SCIENCE. 



FKIDAY, AUGUST 7, 1885. 



THE INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CON- 

 FERENCE AT ROME. 



Epidemics are not an unmixed evil. In- 

 deed, it would perhaps not be going too far 

 to say, that, on the whole, the}' are productive 

 of more good than harm. The}' call attention 

 to sanitary sins, and lead to sanitary reforms, 

 which, in the absence of such a special stimu- 

 lus, would often not be made. As a result of 

 these reforms, the mortality from endemic dis- 

 eases is, no doubt, often reduced to an extent 

 which would quickly leave a balance on the 

 credit side if a careful life-account were kept 

 with cholera or yellow-fever in areas outs.ide 

 of their endemic prevalence. Thus, for ex- 

 ample, the epidemic of cholera in Naples last 

 year has been the cause of a general sanitary 

 awakening in that city, which has long been 

 noted as a hot-bed of typhoid-fever and other 

 preventable filth-diseases. It has led to the 

 speedy completion of the new water- works, by 

 which the city secures an ample supply of 

 pure water ; and the municipal authorities are 

 now earnestly inquiring as to the best system 

 of sewerage, with a view to introducing it as 

 soon as possible. By the way, the writer sug- 

 gested to the syndic (maj-or), that the 'sep- 

 arate system ' of Col. Waring would be best 

 adapted to the special conditions found at 

 Naples ; and this suggestion received the in- 

 dorsement of the famous Dr. Koch, delegate 

 from Germany to the International sanitary 

 conference. 



One of the most prominent indications of 

 the general agitation of measures relating to 

 sanitary reform, which in civilized countries 

 follows an epidemic, is the disposition on the 

 part of a country which has been recently 

 punished, to call upon its neighbors to make 

 common cause with it against the deadly pes- 

 tilence. Thus the International sanitary con- 

 No. 101. - 1885. 



ference of Constantinople (1866), that of Vi- 

 enna (1874), and that recently called by the 

 Italian government, which mot in Rome on 

 the 20th of May of the present year, have all 

 been the direct result of a recent epidemic of 

 cholera ; while the incentive which caused our 

 own government to invite other nations to send 

 delegates to the International sanitary con- 

 ference held in Washington in 1881, was the 

 epidemic of yellow-fever which devastated the 

 Mississippi valley in 1878, and re-appeared in 

 Memphis in 1879. The object in view on the 

 part of the various governments which have 

 taken the initiative in calling together sanitary 

 experts for an international conference, has 

 been to establish by treaty an international 

 and uniform code of sanitary regulations. 

 Unfortunately this object has not yet been 

 attained. Whether the conference of Ilom.e 

 will be more fortunate in this respect than its 

 predecessors have been, remains to be seen ; as 

 it has not yet finally adjourned, but is to meet 

 again in the autumn. In the mean time, the 

 delegates are to confer with their respective 

 governments, and to present for their consider- 

 ation the conclusions reached by a sub-com- 

 mission composed of the technical delegates, 

 which must serve as the basis of an interna- 

 tional convention, if one is finally arranged. 

 Even if this desirable result is not attained, 

 the conference, like those which have preceded 

 it, will be productive of great good, especially 

 in the country where it was held. The inter- 

 change of opinions among leading sanitarians 

 from various countries, the formulating of the 

 knowledge which has been gained in the labo- 

 ratory, or by the practical management of epi- 

 demics, the publication of explicit directions 

 relating to quarantine, disinfection, municipal 

 and maritime sanitary supervision, etc., cannot 

 fail to be useful. And, even if no novel pre- 

 ventive measures have been brought forward, 

 the reiteration, with the authority of such an 

 assemblage of experts, of well-recognized san- 



