Notwithstanding this promise no action was taken, and on September 10th, the third complaint was received from Rowlesburg that the conditions were unchanged. A communication was then addressed to the division superintendent at Cumberland, in which it was stated that correspondence with the general manager had failed to secure the desired improvements, nothwithstanding several positive promises," I am therefore addressing you, with the urgent suggestion that a remedy be at once applied to a condition which, if unrectified, will inevitably in time precipitate an outbreak of typhoid fever."

An answer was received as follows: "Have just received advice from our general superintendent that deeds covering the necessary property for proposed sewer line are in the hands of the M. & K. Railroad Company for execution, and as soon as they are received we will go ahead with the work."

(Signed) J. W. Kelley, Jr. Supt." This is but another illustration of the old saying, that "large bodies move slowly," and the only way in which they can be made to move more rapidly is to grant by legislation, to the State Board of Health or some other body, authority to compel speedy action.

RONCEVERTE WATER SUPPLY.

The seceretary received from His Excellency, Governor Hatfield, the following letter with an inclosure from Mr. C. E. Beman, of Ronceverte:

Dear Dr. Jepson:

Charleston, W. Va., June 5, 1914.

Please note the inclosed letter. I will be very glad if you will communicate with Mr. Beman and also investigate the conditions of the water supply at Ronceverte, either through your nearest member of the State Board of Health or yourself direct if you find the time.

Very truly yours,

H. D. HATFIELD.

Mr. Beman's letter set forth that "there is one tannery at Marlinton and one at Durbin. Here at Ronceverte, where we get our water supply from the river, the water is so sour it is almost impossible to drink it. The banks are lined with dead fish from here to Durbin." It is a matter of record that the State Board of Health had this subject under consideration some years ago, and it was made the subject of a hearing on indictment in the circuit court. The result of the trial was, that the tannery company at Marlinton was required to construct settling ponds which it was supposed would remedy the offenses complained of. The secretary has received from the assistant attorney general the oral opinion that the State Board of Health under the law does not have sufficient authority to effect a remedy of the conditions complained of. In view of this fact the secretary wrote a letter to the Governor from which the following quotation is made; "During my last visit in Charleston I had a con

office, and he gave the opinion that the State Board of Health has not sufficient authority to control the matter. This being the case, a visit by me or any member of the board to Ronceverte seems unnecessary, since no good can be accomplished by it. I find, since becoming secretary of the board, that we need much more authority than is now given to us under the law. I have been summoned to different points on complaint of local nuisances that should be abated by the local county or municipal authorities, and a careful search through the law fails to discover authority whereby we may step in and compel an abatement of such nuisances. There should be such authority."

The secretary has received communications from Cameron, Beckley, Holliday's Cove, Keyser, Logan, Spencer, Cass and other points in the state. The complaints being essentially the same, namely; the emptying of sewage into small local streams which become almost dry in the summer constituting nuisances. The secretary has uniformly attempted by correspondence to have such defects remedied, but generally he finds it impossible to do so on account of the limited powers of the board, and because, in some cases, nothing short of an extensive sewerage system involving the locality in a large expenditure would be sufficient to bring about the desired change. Many complaints of a less serious nature reach us, which refer to nuisances of a character that can and should be removed by local, county or municipal authority. This suggestion the secretary has repeatedly made in answer to letters received by him. As an example of nuisances of this kind, may be cited the fact that the secretary made a special visit to Clarksburg in answer to a complaint made of a local nuisance, which consisted of an offensive pond of sewage caused by the projection of several sewers from private houses into a low piece of ground from which there was no drainage. Within ten feet of the end of these drain pipes was a large sewer with which connection might have been made at trifling cost. The mayor of the city was interviewed, the remedy pointed out, and His Honor gave promise that an order would be immediately issued for the abatement of the nuisance. We have information that the desired change has been effected.

HUNTINGTON SEWERAGE.

On April 14th, 1914, the secretary received the following night letter (telegram) from Dr. H. A. Brandebury, member of the State Board of Health:

"Huntington, April 13, 1914.

S. L. Jepson, M. D.,

Secretary State Board of Health,

Dear Doctor:

Mayor Flood Chapman has wired Senator Chilton to send Federal Health Officer to inspect plans for trunk sewer the city proposes to build, which will empty into the Guyan river above our water-works In my opinion this may be of

* * *

that the advice of Federal Health Officer should be had before constructing proposed sewer."

The following reply was sent in answer to Dr. Brandebury's telegram:

Dear Dr. Brandebury:

"Wheeling, W. Va., April 14, 1914.

Your night letter just received, and I have sent to the Mayor of your city the following letter:

"The surgeon general of the U. S. Public Health Service will send an officer of his department to advise with reference to your sewerage system. Please have nothing done until his arrival, as his services will be most valuable to you, and a great error may be committed if you do anything toward locating the proposed sewer until you have his advice. Under no circumstances should the sewage be emptied into the river above the intake of your water supply."

Yesterday I received from surgeon general Blue of the U. S. Public Health Service a telegram requesting our permission to send an officer to your city for the purpose of advising in reference to your sewerage system. I at once telegraphed that we would greatly appreciate any aid that his department might render to the city of Huntington. No doubt your Mayor will hear from Surgeon General Blue very soon. Very sincerely yours,

S. L. JEPSON,

Secretary State Board of Health."

A sanitary engineer was sent to Huntington by Surgeon General Blue as reported later by Dr. Brandebury. This engineer made a careful study of the situation and later sent to the Huntington authorities a full report of his findings, and, as was reported to the secretary by Dr. Brandebury, his conclusion was that the sewer proposed should not be constructed so as to empty its contents into the river above the present water intake.

Notwithstanding this advice the secretary was informed by Dr. Brandebury, ever active in his interest in the future health of the people of Huntington, that the authorities were preparing to make contracts for the construction of the sewer, its location being unchanged.

The amended health law of 1913 contains the following:

"The State Board of Health shall also examine into and advise as to the water supply, drainage and sewerage of cities, towns and villages, etc."

While no positive authority is hereby given to the board to prevent the construction of sewers that it believes may endanger the health of a community, yet the above provision of the law seemed to . justify a positive protest against the construction of this proposed sewer at Huntington. The matter was brought before the board at its meeting in July, and it approved the action thus far taken by the secretary. The following letter was written by the secretary to the mayor of Huntington, and he also requested the president of the

Hon. Floyd S. Chapman,

Mayor, Huntington, W. Va.

Dear Sir:

I have this morning received a Huntington paper containing a report of the action of your city commission which seems to indicate a decision so to construct your new sewer as to empty its contents into the Guyan river. You will recall that I wrote a protest against this plan, or the building of any sewer whose contents would flow into the river above the intake of your water supply.

The official of the U. S. Public Health Service who visited your city and made a careful survey of the existing conditions, I am informed, took the same position that I had taken.

This matter was discussed before the State Board of Health at its last meeting and my position was endorsed. I desire again to call attention to this matter which is one of vital interest to the future health of your citizens, and to point out to you the danger of your proposed plan.

Wheeling in two years lost 332 of her citizens in a typhoid epidemic, which physicians of the community believe was due solely to the fact that the sewage from the upper part of the city, which includes a large hospital, emptied into the river above our water intake. When the intake was removed to a point a mile above the city typhoid fever almost entirely disappeared and we have had comparatively little of it since.

Recently, however, since a large increase in population above our present water intake, typhoid fever is again on the increase. I write these facts in an effort to impress upon you the seriousness of the action you are about to take. This proposed sewer is to be put down for a long future, and although your city may escape an early outbreak of typhoid, it is bound to come sooner of later,

I want to put myself and the State Board of Health on record as protesting aaginst the locating of your sewer as is proposedin violation of all sanitary laws. Hoping that you may see the immense importance of avoiding such a grave error as is here alluded to, I am,

Yours sincerely,

S. L. JEPSON, M. D., Secretary State Board of Health. Elkins, W. Va., August 25, 1914.

Hon. Floyd S. Chapman,

Mayor, Huntington, W. Va.

Dear Sir:

As Dr. Jepson states in his letter to you, his views on the sewer problem in your town have been fully endorsed by the whole State Board of Health. I beg leave, however, to emphasize these views by this additional note of appeal to you as the head of one of our most populous and most modern cities. I take it that these must be some technical difficulties which have led your commission to the decision referred to by Dr. Jepson, as otherwise, it is inconceivable that anyone could be guilty of even the contemplation to commit such a gross sin against public health. But I cannot think of any considerations that would justify such a decision under any circumstances. Dr. Jepson has cited you as an object lesson the experience of the city of Wheeling. I could cite to you a similar experience of the city of Elkins some years ago with the results even more disastrous and could give you

|

within and outside of the state. Should your city continue to disregard the expert advice given you and carry into effect the construction of a sewerage system that will poison your water supply on a wholesale scale, it will not only prove a direct harm to thousands of your citizens, but in an indirect way it will do much harm to hundreds of thousands in our state. The sanitary conditions of our state are not any too good, and our State Board of Halth is doing its utmost to improve them. A step such as in contemplated by your city will prove a bad example for the state at large, for the people of our state have come to look upon Huntington as progressive and modern and a model in many respects. I hope that in addition to the consideration of the safety of the life and health of your citizens, the civic pride of your city will cause a change in the contemplated plan of sewage disposal.

Yours very tiuis (Signed)

W. W. GOLDEN. President State Board of Health.

The last report received indicated that these letters had not made much impression upon the Huntington authorities, who were proceeding with the work of constructing the proposed sewer. Whatever may be the ultimate result, Dr. Brandebury, the local member of the State Board of Health, is to be commended for his active interest in this matter which so vitally concerns the health of the community.

In this connection it may be worth while to suggest that in Ohio and other states positive authority is given to the State Board of Health to interfere and prevent the construction of either waterworks or sewerage plants when, in their opinion, they are not in accordance with the laws of sanitation. The West Virginia board should possess such authority, so that under no circumstances private interests could be permitted to interfere with the public good.

HOOKWORM INVESTIGATION.

At the regular meeting of the board held in Charleston May 7th, 1914, the secretary read a letter from Governor Hatfield, stating that it was reported to him that the hookworm disease exisits in the Pocahontas coal fields. The Governor expressed a desire for an investigation for the purpose of ascertaining the truth or falsity of the report. The secretary stated that upon receipt of this letter he at once communicated with Dr. J. N. Simpson, director of the hygienic laboratory at Morgantown, requesting him to send a competent member of the laboratory force to the coal fields named for the purpose indicated. Professor W. H. Schultz made a visit to that region, and in a preliminary report received from him after a hasty survey, it was stated, that he had found evidence of the presence of the hookworm disease. On hearing these statements the board unanimously resolved to ask Dr. Schultz to visit that region again at his earliest convenience, spending as much time there as may be necessary to make a thorough investigation and put into operation the means necessary to eradicate the disease. He is also to have such additional help from the laboratory