Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-31
TO PLACE BAN ON
OLD OUT-HOUSES
Health Department Accompilshes
Much Along These Lines During
the Last Year.
DR.. FOSTER ISSUES REPORT
Deaths In 1917 Exceed All Births by
56-0ne.Eighth Are Due to Lung
Trouble.
BIZ DR.. C. r. FOSTER
CITY Health COMMISSIONER.

In reviewing the achievements OF
work of the health department for the
year of 1917 and aims for the future.
it is we'll to take into consideration
the conditions that have existed here
before.
There has been In this city, since Its
inception and in ever increasing num-
bers, the old toilet clubhouse Over 500
Of these, have been cleaned, filled and
abandoned in 1917, and sanitary
plumbing installed in their stead. No
more toilet out-houses will be per-
mitted to be built where sewer and
water are accessible.
Many new sewers and wateTmains
have been laid to accommodate this
move and 10 conserve the health Of
the city. 1t will be the aim of this
and succeeding administrations to get
rid Of this nuisance as rapidly as pos
| sibIe, and il may be that certain date
will be fixed that all out-houses shall
| be abandoned and those that are left
after the expiration Of the fixed date,
| the city will do this work and charge
! it to the properties. Many old houses,
sheds and shacks have been demolish-
! ed and many more have been con-
demned and ordered down upon var
| ious grounds such as unsanitary,
| structuarlly unsafe and a nuisance.
Many more are listed to be condemn
ed. It is a safe prediction that bigger
and better buildings will rise on the
sites of those demolished.
| There were 1888 tons Of garbage
and 800 tons of other eombustible
rubbish burned at the incinerator dur
ing the year, leaving no pollution con-
taminatiou or infection, all smoke
odor and gas being carried through
the high stack and dissipated into the
higher strata of atmosphere. The col
lection Of garbage in the last year has
been the most successful the city has
ever known, although the department.
was much handicapped by not having
the cooperation that is desired in the
way of proper equipment of garbage
cans and properly placed cans
wrapped garbage, tin cans and other
non-combustible material thrown il
with the garbage.
The municipal tuberculosis sanatoT-
ium is doing splendid work, with thu
, credit of curing secondary cases. The
two handicaps under which the boarC
is laboring. is first, that so many pa
r tents consent to go TO the sanat0r
ium only when far advanced in tht
, disease. which renders a cure prac
tically impossible; second, the lacl
! of finances-there being available onl!
one-mill tax. A new Law passed b,
the legislature gives a right to levy ;
three-mill tax if the vote Of the citi
S zens al general election sanctions il
: The proposition of d two-mill tax viii
/, be placed on the ballot at the mex
election and for the benefit of the pee
pie in general who are exposed to TIL
sputum of cOnsumptives and for tn
patients themselves, who are to b.
S cared for at the institution, it is to bt
hoped that the voters will unanimous
0 ly vote for the two-mill tax. At pres
- ent, with the money the board has a
% its disposal, only IA patients can b
e. cared for, and there is quite a largt
I waiting lists Of patients This condi
1 ton would not exist under the twt
= mill tax.
= There were Ala cases of contagiou
and infectious diseases reported in tn
= year of 1917. The cases were divides
as follows: Smallpox. 20; scarle
| fever, 80; diphtheria, 40; chicken poy
| 154; measles, "a; whooping cough
"a; infantile paralysis, 8; typhoi
fever, 8, and mumps, 4. At the pres
) ent time there are II cases of con
9 tagtous diseases in the city. as fol
!, lows: MuIhps, 1: chicken pox, ?
diphtheria, j small pox, /; whoopin
;, cough, 2, and typhoid fever, 4. Sixt
4 cases of contagious and infectious dis
: eases were cared for at the city de
= tention hospital during the year.
/ Deaths Exceed Births.
II There were AIT births in 1917. 81
o being male and 201 female and ,
still births. There were 473 death
Z during 1917, 245 being males and %