The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-10-13
A SANITARY SURVEY.


Report Telling How Springfield, H.,
Could Lower It's Death Rate.
The last pages of the Russell Sage
foundation report on health conditions
in Springfield. ILL.,. recently delivered to
the Springfield survey committee in the
form of printed pamphlet. sums up
the situation and tells just what the
city ought to do to save the lives of 200
residents who die needlessly each year
from preventable diseases. The SAM
tary improvements needed in different
parts of the city are discussed, as are
the question of cost and relative impor.
lance of the various improvements.
Increased appropriation for the health
department is said to be specially i'm
portant. The report concludes:
springfield has a we'll defined and
clearly localized public health prob
lem. 1t has a combination of serious
life wastage from preventable diseases,
fairly good sanitary conditions, except
for the presence of an extraordinary
number of wells and privies, and
poorly supported and weak health de
partment. Certain parts of the city,
notably the wards east of Tenth street,
have excessively high rates of mortal
ity from preventable causes, and it is
in these districts that sanitary condi-
lions are specially bad. The plain fact
is that people are dying in parts of the
| city because they are ignorant, because
| they are poor, because they are sur.
rounded by inferior sanitary conditions
and because the city does not give them
a proper health department service.
What is needed at once to meet
| Springfeld's public health problem is
| fairly obvious. The walls and privies
should be done away with, and the
city should perfect its water supply
and sewerage and make the mains of
both systems available to all. The
| city should also see to it that the
benefits of such Improvements are de-
MED no one simply because he is too
| poor to afford them. This is to the
advantage both of the individual and
of the whole department, to overcome
popular ignorance with regard to SAM
tary matters. Finally. the city should
| provide its health department with
proper equipment in the way of staff
! and funds, so that the department may
adequately cope with the various ad-
ministrative phases of the needed pre-
ventive work.
1T can also be said here that the in
vestment in the health department
will probably. dollar for dollar. save
more lives than will the investments
for the various sanitary improvements
This is not to say that the other i'm
| provements. as in the water supply
and sewer system, should not be made.
1t means simply that the health de-
partment need is most urgent and
should be met first.
1.-The whole question of better health
in Springfield is in no sense limited to
the realm of theory. 1t is thorough
ly practical matter and is squarely up
to the citizens and the city administra-
ton. That public health is purchas-
able is now well recognized fact
Springfield has a splendid opportunity
to buy-to save 200 or more lives a
year and to prevent much additional
sickness. Realizing that the safety
and welfare of the citizens are involv-
ed to this extent, there ought to be no
question of the city's willingness and
determination to find the funds needed