Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1916-07-21

tions are not to be compared in deadli-
the shallow we'll and the teaching
cesspool side by side. Nothing could
do better job of disseminating ty-
phoid than this precious duo. The
wonder is that epi6emics are not more
common where these conditions are al
lowed to prevail.
The innocent householder goes an
appropriate distance from the house
and digs two heles; one perhaps thirty
feet deep anu the other maybe four.
Into the shallower he throws his ex
crets, while upon the surface he filings
abroad his household waste from the
back stoop, Then the ain comes down
and washes these various PRODUCTS in
to the soil, pereolating gradually into
the deeper hole. Then from this cavi-
ty it is drawn up, as part of the
drinking water, by the old oakenibuck-
ct or modern pump, and drank. Small
wonder it is lea this highly civilized
country $50, 900 cases of typhoid fever
occur yearly, and that ten per cent of
these carry a death penalty.
Both shallow and deep wells are Oft
en- polluted from local sources. They
are soften located for convenience in
the barnyard, close to stock pens, privy
vaults, or teaching cesspools, or close
to the back door, out of which. as OBJ
served before, the household slops are
thrown, and near which animal and
vegetable refuse are allowed to ac-
eumulate and decompose. The soil
surrounding the well becomes satur-
ated with organic filth and, unable to
finally to perform it's useful work of fl
tertion and publication, allows the sur
face water percolating through it to
carry it's load of contamination into
the well.
The curbing or covering is often
loosely constructed of boards, permit
ting small animals, verming and in
water carrying filth and manure, es-
pecially after rains; runs into the well
from the top.
The well may be located at such
distance from source of contamination
that ordidary pumping will bring no
bad results, but in case of unusually
heavy pumping the underground water
surface for distance around the well
may be sufficiently lowered to reach
the zone of contamination. That both
deep and shallow wells are subject to
contamination has been proven by
many examinations. For example: Of
TT deep and All shallow farm wells
examined in Indiana, 116 of the deep
wells the waters were of good quality;
As were bad; and 16 were doubtful; l59
of shallow well water were good; 10Y
were very bad, and 40 were doubtful.
1t is not uncommon for the owner OF
a small lot to construct his well and
cesspool within few feet of each 9TH
err. The contents of this filth hole
soak away and mingle with the ground
waters, only to reach the well, for
even the ordinary mind can see that
as water is drawn from a well the well
IL replenished by just so much of the
ground water surrounding it, and If
this ground water is polluted, health
and life of the family or neighbors are
jeopardized. 1t is hopeless to depend
upon the purifying influence of the in
tervening soil to protect the wells from
privy and cesspool fouling, because
soil alteration in order to be effective
must be intermittent. Intermittent
few Is absolutely essential to admit
air to the aerobic bacteria where pres