Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-06-30

eat food from open stands where the in
fectcd dust from the street falls upon II
and within a few feet Of disease breed
ing cutters. -
"All sorts Of cakes. sweetmeats.
bread pics, fruit, dried fish and salted
meats and food that can be consumed
without cooking are offered for sale
under the most dangerous and unsani.
tary conditions.
I'm parts Of South Philadelphia par
particularly there is every summer a
marked rise in the mortality rates from
intestinal diseases caused by the condi-
tions have described.
Rats are the greatest carriers OF
disease. Chicken slaughtering shops,
city slaughter houses. open manure piles
that attract flies. which also carry dis
ease, city dumps. piggeries. even
Rranaries and warehouses where food
is stored. are foci Of disease because Of
the rats they attract.
"Piggeries are among the worst, and
IL is for this reason that ! have been
so insistent about their removal.
The Schuylkill river below the dam
I Is little more than an open sewer. II
is q great and constant menace TO tho
health Of the city. Sewers empty their
filth into II and its sluggist current per.
mits il to polute the stream under the
blaze Of a summer sun.
Every city dump harbors colonies
Of rats. If you will visit one Of these
places as evening approaches you find
them swarming with rodents.
"A disregard of the most ordinary
rules Of sanitation Is not peculiar to
the poorer sections of the city. | have
recently had q number Of photographs
| A. + -. kaNN
Dental sections. They show that the
wealthy and the we'll to do people. who
are supposed to be above the average
in intelligence. daily violate the law
and lend their aid to the filth breeding
menace.
Garbage In Open Boxes
People in districts far removed from
South Philadelphia put out their rub
! bish. and even garbage. in boxes. peach
baskets and other fimsy and uncleanly
receptacles.
"In many instances their side alleys
and back yards are as foul as any that
"an be found in South Philadelphia or
the Kensington district.
These people. or at least their ser
wants. exercise no discriminative IIdS-
ment. They mix up household refuse
und kitchen garbage. or decaycd and
! ottlng food with their garbage and
ashes. They are. IL anything, more TO
be consurPd than downtown residents. y
What remedies do YOU suggest. or
rather what efforts are being put forth
bv your department. to counteract
them" asked.
1T is n work beyond the resources
Of any one municipal department. The
people themselves must correct con
dition for which they alone are re-
sponsible. | am endeavoring by every
means Of publicity in my power tc
bring this home to citizens. 1t is al
individual question to which my dc
partment is giving every aid and as
sistance.
I'm the first place. with the posi-
bility of an invasion-1 do not go 81
far as to call it a present menace-o
this plague. which has already gainet
a foothold in the South IL is the para
mount duty Of the individual to set hi
own house in order. Get rid of thu
rats. Make every home rat proof. Sc,
that they are driven from warehouses
granaries. grocery and deliCatesser
stores and cellars and. SO far as pos
sible. rid the city Of their presence.
I'VE are doing everything we can tC
lessen the number of open vaults anC
secure the placing of adequate sewer.
on the miles of streets that have none
That is n matter for the city itself t
attend to.
Every citizen should constitute him
self a health officer. He should in,