The Dunstan Times "Fiat justitia ruat coelum." MONDAY, MAY 17th 1909.

Dunstan Times, Issue 2481, 17 May 1909, Page 4

The Dunstan Times "Fiat justitia ruat coelum." MONDAY, MAY 17th 1909.

One of these periodical outbreaks of typhoid fever, which THE TYPHOID o^ur at jntervals outbreak. i n most of our goldfields townships* is at present play* ing havoc with the public health of the town of Alexandra. The recrudescence of this disease at irregular butj all too frequent intervals shows all too palpably that we are not paying enough attention to sanitary matters. Health Officers and Inspectors of various kinds, which are necessary in the interests of the public health, have been showered on us by a liberal and beneficent Government, but it is an open question as to whether these officials are enforcing the provisions of the Act in the spirit in which it is intended. To our mind far too much laxity has been shown in the past in dealing not only with the purveyors of foodstuffs &c, but also in regard to the enforcement of reasonable sanitary conditions in private dwellings and backyards. Inspectors generally seem to be too much imbued with the idea that they must not stir up too much muck - that it is well to let sleeping dogs lie—and that people are not to be harassed in the pursuance of their daily avocations. When such an important matter as the public health of the community is involved such considerations should receive a very short shrift. There should be no distinction made between one another, and a reasonable state of cleanliness should be insisted on in every place whether public or Clyde, so' far, has' bpsp singularly free froth these outbreaks of typhoid, but its immunity cdn more safely ,be attributed to its excellent y/ater supply' than to the fret 0}

generally are any better than other centres. There are several spots even in this town that would not pass muster under the eye of a vigilant Health Inspector and it is incumben]t on those responsible to see that these matters are remedied without further delay. The river banks are at present the receptacle for all of the flotsam and jetsam collected from the town residences. What few drains there are also discharge their unsavoury contents into its waters, even the hospital drains with their complement of typhoid germs and other bacilli all helping to swell the stream. At the main tip on the river banks the effluvia from various objectionable deposits (a dead cow in an advanced state of decomposition being most prominent) creates anything but a pleasant aroma. The same conditions prevail in all of the towns near the river-—it is the receptacle for everything unwholesome or unsavoury that is collected, and yet people wonder how it is that typhoid and other diseases break out. Alexandra has for years had to depend mainly for its supply of water on the Chatto Creek race or the river. There are plenty of chances of infection in both. The race is one which runs at almost a dead level through miles of rabbity country, and with plenty of chances of contamination by drainage and other sources. The removal of any objectionable features in the vicinity of these sources of water supply is one of the first matters that should be attended to, and in the common weal of the whole community it is incumbent that it should be done rigorously and expeditiously.