The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-07-08
FEDERAL BOARD
SCORES TOLEDO
United States BODY cTitieizss Health
Policy Of Buckeye City.
SAYS TYPHOID FEVER is TOO PREVALENT
Holds Diphtherla Has Not Been Han
died Scientifically and No Effort
Is Made to Detect Carriers
of Contagious Disease.
Western Newspaper Union News Service.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
Washington, D. Cone of the
most vigorous criticisms ever made
by the United States public health
service Of any American city is found
in the report on Toledo, which has
just been made public here. The re-
port, prepared by DR.. Carroll Fox Of
the federal health service, comprises
more than so pages in the official pub
lie health report. 1t is based on
four-month investigation of health con.
ditions in Toledo.
1T is difficult to believe" says DR..
Fox, that the interests of public
health will be advanced under the new
charter. The board of health, which
has independent powers, is abolished
and the authority to make regulations
Is vested In the council.
The health officer is made a SUBJ
ordinate in the control of the policies
and expenditures for the betterment
of the public health. The division Of
health is placed on a par, for in
stance, with the division of ceme-
teries and the division of play
grounds, whereas, if health organiza-
tion were permitted to carry on all
of it's important and legitimate activi-
ties, it would form a department of a
city government as large as or even
larger than any other.
Powers Too Limited.
80 many important public health
functions are placed in the division Of
charities and corrections that the di-
vision of health will virtually become
a division for the correction of nui-
sances.
In the charter no mention is made
OF the necessary qualifications of the
health officer. In consequence, the
position may be filled on account Of
political considerations and not be-
cause of the ability of the appointee.
"The present board of health has
authority which, if it had been exer-
Cised energetically and wisely with
moral and financial assistance from
the council, and the employment of
q capable health officer and more
nurses, would have resulted in To-
ledo's having today small but eff
cient health department.
Typhoid fever is entirely too prev
alent for a city as progressive as To-
ledo. The disease can never be erad-
icated until the shallow wells, Of
which there are many, are eliminated
"Diphtheria has not been handled
scientifically. No archaeological
studies have been made, and it is only
recently that the laboratory has been
utilized to determine the period Of re-
lease from quarantine. No effort is
made to detect carriers among the
contacts in the home or the school.
crtcizes Sewage System.
"The sewers of Toledo empty their
contents into three streams. Two
creeks receive about so per cent of
Toledo's sewage, or about 9,800,000
gallons daily. 1t is certain that they
are too small to receive this amount
of sewage without creating a nuisance.
In fact, they become at low water Pc
Tiods merely open sewers, and it
would be advisable to discontinue
their use as channels for conveying
waste products"
Thirty-eight recommendations are
made by DR.. Fox as a result of his
study of the Toledo situation. Among
the more important are:
That the isolation hospital be
placed under control of the health de-
partment and that as soon as practic-
able a 400-bed hospital, conveniently
situated, be erected by the city of To.
ledo for the isolation and care of COM
municable diseases, with especial ref
ence to open cases of pulmonary tu.
berculosis.
That council appropriate a suffi.
cient sum Of money to defray the ex.
pense of installing plumbing in houses
where people can i'll afford to pay for
it, the expense so incurred by the city
property, to be paid off in easy in.
stallments.
That Is per cent of the available
revenue of the city be appropriated
for purposes of public health and san
itation, $4,000 for the health depart.
ment and $217 sos for the department
of service, the latter amount to be
used for the collection of garbage
ashes and rubbish, street cleaning and
comfort stations"