434 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 



pathological change* rcs-ulling in wide-spread dis- and internal sanitary measures, recommending 



ease anil death. destruction of ji>n, it,.t and all sources of infection in 



Scii-nlilic investigation into the menus for prcserv- town or country, anil the sanitary in.-| -i -lion of 



ill',' li<-:illh ill the Vnilcd Xalcs is nl quite rrrrnt habitations substituted. TlM KMllt Of tUBW pnblifl 



growth. although fragmentary laws for the proven- discussions of the innilc<ju:ii-y of (juarantinc restric- 



tion of tin- introduction IVoin foreign ports of con- tions. alone, and the beneficial ollccls of .sanitary 



tagious and taffecliOW diMIUM wen e*fty OMCtad mea-uns. led the American Medical Association 



hv the col. inics. The colony o( Massachusetts liay, (instituted in 1S47) to appoint a committee, to in- 



in 1G4S, through the general court, passed quaraii- vestiuate the sanitary condition of large cities. 



tine law- "liir the prevention of a disease [yellow About this same time (1860) the leitlatareoj M:iss:i- 



feverj so fatal in its character as was then prevailing chnsctts printed a Ittji^rt / n (,'. in nil I'lwi fur the 



in tlio Harbadoes and other islands in the \\Yst In- ]'r<nii"ti'>ii </ 1'iililic ititil I'n-.-umul lltnhli. which had 



' Tin' province of South I'arolina in Iti'.tS en- IHVII prepared by ft committee appointed lor that 



acted a law that " AU vessels are forhiddeii to pas* pin pose. Tin* report was prepared with -.'rent care 



to the east of Sullivan's Island one mile, without hy Samuel Shntliick, a layman, and was tilled with 



permission of the governor, under penalty of In-ill:* details relating to sanitary measures n,r,-sarv for 



tired on by the gunner and pay in;; a line. Thepilol the prevention of disease ; it also recommended the 



is requirotl to ascertain from the captain, before establishment of a State Hoard of Health with pow- 



pas-ing that limit, it any contagious disorders are ers to effect (he reforms so fuliy set forth. That re- 



on hoard, under penalty of i.'">0." Pennsylvania in port is hearing fruit after many years, and fore- 



lo'.'.i. Hhode Island hi 1711, New Hampshire in shadowed much that is now accepted an hygienic 



1711, and New York in 17">"i enacted quarantine truth. After the great yellow fever epidemic of 



laws to prevent the foreign importation of disease. W.I the New Orleans Hoard of Health appointed a 



Similar laws were enacted hy seaboard Stales or commission with special instructions : 



municipalities after the Union was formed, and I, i. TO Inquire into the o,l e in and mode oftransmUslon of 



stimulated hy the great. yellow fever epidemic Ol the late epidemic of xx-iu.w lever. 

 17'. i.! -5 the quest ion of governmental control of quar- 

 antine was largely discussed in the fourth Congress 

 (1711(5). The precedent set hy the Congress of that 

 day has been followed (after similar discussions r\, r 

 since, viz: The civil and military odicers of the 

 government are only empowered to aid in the exe- 

 cution of the health and quarantine laws of the sev- 

 eral States. (Sec. I7'.'J, Revised Statutes.) The 



-!. To inquire into the subject of scwcrairc and common 

 drains, their a<l:iptal ility to the titualiou of our city and 

 their influence on health. 



"3. To inquire Into the subject of quarantine, ita uses 

 and applicability here, and its ii:l!u. IKT in protecting the 

 city from epidemic and contagious maladies, and, 



"4. To make a thuiouirh examination into the fanftary 

 condition of the city, into all causes inliiiencintr It In pres- 

 ent and previous years, and to Mit'irest the requisite tani- 



ravages of yellow fever in 1S17, at New Orleans, led t-'ry measures to remove or prevent them, and I,, the 

 the city and Stale authorities to enact very strin- of *' '*' r "! {"'^ al "' """-r^ localities having inter- 



gent quarantine laws in that year, but the recur- 

 rence of the disease the year following resulted, Ix;- Circulars xverc issued by the commission to all 

 cause of their inadequacy, in a " repeal of the laws for parts of the country where yellow fever occurs, and 

 the prevention of the introduction of pestilential, the committee s:;l as a "court of inquiry" for three 

 malignant, or infectious diseases." directed the sale months gathering information far and wide, and 

 of the la/.areltoaiid all its property and invested the stating that "prevention of an epidemic was the 

 governor xxith authority to establish quarantine at basis oltbe work to U- done." The conclusions ar- 

 il is discretion. '1 ime and again the quarantine laws rived at by the commission were that a combination 

 were re-enacted and repealed, until IK.Vithe present of terrene and meteorological conditions was abso- 

 law wa- estaMi-lied and the detention, fumigating, Ititely essential for the development of an epidemic, 

 and cleansing of vessels required. Since 1SSI the (heat and moisture combined with filth,) that polie- 

 plan adopted for maritime' sanitation has been ing is the remedy, that " sanilan reform is the tal- 

 greatly improved upon -machinery bcingsulislituted ismaif and "hygiene the science of life," nnd rc- 

 for manual labor and a steam lug is noxv used lor commended a thorough sanitary survey of the city, 

 fop-ing sulphurous acid gas into every part of a ves- including every house, lot. and back-yard ; every 

 sel's hold ; this is followed by sprinkling and cleans- I cause of disease* should bo abated, vaccination looked 

 ing the decks, etc.. with a solution of bichloride of afler, and a record of inspection kept of every 



mercury through hose connected with the steam en- 

 gine, so that the detention of yes-els at New Or- 

 gans may now l>c expressed in hours instead of 

 days. (See KfMtuA i ION.) 



burin'.' the lirst half of the present century no 

 united effort was made in Ibis country to prevent 

 the occurrence or spread of disease, although in- 

 dividuals here ami there di-nis-ed the subject of 

 "preventive medicine," and tried to obtain recog- 

 nition of the i;rea( principle that " prevention" was 

 more scientific than "curim:'' disease. The quest ion- 

 able efficacy of quarantine was being agitated abroad, 

 and the action of the lirst International Sanitary 

 Convention, held in Paris in Is.Vi, when' the chief 

 feature of the convention was the' abrogation of 

 useless quarantine restrictions and inculcatiie,' mu- 

 nicipal hygiene in their stead, had a fireat clli-ct upon 

 the thou'shtful minds of this country. Delegate* 

 from France, England, Austria, Spain, the two 

 Sicilies, the Roman <Mt. -. <; recce, Russia, Por- 

 tu::al. Sardinia. Tuw:any, and Turkey were pr.'seiit 

 at this convention, their interest in which led |..M,!>- 

 Moqucnt international COML-I-CSM-K. Sanitary reform 



sipiare in the city, and linally the commission pre- 



pared an ordinance tor cstabl'ishing a health depart- 

 ment for New Orleans "with ample powers to ellect 

 the reform siiinjesicd." 



The lirst '(Quarantine (sanitary) Congress" in the 

 Tidied States was held in Philadelphia May i:t, 

 1S.-.7, called together by the Hoard ofllealth of'Phil- 

 adclphia. for the purpose of establishing a uniform 

 system of quarantine in the maritime cities. Its 

 members were not confined to the medical profes- 

 sion ; commercial and municipal departments were 

 invited and no less thanl'it dillcrcnt authorities from 

 nine Atlantic States were represented by 7:! dele- 

 gates ; a three days' scs-ioji was held in which the 

 question of making uniform the quarantine regula- 

 tions of the several States was fully discussed and _'.'{ 

 propositions were laid down in regard to quarantine. 

 A permanent organization was ellectcd and the 

 congress adjourned to meet in Haltimore, April 29, 

 IS.'iS. The name of the congress was changed to 

 "The Quarantine and Sanitary Convention." 

 Twelve Stalls represented by Sii delegates wero 

 t at the second meeting. Two committees 



had also begun in England. The ancient fallacies wen appointed - ! < ii "exti inal hygiene or qnar- 

 of quarantine (forty days' detention; were attacked, | autiue" and the other on the 



'sanitary arrange- 



