The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-06-23
new BETHEL'S
TROUBLE CITED
AS STATE WOE
Hundred Other Places in
Indiana Declared
Facing Menace.
Conservation
BY WILLIAM r. COLLINS
Times Special Writer

little town Of pleasant persons
down on the Shelbyville road is no
dirtier than a hundred other towns
l can name offhand. For that mat
ter, 1t IS not nearly so dirty as In
dlanapOlis. The only trouble is that
New Bethel was found out.
The bacillus typhosus Is no re-
specter Of persons. Il Is as liable to
pick Governor a stones throw
from Fall creek as a labOrer on Buck
creek. Only the omnipotent power
that runs things has made It posi-
bic for the people Of this state to
escape a general epidemic Of ty-
phoid fever.
II this power had made the ty-
phold fever bacillus 10 live five
hours out OF contact with the hui
man body instead of only thirty
minutes. with the septic condition
OF the streams IN this state, We all
would be subject TO typhoid as De
Lessep's workers in Panama were
subject 10 yellow fever.
Typhoid fever Is caused by one
thing Only-ContaCt with water that
carries the virus or contact with
food contaminated by It or by per-
sons known as carriers. We have
cases on record where COWS wadng
in polluted streams have carried
typhoid on their udders to the barn,
thence to the milk, which is an ex-
cellent food for B. TyphOsus, and
from there to the unfortunate soul
who drank the milk. THESE cases
are not rare. This may have hap
pened in New Bethel
The fact remains that New Bethel
hos polluted stream running past
its doorstep. but what town or city
in Indiana has not?
Brands River Dirtiest
We have the filthiest river in The
United States running from Broad
Ripple to Mars Hill, and it contains
more pathOgenic germs per cubic
inch than there are people in
North America. How do you know
that it has not been the origin of
a vast number of cases Of sickness,
some of which resulted in death?
Its insidious encrOachment on the
health of our community is only
noted when some one of us dies of
a spectacular dreaded illness. There
is not the slightest excuse for any
health officer or noted doctor 20
lambast New Bethel for being I'M
clean when his own home town reekS
with the stencil of his and his
neighbOrS' untreated sewage.
It will take a major epidemic of
typhoid fever or of amOebic dySen-
terry or of Illuminating cases of sep
tic sinus infection TO awaken the
citizens of this no mean city"
to the fact that we do not smell like
a rose. We treat only about 90 per
cent of our own sewage that passes
into White river and take the full
burden of all of the untreated sew
age poured into it from Nobels-
vile. Anderson and Muncie.
The United states government
last year made it possible for all
towns and cities that so desired to
clean up pollution. I have told you
a11AA AAAdh ~ NAAA' WI AAAAE OAAAN
seven towns in the state have ar
rived at that point of civic pride
which enabled them to clean up.
You may congratulate Winchester
as being the only town on White
river to do il. The rest of us on
this stream brag about our front
yards and our churches and schools
and what not but resemble the man
who puts a clean shirt over a suit
Of dirty underwear and tries to pass
as being we'll dressed.
II is marked down on the calendar
OF some future year that the people
of this state are to become civilized.
On that date we will have an end
10 stream pollution a major dis
grace among a host of others that
YOU all know about. The forerun-
ner of this ethereal condition will
be a desire on the part of most of
us to eliminate from the public pay
rolls a multitude OF officials af-
flicted with moral halitoSis.
Impeded by Politics
Under the skin Of every civic sore
YOU will find a political group liv-
ing on II. II such were not the
case. there would be no suppuration.
An investigation of the reasons for
the lack of much-needed civic i'm
provements during the last ten years
has always ended in a political
labyrinth OF Subterfuge and evasion
for W Oh We have not yet found a
remedy. There are fewer default
ing public officials in durance vile
today than types from any other
social strata.
But We are getting away from
New Bethel. Be sure your own
house is not made of glass before
YOU heave a brick down the Nilchi-
gan road.
Make it possible for the health
officials OF this state TO end water
pollution by giving them a law next
January that Will put stop TO it.
We do not have such a law now,
all opinions to the contrary not
withStanding. We can not reach
any municipality or person that
desires TO make a ceSSpOol OF public
waters.
So long as We have $40 miles of
grossly polluted running water IN
Indiana. expect anything. In the
meantime, before this condition is
corrected. especially IN the summer
season. inoculate with typhoid.
but. better still. stay away from 90
per cent of our streams and lakes
and look before you leap into the
other 10 per cent