23 Kansas Academy of Science. , 



With the establishment of the fact that bacteria are the ' 

 cause of many of the diseases that afflict the human race came 

 the main incentive to the progress that has recently been made , 

 in the development of sanitary engineering. Bacteria bemg 

 the cause of disease, the elimination of these pathogenic or- 

 ganisms from the air, food and water that enter the human , 

 system was the logical method of preventing disease. 



In following scientifically the course above suggested the j 

 sanitary engineer has done much to aid the medical profession , 

 in developing the methods that now prevail in modern sanita- 

 tion as is well witnessed by the remarkable results obtained m 

 the Panama Canal Zone. The success of scientific methods ap- | 

 plied to water purification is splendidly illustrated by the re- j, 

 suits obtained in the operation of many plants. I 



The lack of vital statistics in Kansas covering sufficient time j 

 to allow reliable deductions to be drawn therefrom prevents | 

 me giving at this time some local data that point very strongly j 

 to satisfactory results in the future. I am, however, present- 

 ing statistical charts of Hamburg, Albany and Cincinnati and j 

 a death-rate table of a number of other cities, giving the drop 

 in the typhoid death rate resulting from the installation and 

 operation of up-to-date filtration equipment at these places. 

 We know from results of bacterial analyses made of the water 

 being furnished many Kansas cities and towns at the present 

 time°that similar gratifying results may soon be reported from 

 local plants. 



The first filter applied to a large public water supply of which^ 

 we have a record was installed by the Chelsea Water Company' 

 of London in 1829, and was a success in improving the whole- 

 someness of the water from the start. Owing to the good re- 

 sults obtained from this filter, the city of London in 1855 made 

 compulsory the filtration of all water supplied the city from 

 rivers. 



Berlin, which draws its water supply from the river Spree, 

 installed filters in 1856. These filters served the city in con-, 

 tinuous use until 1893, when they were replaced by a new| 

 plant at Lake Muggel. About 1875 Berlin developed an addi-i 

 tional supply of water from a well system, but this water con- 

 tained enough iron to encourage the growth of crenothrax to 

 such an extent that the supply was abandoned in 1883 and 



