Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1914-10-09
Copyright. 1914. by A. S. Gray)
WATER.


thing that few of US give 1t any
thought whatever, and just because 1t
Is free very large number Of per-
sons do not drink 1t in sufficient guam
titles to maintain q good degree of
physical health. No other article of
diet enters so completely into the con-
struction and support Of all living
things both animal and vegetable as
water, and 1t is this very omnipres-
ence Of water acting on that peculiar
twist Of the human mind that leads
us TO treat familiar things with reck.
less contempt that results in our GRIM
inal Indifference to water supplies.
AS matter Of fact. water is an ele-
ment Of vast significance in the main
tenance Of human life and efficiency,
and 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 so days or more without food,
but 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
on 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.
According to average local stand
ards, water is pure" and fit to drink
IL 1t 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 II con-
tains pathogenlc organisms or pto-
maines from the action OF bacteria
upon decaying organic matter is dem
onstrated only by some unusually Sc
we're outbreak OF disease in a commu-
nifty, and generally not until then is
It even suspected that the water may
be impure" II you are in Ill health
have your drinking water analyzed
and the source OF supply investi-
gated.
Delivery OF drinking water contain
ing elements deleterious to life is 60
ing on In every section OF this coun-
try but because OF our grossly made
quate vital statistics bookkeeping We
arc unable to deduce the vastly valu-
able knowledge to be derived there
from. However, the concentration OF
people In the cities has compelled at
tention to public health matters SO
that money and organizations are en-
ployed and rules and regulations en-
forced that have for their object the
protection OF the inhabitants against
infection through water, milk and
waste products.
Taking typhoid fever as q gauge. let
US compare conditions In several parts
OF the world. Germany. with popu.
ation density OF 310.9 per square mile
tmore than ten times greater density
than our own) had in the same Pc
riod OF time typhoid death rate OF
A. compared with our 23.5 per 1O0,-
900 inhabitants; the Netherlands, with
1858 density, death rate OF 5.4; Swift
gerland, with a density OF 242.7, NOR
tallty OF 3.S. and England and Wales.
with n density OF 372.6, n death rate OF
only six per 100000 Inhabitants. COM
pared with the United States with q
density OF only 3O.9 and q mortality
Of 1876
The city OF Chicago In 1891 had o
typhoid rate Of 1913 per 100000 In
habitants. An investment Of s62.000.-
900 approximately s27 per capita for
the population OF the year 1879 In n
drainage canal and the adoption OF
other reasonable sanitary precautions
reduced the typhoid fever death rate
in 1919 to only rs per 100000 inhabit.
ants, probably the lowest rate ever
recorded for an American city OF moro
than 10000 inhabitants.
Obviously this demonstrates what
may be done In the prevention OF dis
ease. II we are as intelligent as we
assume ourselves to be. and there is
not something fundamentally and rad
ically wrong with our entire system OF
doing things. why this difference In
the same period between Europe. or
even the city Of Chicago, and the to-
tai vital statistics registration area
OF the United States7 And what about
the non.registratlon areal Good health
and long life can be purchased; why
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