared
eyes, fever and sore throat. She did
not go to school the fifth day and her
mother gave her some sassafras tea
and dose Of patent medicine labelled
Fever Drops" The next morning
Mary's skin was red from sole of feet
to crown of head, her throat was very
sore and she vomited. The father now
insisted doctor should be called. The
mother said nov don't call Dr. A he
will report this if it is scarlet fever
and then We'll be guaranteed. Call DR.
B, he never reports anything DR.. B
came and said right-away-'its scarlet
fever, but we won't raise a scare over
it, We'll just say it's red rash" o.
course, the mother would not for the
world have a neighbors child catch
scarlet fever from her little Mary, bu
the doctor had said it was a red rash
and she said-'I'll let the children gt
to school, but as precaution | won
let them go near Mary She caution
ed the children to say their sister hat
cold and fever" if they were asked
and tell nothing more. When the chill
dren were gone and she had poured in
to the suffering stomach some medi
cine the doctor had left, she changed
Mary's night-gown. made her as com
Portable as possible. kissed her, anc
ran over to the neighbours for a mo
ment to borrow some tea. The neigh
,