The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1914-07-17
copyright. 1914. by A. S. Grsy)
WATER.

en' whatever, and just because II
ID Tree very large number of nor
SONS DO not drink 1t in sufficient ouon
tlties to maintain a good degree Of
physical health. No other article NJ
oiet enters so completely into the con.
struction and support of all living
'nings Doth animal and vegetable as
water, and it is this very omnipres.
ence OF water acting on that peculiar
twlst OF the human mind that leads
US TO treat familiar things with reck.
less contempt that results In our Grim.
1nal indifference to water supplies.
AS a matter of fact, water is an ele.
ment OF vast significance in the main.
tenance of human life and efficiency,
ana to secure and maintain health the
individual citizen must know the truth
concerning this most important part
of our diet.
The scaly cells on the surface OF our
skin. our hair and the tips of our
nails are the only parts of our bodies
that can live In air. About 80 per
cent of the cells that constitute our
bodies are still aquatic organisms and
can and do live and grow only when
swimming In salt water.
Under favorable conditions we can
live. for 80 days or more without food,
bus not more than few minutes with
out air and only about three days with.
out water. Were we to spend mate
rial part of the money we squander
an food for good air and good water
no doubt we should be vastly more
efficient, certainly we would be hap
pier, for there can be no real happi-
ness without good health.
Deprived Of water for three days we
become delirious and die from poison.
Ing by our own waste products. A
steady stream of water flowing
through our bodies Is necessary to
wash out and carry away the toxins
resulting from cell activity or we
must inevitably succumb to disease;
and to keep this cleansing stream flow
ing in sufficient volume we should
drink about two quarts of fluid daily.
Absolutely pure water is not found
on earth. Even freshly fallen rain wa
ter contains some foreign matter, the
amount and character of which de-
ponds on the degree of contamination
of the air through which it falls. From
the moment the vapor is condensed
into water in the clouds every drop
that falls begins to soak up something
out of everything it touches on its
journey to the sea, SO that when we
use any of it from any source in our
diet we are really drinking the waste
water from natures laundry after she
has washed all out outdoors with it.
According to average local stand
ards. water is pure" and fit to drink
IL it is more or less clear, does not
smell bad and does not quickly orig
mate some clearly defined disease IN
the body Of the drinker. That 1t con
tains pathogenic organisms or pto
maines from the action OF bacteria
upon decayfng organic matter Is dem
onstrated only by some unusually Sc
we're outbreak of disease In a commu
nifty, and generally not until then II
1t even suspected that the water may
be impure" If you are In I'll heal'l
have your drinking water analyzee
and the source Of supply lnVes'i
gated.
Delivery of drinking water contain
ing elements deleterious to life Is 90
ing on in every section of this ooun
trv hut because of our grossly mace
uuate vital statistics bookkeeping WI
are unable to deduce the vastly Vaiu
able knowledge to be derived there
from However, the concentration o
people in the cities has compelled al
tention to public health matters 81
that money and organizations are EN-
Moved and rules and regulations en-
forced that have for their object TIT
protection of the inhabitants agains
infection through water. milk ant
waste products.
Taking typhoid fever as gauge, le
VA compare conditions in several part
Of the world. Germany, with popu
lation density of 31o.9 per square mile
(more than ten times greater densit.
than our own, had In the same pc
r,od Of time typhoid death rate o
Al, compared with our 23.5 per 100
600 inhabitants; the Netherlands, will
45S.S density, death rate of ga; Swift
zerland, with density of 242.7, a NOR
tally of 3.S, and England and Wales
with a density of 372.6, death rate o
only six per 100000 inhabitants, com
pared with the United States with {
density of only 800 and mortalit.
of 23.5.
The city of Chicago in 1891 had {
typhoid rate of 1888 per 100000 in
habitants. An investment OF $4,000
900 approximately $27 per capita TO
the population of the year 1922 In
drainage canal and the adoption o
other reasonable sanitary precaution
reduced the typhoid fever death rat
in 1912 to only rs per 100000 inhabit
ants, probably the lowest rate eve
recorded for an American city Of NOR
than 100000 inhabitants. Had the 1883