Newspapers / The Greensboro Patriot (Greensboro, … / Dec. 6, 1899, edition 1 / Page 6
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i CAUSED BYBAD WATER AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY DR. B. H LEWIS. fr. cto nf the State Board of 1UO j - Hcaltti GiTes a FaU Statement of the Nennal Sickness After a Personal In- tinn i Thnmncrh Review Of fi. rendition and the Conclusions Drawn Therefrom.-Not Besponsible for the Bad Sewerage Connections Every Cit y and Town Should Hate an Expert Inspector of Plumbing Dr. i Aia nWrvfts Institution Will Be mcimo Safer Than Ever Before. The recent outbreak of fever at the Normal and Industrial College at ftroanohnrn has excited in the hearts of the people of the whole state tneaeep est sympathy and concern. The great est interest in the origin of the epi demic is naturally and properly felt by all. Rumors have been started, having no basis in fact. To correct any mis apprehensions and for the information of the people of the State, the Board vivwuww. , , ...... a . of Directors, at a meeting neia at me college on November 30th, requested me, as Secretary of the State Board of Health, to prepare and give to the press an official statement of the facts as ascertained to date. I was instructed to be perfectly frank, concealing noth- lUga 0''f J O WY. ancs should happen to be omitted from this statement the reader may rest as sured that it was not intentional, but the result of a poor memory " or the burry thatjvery busyjnen cannot al ways escape. . Learning Friday Dight, (Nov. 24th,) that the Board of Directors of the Col lege would meet on Monday, and knowing that the committee of the Board of Health which made an inves tigation early in the week would not be able to get in their formal report in time, I felt it to be my duty, as the Executive member of the Board of Health, to make a personal investiga tion and be prepared, as far as possible, to enlighten and advise the Directors if desired by them. . ' According!?! reDaired to Greensboro if thaFafnra nnvtnin? m lmDDn early Saturday morning, and remained there until Tuesday morning, spending the whole time irom breakfast to Dea time, except Sunday morning, at the college. After talking over the whole matter with President Afclver, my first in quiry was "The Nature of the Fever." Requesting an interview with- the physicians in charge, if was promptly accorded, and I had a very full and satisfactory conference with Dr. Gove, the resident physician, and DrvW. P. ieau, tne cniei consultant, wnicn con vinced me beyond doubt that the first cases, about sixty of the total" number of one hundred cases, beginning about October zotn, were malarial in charac ter. For the benefit of the medical reader, I state that this conclusion was based upon the description of the at tack given by the doctors, the presence of the "pladosium malariae" in the blood, of all the eieht cases whose blood was examined microscopically, (I verified this by a personal examina tion of two specimens that had been kept), and recovery in from 4 to 10 days under quinine. The remaining forty cases, in round numbers, were . clearlv tVDhoid fever. Of this num. ber about ten seemed to have been the subjects of a double infection, with both malaria and typhoid, and the re mainder uncomplicated typhoid typi cal in character. I was also informed that the sickness was strictly limited to students who ate and slept in the college. " Having satisfied myself as to the nature of the sickness, my next step was to ascertain, if possible, the cause or causes of both. We will first con sider, The Malarial Fever." The only thing about the premises 1 could find at all likely to produce ma- lftri A man A ntrrnv mavetiir vallan a& ryinga very small, sluecrlsh stream sn mall as to be scarcely perceptible in .places immediately in the rear of the v w. uuttutugs buujuacu ui mo presi dent's house, the midway dormitory, the Infirmary and the horse-stable. Upon inquiry, 1 also learned that mosquitoes had? been very abundant, But in this connection it should be . said that malaria diseases .have been "unusually prevalent this season in the hill country of the 8tate. The reports from the County Superintendents of Health for September, published in the Monthly Bulletin of the State Board of Health-for October, showed W ftlnktt H . a ait mm m ?ci prcaeut iq ail pans 01 Alamance, Cabarrus, Caswell, David- nnn. dntni fUlU J Bowan. It is fair, therefore, to assume that some of the students brought the malaria with them from home ; but others, perhaps many, were unques tionably infected at Greensboro, as at least two girls from the mountains had malarial fever. It should not be for gotten that this has been an excep tional year for malaria in the middle section of the State, and not likely to be repeated, in the near future cer tainly. The Typhoid FeverIts Causes. Typhoid fever is essentially a filth uocaao, iuo germ 01 wnicn is Known as the bacillus typhocus, a metile, water borne bacterium, which, once intro- aucea into water or milk, or moist filth, reproduces itself with fearful ra pidity by fission or splitting in half. ine media of transmission of this germ are in the order of their jmportance, water, milk, insects (flies), and air (?). While many high authorities, chiefly English, believe in the aerial trans mission, -the weight of opinion is .Min.t it Rnt fill ftirree that id an PBIUBf 0 .. maioritv of cases it is con veyed by contaminated water, or milk infected by such water used in adul torotinfr ft. nr in washing the cans or th nAAar of the cow. or by the bands of a not over-cleanly milker, who either has a "walking" case of the dis ease himself, or has infected his hands in nursing a case. FUftrintr these principles in mind, I made a personal inspection of the premises, but found nothing that had not already been aiscoverea oy mo u Hftfatimible resident and his assist ants. Twill eive my observations in the inverse order of their Importance The Grounds. Nothing was found that in any way, in my judgment, could nave Deen in the least instrumental in causing typhoid fever. The Dairr. Cow-Barn, Horse-Stables , and Pig-Pens all in pood condition. The last named was too far away to have bad nv effect even if its condition had been bad. . - Sewerage and Plumbing. When the first dormitory (brick) was built in 1892, a sewer pipe was laid, with which was connected one water-closet which was kept locked and used only in case of sickness, the hath ttiha. the wash Dipe from the kitchen sink aud five down-spouts from the roof. In 1895 a system ot sewers was put in and the old sewer abandon ed, as was supposed, except as a drain age pipe for the roof water ; but it turns out that the plumbers, when making a connection for the sink of the new kitchen made it with this. thinking it was the new sewer, which was of the same size, eight inches. When taken up (as has been done, the trench being disinfected), this old sewer, wnue very onensive 10 me nose from the decaying animal and vegeta ble matter from the kitchen sink, like the old-fashioned dung-hill at the back window of many a country kitchen, was said to have been tight and well scoured. It showed, however, one de fect, which should be mentioned in this discussion, namely : a small open ing at the top, due to a bad joint in the space under the butler's pantry adja cent to the butter-room. The new sewers, as far as examined. were in good condition, except tne stoppage of one near the president's house, about 100 yards below the Teague house, by the rots of a tree, an accident which is said to be practi cally unavoidable. This had been remedied at the time of my visit. The Plumbing. While mended plaster and stains on the wall under lavatories, and bath tubs in some instances indicated de fective work at first, these defects bad been remedied,and I should say that the interior plumbing was good. I regret to say that the same cannot be said of all the external plumbing, by which is meant the connections between the house fixtures and the sewer, for one notable exception was found in a leak ing soil pipe connecting ten water closets on the second floor of the main or brick dormitory with the main sewer. This .pipe was not leaking at the time of my visit, for it had been corn out and replaced as soon as the leak was found, but all agree that it was leaking when examined ou the 18th, if 1 mistake not and that the adjacent soil was wet. This -pipe was 17 feet Jong. The first five feet from the down pipe being of iron, and the remaining 12 or six joints of terra cot ta, which latter section, beginning not quite a foot under the surface of the ground, raidly decended to the main sewer at a depth of 4 feet. It ran under the butler's, pantry or serving room of the dining room, the floor of which is about 2 feet above the ground, parallel to and 18 inches dis tance from one wall of a closet under the steps leading from the dining room to the dormitory above, in which closet, for the lack of any other ap proximately cool place, the butter was kept only, however; for a few days at most, after being received from ihe laines before being consumed, the cakes of butter, with very rare excep tions, being wrapped in impervious parchment or paraffin paper. In the wall of the butter closet adjacent to the soil pipe an opening 20 by 42 inches, the bottom being on the floor, which was practically on a level with the ground, had been cut for ventilation. Opposite this opening and in a line across the leaking soil pipe the satur ated earth, and about 20 feet distant was the only opening in the founda tion wall of that section of the build ing. , In this discussion of the sewerage, I wish to acknowledge my indebted ness to Col. A. 3V. Shaffer, the sani tary engineer of the Board of Health, and to Mr. J. L. Ludlow, 0. JE., of Win ston, an ex-engineer of the board, and now so well and favorably known in that capacity throughout our State and other Southern States, who was em ployed by the college to make an in spection. The Flies. Flies convey the germs by walk ing over the bowel discharges of a typhoid fever case and carrying them on their feet to food in the kitchen or dining room. I made careful inquiry as to the occur rence of typhoid in the neighbor hood of the college. I could learn only of one case, in the person of the night watchman, who was sick in August. I sent for and ques tioned, him as to the; disposal of bis dejections and was informed that they were invariably placed in a hole dug in his garden, disin fected and covered up with earth. Flies did not frequent the sewerage-wet earth around the leaking Continued on page 7. POLITICAL NOTES. A movement is on foot to have ex-Governor Hogg, of Texas, rioml nated as, Bryan's running mate on the Democratic ticket next year. Mark- Hanna's most intimate friends now state that be does not desire to continue as chairman of the Republican national executive oommittee. . Ex-Congressman Sibley, of Penn sylvania, who spoke in North Caro lina for Bryan and the Democratic ticket in 1896, has renounced his free silver views. A dispatch from Washington says. that some of the Republican leaders are anxious to make tne financial question the leading is sue in the campaign next year, and that they will prevent the passage of a gold-standard bill at this ses sion of congress. Former Congressman W. C. Owens, of Kentucky, who defeated Col. W. C. P. Breckinridge in 1894, and who bolted Goebel this vear. has been nominated by a j , - - fusion of bolting Democrats and Republicans to succeed Congress man Settle, deceased. , We are having another deluge of the nonsensical chatter about con gress reducing the representation of the South in that body and in the j electoral college on account of the course of the South in denying the ballot to a large number of citizens. Republican Congresses would have long ago done this if they could, but it ought not to be necessary to again point to the fact that congressional and elec toral college representation is not based upon the voting strength of a State as shown by the election returns, but upon population as shown by the United States cen sus. Charlotte Observer. GENERAL NEWS. The business portion of Gar land, Tex., was last week destroyed by fire. Scarlet fever has been declared epidemic at Plymouth, TV. Va., in the Kanawha Valley. Salvation army work is to be in augurated, among the negroes of the South. Regular corps will be organized at once in all the princi pal Southern cities. A large concern at Wilmington, Del., has closed a contract to build one hundred trolley cars to be ueed on the roads under construction in and around the Paris Exposition grounds. i James Eads How, of St. Louis, who! attracted attention some time ago by refusing to accept a for tune estimated to be worth $1,000,- 000 because he had not earned it with his own -labors, has given $2,060 to be expended for the poor in that city. Col. Cadwallader Jones, a colo nel in the Confederate army and once a prominent South Carolina politician, died at his home in Co lumbia, S. C , last Friday. Col. Jones graduated from the Univer sity of North Carolina in 1832 and married a 'daughter of Governor Iredell. . - On Christmas day Admiral Dew ey will reach the age when ordi narily be would be retired from active servica, but the law advanc ing him to his present rank makes no provision for his retirement, therefore, he will continue on the active list of the navy, in all pro bability, until his death. Admiral Dewey has nothing to Use by ap plying for retirement. His pay would be tne same on the retired as the active list, and he would be entitled to the same number of aides and a private secretary with tne rank oi lieutenant. Small Pox Notice. North Carolina, J Guilford County. t WHEREAS, It has come to the knowledge of the authorities of Guil ford County that there is an epidemic of small pox at Terra Cotta Works in said county, and WHEREAS, It is made the duty of saia authorities to warn alJ citizens of the county and. persons generally of the existence of said epidemio and to urge upon all perse d 3 the importance of immediate vaccination in order that a scourge of the disease may be avert ed, 1 1 . " WOW, THEREFORE, We, the Board of County Commissioners and County Superintendent of Health of said county, most earnestly urge upon all persons the wisdom and duty of be ing vaccinated at once. Should the disease spread and the people neglect this warning and request, it may be come necessary for us, in compliance wun law, and in order to prevent a de vastating epidemio of this terrible dis ease; to order compalrorv vaccination. All persons who are unable to pay me expenses oi vaccination will be vaccinated free by the county. - B,W.BEST, Superintendent Public Health.. W.C.BOREN, W. H. RAG AN, W. C. MICHAEL! Board County Commissioners. m Single Barrel Guns, $5 to $10. Double Barrel, $8.50 to $50; Rifles, uniN i LuivitiN: iiow us xo can your attention to the fact h have one of the comoletest stocks of "Soortiner Goods" pv cunat we in Greensboro, and we in that direction. Highness of Quality and Lowness of Price are tuT strong recommendations for our goods. Your especial attention i directed to our line of Guns and Loaded Shells. These are makoe Js M f lr 1 s 1 V W a - ' tr them. We hope to have the pleasure of seeing you in our store. Fl The Salisbury Truth says : The three negroes in this city who were discovered to have smallpox last Wednesday and were taken to the pest-house, are each nursing a well developed case of the disease. The negroes are strangers here and re fuse to give any account of them selves. - There is also a case of smallpox, a white woman, near the north limits of the city. Rigid quarantine is being enforced. Dr. T. F. Nixon, .resident phy sician at the state farm at Castle Havne, near Wilmington, was found dead by the side of the rail road track Saturday morning. It is thought that he was struck by a passing train. I i) Stamped on a Shoe IJIJ MEANS STANDARD OF MERIT Some Jacksonian Shoe Ideas Southern people are celebrated for their high sense of honor, their generous hospitality, their devoted friendships and the loyal championing of their ideas. These splendid traits' are convertible into shoe language and exactly describe our " Harvard Shoe ff FOR MEN AU Sizes and Widths. Black Wax Calf. Russia Calf, Black Kid and Enamel Leather. and ou n (trademark) Hand-Sewed Welt Shoe for WOMEN AU Sizes and Widths. Fine Black Glacf Kid, Patent Leather Tip in Button and Lace. v These shoes are the embodiment of the high est shoe honor. . They are made of the very best material, in the very best manner, and in the very best style and finish. They are also generously hospitable to the feet receiving the feet in the kindest fashion, and putting them immediately at perfect ease, and bestowing upon them every comfort so delightful is this hospitality that the feet feel at once at home. No stiffness, no tightness awkwardness or newness, no pinch nor pain but just that charming sense or foot happiness' that people think they can only find in the old shoes. They are the best shoes in the world at the price, and equal those of the best of other makes that cost from one to two dollars more. V e send a pair of either of these grand shoes, prepaid, to any part of the. United States on receipt of We Will fnraroi-rl vrr turn ! f.. 11 Ztl . . . catalogue to any address, free of charge, if you will Clmnlii I 1- r . - J. . catalogue will be found full directions 4or measuring your feet, and how to send the mo"y for the shoes with your order. ml e fee oli of the 'arrest best equipped Mail OrHr IVrvirfmi a I ; if . over sixty clerks. . x ALFRED J. CAMMEYER h Avenue and 20th Street. New York Qty TOE u urn Shell Belts, 25 Cents to $1.80 Implement Sets, 25 Cent, to $1.00 Leggins, - 40 Cents to $2.50 Hunting Coats, 75 Cents to $5.00 - - ' EMPTY SHELLS. PBIHEBS, ' WADS, SECOIL PADS. want- if vou will let us. v-k -1- iron ini M. Wingate Simons, SPECIAL AGENT FOE TUB Provident Savings Life Insurance Society. CQ&'See him. for he can save you money. V k CHOOSE YODR DRUGGIST CAREFULLY. - A drngfrist can do more harm nr pood tbiu most people Rive him credit for. There are d ferent qualities in drag just as there are in dry goods, and to the outsider all qualities go by the same name- The difference between pure, high grade drugs and cheap, inferior drugs of the same name, means the difference between keep ing sick and getting well. When a doctor writes a prescription, he means best quality. When some druggists fill a prescription, they think uui auuut uig uroms. Choose your druggist carefully. Gv W. WAEB, nvifafion You are cordially invited to visit my store and inspect my large and well selected stock of Furniture. Now is a good time to buy that Parlor or Bed Boom Suit which is needed to make the furnishing of your house complete, and if you will see me the buying will not be a burden. Select a Christmas present from my handsome line of Rockers, Lounges, Picture. Frames, &c. - W. J. Ridge, 330 South Elm Street. BOYCOTT'S iipn WHEAT, OATS !J!iJ AND RYE . . 116 West Market Street. a a a a WEALTH IDEAS IN Caa m ttfci ef isaetUsx to j Uat ! Preset Tourlieii: thej naj trtag ro ilta. Sttetapdjlsc for ptt, Ctt tnt libenj e2en. tiTtrtcr'i Aijirtirt iti hiaixsmi COPP A CO.. Pttett AttcrstTi. milisgtca. 8. C. G-I3EB1TSBOEO, IT. C. . Stb $2 to $20 to sunnlv vnn -"w.n are makes 0n v X a F ii i mm ti mm lyj The Eight Sort. They have been In business topW their patron; they know how to do ir they will please you every time-iri prices the lowest, at - ' The Tom Rice Jewelry Co. HI Now is you if chance to leecre many rare bargains in Mlhtrj Goods. Rnrinnr nanomhor EJUIIIIg UUUUIIIUUI T WTT.T. nvwi . Entire Slock AT GREATLY Reduced Prices, This is a bona fide offer and ii made to reduce my stock. Giie me a call. 1 irnrnm ARE DOLLARS WORTH 100 CENTS . TO TOUJ We Handle Auction Goods of AU Grades, and Make a " Specialty of FURNITURE and HOUSE FURNISHINGS. We can sell you these articles-00 goods Jo flrat-claas condition-it toB lA to K ff dealers' prices, and w times at less price. , We bur all kinda of above when in good shape and will be Jfi" w, see anyone having tame to fell. us when you have anything to sea W an, 1 a f aiurji E. D. GOLDEN & BRO.. - 103 E. Market St., (irens' jQNext door to rickardV Throat Troubles ARE TROUBLESOME THEY ARE NO" SERIOUS. The kind that comes urpj otJ JJ having taken cold, producing f Jf that is troublesome and annpTiDK, grow worse. WHY NOT Cl Rfc GARDNER'S Tar and Wild Cherry Cough Cure Is a reliable remedy f.ufij" and Colds, besides sootbifii healing to the inllamed tbroau ED WAR BMUtt DRUGGIST, CORNER Ori'OSITK POSTOKK- i m Mais
The Greensboro Patriot (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 6, 1899, edition 1
6
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