'4 



Communications. 



DOES NOT Like PRESCRIPTION. 



Felix RackemanB Answers Representa- 

 tive Wolcott's Letter on Neponset 

 River Purification. 



To the Editor of The Milton Record: 



There has heen forwarded to me in 

 the West a copy of Mr. Roger Wolcott's 

 reply to my letter of June 12,. in the 

 matter of the proposed expenditure of 

 .$150,000. on the Xepoiix't River. 



Mr. Wolcott and 1 both WiUit a clean 

 river. We differ only as to method. 



He seems satis-.ed to accept, in blind 

 faith, a recommendation of the Board 

 of Health, (or its Engineer) and sug- 

 i gests that we should either swallow 

 their medicines or "abolish" them as 

 doctors. 



1. for one, am not satisfied with their i 

 lue^ciiption, (if it be theirs) but I do * 

 not see why I am therefore called upon ' 

 to attend to their "abolishment. ' 



Mr. Wolcott says the Board of Health 

 made an "e.xliaustive investigation and ^ 

 report in 1897'' and that their views , 

 have remained "unchanged" since then. 

 I According to Mr. Wolcott the Board , 

 I of Health has therefore known for the , 

 past 14 years of the disgraceful condi- ' 

 j tions. If one considers the somewhat • 

 ' extraordinary statutory powers of the , 

 I Board in such matters, the question , 

 ; naturally arises, Why the delay of 14 

 i years in having a health nuisance 

 ! kbated? 



! My confidence in a pill given me by a 

 j physician who has seen me suffer for 14 

 1 vears without relieving me is not as 

 I great as Mr, Wolcotfs would apparently 

 ibe. 



I Mr. Wolcott says in one paragraph: 

 j "the whole river bed is at present en- 

 ! crusted with accumulated pollution 

 1 w hich must be removed before it will 

 I auain be clean;" and that it is now pro- 

 ; posed "merely to cut off some ^ sharp 

 : bends which interfere seriously with its 

 flow." 



I I could hardly believe my eyes when 

 I T read the foregoing, but there it is! If 

 j it is now proposed to spend $150,000, "to 

 cut off some sharp bends" in this river, 

 and if the whole river bed, for miles 

 and miles, must be cleared of its "in- 

 crustations," how much is this clearing 

 coins to cost? Why not get the whole 

 ; "biu^'liill" now and take a look at it, 

 ' laiTuM Than begin with a little ^oue 

 is;l.iO.O(iO), with the directions to "Keep 

 taking till death ensues?" 



ilr.' Wolcott cites the similar work 

 done on the Sudbury River— and for the 

 benefit of Concord. I have good scien- 

 tific authoritv for the statement that 

 the work on the Sudbury was "without 

 anv beneficial result." and with "no im. 

 provement of the land of the Sudbury 

 uu-adow-." and further that since the 

 work was done Concord has had "an 

 epidemic" of malaria. 



There may be malaria in the Xeponset 

 Valley, but," in 2.5 years continuous resi- 

 dence' there, I have never heard of more 

 than one case, and that was not through 

 any physician. We don't want any 

 "epidemic." 



Mr. 'Wolcott says the plan is to "pre- 

 vent the overflow in the late spring and 

 summer." There have been no such 

 overflows between May 1st and Novem- 

 ber 1st during the past 2.5 years, to my 

 personal knowledge. The meadows flood 

 'iretty regularly in December or January 

 and the flood continues imtil the ice 

 breaks up. It then runs off. In the 

 s'liiimcr there is hardly anv flow. 

 " Xothina. which Mr. Wolcott says is 

 now proposed, will stop this annual over- 

 flow. 



Mr. Wolcott says that "the active pol- 

 lution of the River is being rapidly abol- 

 ished." I never remember seeing it look 

 rr -nieil worse than it did about two 

 « eeks ago. but I will take his word for 



;'' a11 I suggest, (and I renew the sug- 

 ofstion). i^ that we wait a bit and see 

 what the conditions are when the poUu- 

 u 1 i~ really "aliolished." 

 Perhaps, then, we won't have to either 

 abolish the Board of Health or spend 

 5150,000 "to cut off some sharp bends." 



Felix Eackernann. 



une 2.3, 1911. 



