Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-08
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
OYSTER PROBLEM
State Bacteriologist Shows
ShelIfish Delegates Where
Typhoid Danger Lies.
CONGRESSMAN LlNTHlcUM
TELLS DUTY OF NATION
Government Must Give Wider
Protection TO Our Sea Food,
He Says.

ATLANTIC CITY, May S.-Eminent
scientists and men connected with the
administration of the shellhsh lndus-
trv throughout the country are meet
ing here today at the sixth annual
convention al the National Associa-
ZION Of Shellhsh Commissioners. SeN-
tnteen States bordering on the Allan
ana die CUFF of Mexico were rep
reseft.l ana many topics Of interest
10 thosu who are engaged IN the m
dustry were discussed.
Mayor William Riddle, Of this place,
opened The convention yesterday
afternoon with a welcome. the re-
sponse TO which was given by John
Graft. president of the National Assoc
ciation. of Alabama. Or. George W,
4-ield chairman of the Massachusetts
commission. read a paper on the
"Clam Cultivation in this state Ut;
r. b. FitzRandolph, bacteriologist OF
tbe New jersey Board of Health,
smoke on his stigations OF the
oyster Bearing Waters of This state.
IN The evening, Dr. julius Nelson, ol-
ologist of the State Bureau OF Smell
Fisheries, gave an illustrated lecture
on the Life History of the oyster.
Or. Fitz Randolph said IN part
The oyster BrOpleihs
The problem which contronts the
board 5. what should be required OF
the ovstermen in order that tpelI
product shall be safe to use Tor 1000
what standard of purity, if any, can
bs 5ved foT the waters in which she'll
fsh are grown and loatede BY what
eriteria is the purity of the shellf1sh
themselves to be Judged After they
;ft.a gathered, how should they be han
dleC. transported and sold IN order
inat their purity and VholesomeneSS
viii nos be impaired"
1T is not possible to answer any OF
These q1estiOus definitely ana IN IL
tail At the present time The methods
~ examination IF water and shellhsh
nov i'm use are decidedly imperfect
aud The results obtained are at times
NFrv dfficult of Interpretation. Our
it8oyrledEa oil the life history and
habits of tae oyster and also OF those
microscopic organisms winch are the
cause of the disease WnIch inc oyster
occasionally produces when mIecleo'
IRE not sufficiently well known TO en-
able us to determine with accuracy
Under all conditions, how shellttsh can
best be protected. And we have not
vet been able to study with sufhclent
care the handling and transportation
and especially the retail distribution
If shellhsh tC know exactly To what
dangers they are exposed ana the
hest means TO pryent such exposure. +
Task Is to Prevent Typhoid.
aThe task which we have set for
ourselves is TO keep the typhoid bacil-
las away from the oyster. oysters
Which have no opportunity to take IN
tVpboid bacilli in sufficient numbers
Ia cause infection cannot cause ty-
phoid fever, no matter TO what other
polluting influences they may nave .
been exposed.
"The typhoid bacillus is seldom :
present in any refuse material except
domestic sewage, that the influence
Of all such wastes may safely be dis
regarded. The only thing which we
must protect the oyster from there
fore. is domestic sewage.
''Unfortunately. in a populated sec
ton il is impossible to prevent alto
gether the contamination of the
waters in which oysters are grown or
placed. by domestic sewage. 1t,
therefore. becomes necessary TO de-
termine how to minimize this pollu-
ton as much as possible, and how
much domestic sewage can safely be
permitted in such waters. This is an
exceedingly difficult problem, the an
swer TO which Is not definitely known
at the present time. So many eondi-
tions have to be considered, the dilu-
ton. the longevity of the typhoid
bacillus in both fresh and salt water
under various seasonal conditions, the
nearness on. remoteness of the source
of pollution, the degree of inactivity
of the poluting material, the oppor-
stunity for publication by sedlmenta-
lion. the season of the year at which
the shelitish arc taken-all these and
manY other factors have to be consid-
ered and glen their proper weight in
deciding whether or not a given
source of pollution is likely to be dan
gerous, and in the imperfect state of
our present knowledge, it is not pos
sible to do anything more than
roughly approximate the relative or
absolute Importance of the conditions
which We find. ! say again, therefore,
that it behooVes us to proceed with
great caution in attempting 10 regu-
late the shellish industry, Jest we do
il irreparahle harm without confer
ring a corresponding benefit on the
consumer.
Danger Not 80 Great.
u think you will al agree with
me that the danger from eating shell
fish grown in American waters is not
great. The small number of epidem-
les which have been traced to them,
when compared with the vast num-
bers which are eaten, is sufficient
evidence Of this Nevertheless, the
purchasing public is certainly entitled
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