The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-06-09
CITIZENS PROTEST
UNHEALTHY SEWAGE
| SYSTEM At NORMAL
HUNDRED COWS DRINK PoLLur.
ED WATER IN ooRDoN's
CREEK, THEY SAY.
DEMAND THAT UNSANITARY
CONDITION BE REMtDIED
Septic Tank Has Been Full For More
Than Year and Neither City Au-
thorities Nor Normal Officers Have
Remedied It-Typhoid and Malaria
Said To Be Result.

Citizens who live in the vicinity Of
he Normal College, with Theodore
Smith and John Colmer as their
spokesmen, have determined to open
ly demand of the city, state and Nor
NAL College authorities relief from
what they declare is a dangerously
condition that has existed
for more than year.
1t is said that for the past twelve
or fourteen months the septic tank
that was built to take care of the sew
age from the Normal College has been
full to overflowing; that the overflow
has been let off by two open bitches
to creek which runs between the Nor
NAL College and the Mississippi Central
tracks; that this creek runs through
a public pasture where more than 100
milk cows Craze daily and that it IL
their only water supply; that the creek
empties into Gordon's Creek and flows
right through the heart of Hattiesburg
until it empties into Leaf River near
the Newman Lumber Company.
This condition, Messrs Smith and
Colmer say, has existed for more than
year despite appeals to the city au-
thorities and the officers of the Normal
College to arrange a more sanitary
system of sewerage.
! All Citizens Affected.
"All the people of the city are vital
/ ly affected in having this condition
remedied," said Mr. Smith, because
the milk that is drunk by a great
many people who live in other sections
Of the city comes from cows that drink
this polluted water 1t has been going
on for more than a year. We have
done everythinka,ye could to persuade
the county health officer and the com
missioners to take some action in the
matter, but We have been unable to
get any satisfaction from them.
THE Normal College tank" con-
tinued Mr.. Smith, became full in the
spring of 1913, and all last summer
the Normal College sewage was ditch
ed off in uncovered bitches, through
the heart of Hattiesburg. We under
stand that drinking polluted water
very often causes cows to become in
fected with typhus germs and that
through their milk they communicate
these germs, which result in typhoid
fever, to human beings. This is the
way great many epidemics of typh-
old fever are started.
Breeds Malaria Mosquitoes.
But this is not the only objection" :"
continued Mr.. Smith. Last summer
we had an almost unbearable number
of mosquitoes in our .neighborhood, and
also great deal of malaria. l believe
this malaria came from the mosquitoes
which brought the germs direct from
the uncovered sewage of the Normal
College. know had to pay out about
$3.50 in doctors bills myself for ma
laria treatment that / do not believe
would have happened if it had not been
for the notwithstanding creek near
my house. And we certainly do not
want to go through another summer
with any such condition existing.
I'VE have appealed in vain to the 10
cal authorities for assistance, and we
are now going to appeal to the state
authorities. That is as far as We can
: go without taking the matter up in the
courts. We do not want to enjoin the
Normal College from using its sewer
age system, although we are advised
that we can do this at any time. We
hope the authorities of the Normal
It College will help us arrange the mat
ter some other way,
II Would Avoid Courts.
= 1.-THE reason we have not taken morc
p drastic steps before nov Is that We dl
y mot want to throw damper on me Nac
y NAL College IN any VA.