SANITATION IN ST. LOUIS. 729 



SANITATION IN ST. LOUIS. 



Under the auspices of Alplin Council, Legion of Honor, the first of a series 

 of lectures on sanitation was given at the Pickwick before a large audience by 

 Mr. Robert Moore. The lecture was not burdened with either diagram or 

 charts, but Mr. Moore dealt with the question of drainage in a manner that could 

 not fail to be understood by every one present. 



At the outset he remarked on the advance of medical and social science dur- 

 ing the last hundred years, and said if man could not add to his stature, he 

 "had, by taking thought, added to the number of his days. The chief factor in 

 these beneficial changes was the increase and wide dissemination of the knowl- 

 edge of the laws upon which life depended. Another factor had been the deep- 

 ening of the idea of the interdependence and kinship of mankind. From pure 

 selfishness^ or from no higher motive, men are now forced to become their 

 brothers' keepers. Another cause was the enormous increase of wealth which 

 the inventions of the last hundred years had brought to men. People were now 

 better fed, better clothed and better housed than their grandfathers were, and 

 consequently enjoyed better health than their grandparents. 



The essential conditions to health in large towns were pure air, pure water 

 and pure soil, and the securing of these conditions was the all-important task of 

 the sanitary engineer, and the great test of success in all city governments. The 

 great factors in securing these conditions were the water supply and the sewerage 

 system of a city. Whatever system was adopted — the system of separate sewers 

 for the storm water and the waste water from the dwellings, or the combined 

 system — the general principles were the same. It was necessary that the sewers 

 should be self-cleansing, and that there should be a good outfall from which- the 

 sewerage should be promptly and completely carried away. In many places the 

 latter condition was the chief difficulty of all. 



St. Louis was particularly fortunate in these two respects. Its sewage 

 was carried away by one of the greatest rivers of the world, while Chicago was 

 at the present time seriously considering how to keep its sewage out of its drink- 

 ing water. Dealing next with the drainage of houses, the lecturer said it was- 

 most important that the surplus water should be discharged as soon as possible 

 into the sewer, and that no noxious gas should be allowed to find its way back 

 into the house. House drains should be self-cleansing, and to that end it was 

 important that the pipes should be no larger than was actually necessary, and 

 above all, that they should not leak. Inside the house there should be no 

 plumbing fixtures which were not in daily use. 



In conclusion, the lecturer emphasized the fact that owing to the improved 

 ■sanitary conditioji of St. Louis about 5,800 lives were saved every year. He 

 showed that St. Louis was naturally a healthy city, and urged that what was 

 needed, in view of the threatened cholera epidemic, was the closing of the eight 

 thousand or more wells and the thirty thousand cesspools in the city. Their 

 continuance was a disgrace to St. Louis, and it should be the duty of every citi- 

 .zen to see that thev were closed. 



