money and life

Chapter 16 Health is the most precious wealth (2)
In addition to the bourgeoisie, ordinary people also need to take action. Improving the sanitation environment requires the strength of the whole society. Without the efforts of some people, success can only be hoped for not far away, and we will not be able to reach it for a long time.Just imagine, every family has a complete water supply and drainage system, but the housewife never uses them for cleaning. In this way, no matter how good the equipment is, it will not work, and her home will always be dirty and messy.In the same way, there is a good ventilation system in the air, but no one uses it. Instead, the doors and windows are closed so that there is no gap, because the fresh air cannot come in, the air in the room will only become more and more dirty, and people's bodies will also be affected. poisoned.Therefore, perfect sanitation facilities are important, but a housewife who is good at managing the house is even more important. It is impossible for the law to make every woman a good wife and mother; She became a clean woman, just like a man who is addicted to alcohol. No one else can make him quit drinking and become a hardworking and excellent husband.We should know by now that if workers want to completely improve their living conditions, in addition to government support, they also need a hardworking housewife in their families.A scholar said when studying family reform: "We can be sure that the living environment has an impact on the body and mind of the working people that cannot be ignored, but a large part of the root causes of these impacts come from themselves. The environment can be Changes, as long as people have the idea of ​​rectifying and changing it; in my opinion, the power of the spirit is infinite, it can control the influence of the material under certain conditions. If everyone in the family can keep clean And cleanliness, even if they are given a messy house, they can tidy up neatly and comfortably; they will clear out the bad things, as long as it is within their ability. Look at those people who live in high-end communities, It is said that the environment of the community is already very beautiful, but people's carelessness and debauchery will still make the environment like a slum. A clean family can turn a dirty house into gold; The stinky occupants become smelly. These examples can well prove that: to a certain extent, people’s behavior determines the quality of the living environment, and they must understand the significance of improving the sanitary environment. It is time for them to Shoulder their due responsibilities and obligations."

While people are waking up, the government should also do a good job in rectification and make every effort to ensure that working people can live in clean, tidy and beautiful houses.Until now, working people in some places still live in harsh environments due to limited conditions. The difficulties of life make them unable to change the status quo, allowing their health and mood to be slowly corroded by the dirty environment.

A person's character and morality are formed in the family, so the quality of the family determines the quality of a person.The environment also has a certain impact on people's speech and behavior. If people stay in a dirty environment for a long time, their originally good conduct will become vile and vulgar.In the city, the place where the poor live is always dark and damp, and the houses are dilapidated. A person who grows up in such an environment must have a gloomy mood and thoughts. How can he become a sunny, healthy and positive young man? ?He is always procrastinating about work, and he also looks vulgar in life. He has no knowledge and is too lazy to study.These grim situations should be improved immediately. If left unchecked, the living conditions of the poor will be even worse, their morals will be even lower, and they will never have a chance to be a new person.

Changing people's living environment is only preliminary work, and the most important thing is to change their psychological environment, and this result must be based on environmental changes.In order to improve the lives of farmers, a landowner in Ireland specially built a house for them. Farmers can finally live in a narrow and messy thatched house.Then the landlord returned to his home. After a while, he came to the farm again and was stunned by what he saw. He thought that the farmers lived in such a comfortable house and their life should be good, but he didn't expect that. How could it end like this: a large flock of chickens jumped up and down on the bed, and under the bed was a pigsty, and a little pig was sleeping soundly; the concrete floor was covered with mud, and the windows on the windows were all broken. A garden is like a deserted pasture.The landlord was furious when he saw it, and angrily wrote to his friends to vent his dissatisfaction.The friend told him in the reply: "You should not hand over the house to them immediately, you should let them learn a clean and hygienic living habit first, and let them know the benefits of a clean environment for themselves." To maintain a clean and tidy state permanently, we must first tell people the reason and significance of doing these things, tell them that paying attention to hygiene is a manifestation of good moral character, and it is a behavior that is beneficial to their own health; and it is also necessary to ensure that educated people have A certain amount of knowledge and comprehension ability can be used immediately after assimilating the knowledge.Therefore, the first task is to make working people able to read and write. Otherwise, they are like children who are babbling and don't understand anything. How can we ask them to do things that only adults can do?

Edwin?Chadwick
Although hygiene is not difficult to understand, and the learning process is not too complicated, it has been officially accepted by people in recent years.The public and the government began to do their best to promote and practice hygiene, hoping to make everyone have relevant knowledge.Why has hygiene suddenly become known and spread rapidly in recent years, and it is even involved in parliamentary proposals?To find out the reason, we must first talk about one person-lawyer, Edwin?Chadwick.

In those days, Edwin?Chadwick was known for his hard work and outstanding achievements, and some of his ideas even influenced the setting of some laws at that time.But people have always doubted his talent and achievements. It is sad to say that his status is not as good as those petty politicians who have achieved nothing and just sit back and enjoy what they get.

Edwin?Chadwick's hometown is in a town next to Manchester. Compared with ordinary people, his family is considered a big family in Nankai County.In his youth, Chadwick had been studying in London. When he was 26 years old, he determined to be a lawyer. With this goal, he came to the Inner Temple Law School, where he studied and wrote articles for others to make a living.It is not to say that he is very talented, but he is more patient and persistent than ordinary people. He has a brute force that will not give up until he reaches his goal. Even if the road ahead is bumpy and full of thorns, he is not afraid of wind and rain , go forward.

If a person embraces an idea and is determined and unremitting to complete it step by step in daily conceptual work and study, and if this idea is beneficial to human beings and society, his life will definitely become positive because of pursuing this goal.Now, Edwin?In Chadwick's mind, one thing has been determined, something that is not new but very meaningful.A business which is salutary in itself, rests in the hands of a young man with ardor and perseverance, and we cannot but fill our hearts with anticipation of the effect of its final completion.

If you want to know what kind of impact this incident has had, you must first know Edwin?How Chadwick got it done.Speaking during a parliamentary proceeding, Mr Morgan, who works for the government as an insurance statistician, spoke.He said that compared with the past, people in the middle class have experienced significant changes in their lives, and their living standards have gradually improved, but one problem remains unchanged. The improvement in living standards has not made people in the middle class live longer. Their average life expectancy is still the same as before.Hear that, Edwin?Chadwick had doubts. In order to prove that the statistician's conclusion was wrong, he began to study various data reports, government blue books, demographic reports and life statistics reports. Evidence for the statistician's argument that he believed his conclusions would cause a sensation if thrown.

April 1828, Edwin ?Chadwick published his laborious conclusions in the Westminster Review.In the book, Mr. Chadwick summed up the following points: ①Human health is closely related to the surrounding environment; ②If you want to have a healthy body, you must first rectify the environment; Possibility of prevention and control; ④In order to increase the survival rate of human beings, we should pay attention to personal hygiene habits, stay away from tobacco and alcohol, actively develop immune drugs, update medical equipment, and improve people's living environment.These conclusions are drawn from sources and literature, Edwin?Chadwick used them to prove to the outside world that Mr Morgan was wrong.He was the first person to make this statement, and proved these conclusions with facts. Now, these conclusions have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the life expectancy of middle and upper class people is gradually increasing.

In 1829, Edwin ?Chadwick wrote "The Preventive Police," which appeared in the London Review.Jeremy, who was 82 years old at the time?After reading Chadwick's article, Bentham admired him very much and had the idea of ​​becoming friends with him.So Mr. Chadwick and Bentham became close friends until Bentham died in 1832. During the three years, they exchanged letters continuously, and their friendship was extraordinary.Bentham had been perfecting "administrative law," and initially he thought Mr. Chadwick was the best man to complete this masterpiece on his behalf, but Edwin?Chadwick did not agree with Bentham's opinion. He did not accept the generous reward Bentham promised him, but focused on his career wholeheartedly.

In 1830, Edwin ?Chadwick finished his studies and officially became a lawyer.While working as a lawyer, he would also write some articles for the "Westminster Review", and in 1832, when he was about to study the common law, he received a notice from a committee association asking him and Tuke Sir, Southwood?Dr. Smith co-authored a report on the state of workers.The idea was first suggested by Mr Sadler and Lord Asley, and it gained a lot of attention in a short time.The purpose of the Committee Association this time is to investigate the impact of the unclean environment on the workers while investigating the overwork of the workers. The Association believes that these environments are affecting the health of the workers, and people have begun to pay attention to environmental hygiene.

In the same year, the Gray government selected some people to form the Association of Investigation Commissioners, Edwin?Chadwick was among them, and the main purpose of the association was to ascertain the implementation of the Poor Law in England and Wales.Mr. Chadwick's job was to go to Berkshire and London to collect information related to the Poor Law. In the second year, he compiled all kinds of information and submitted them to the committee.Even the pickiest person, the person who hates government reports the most, will be interested in Mr. Chadwick's report after seeing it. The report records a lot of facts and people's original words, so that people can read Create an immersive feeling while reading.Edwin?Chadwick's report was well received by many.

Edwin?Chadwick proved to everyone that he was a real talent.He is particularly good at studying people's livelihood issues. He can pinpoint the problem and find practical solutions. With these talents, he has jumped from a humble assistant investigator to an authoritative chief investigator. In 1834, the report he completed with Mr. Senier was once again praised by everyone, and he also made himself glorified.In that year the Poor Law Amendment Act was enacted, much of which was adopted from the reports of Mr. Chadwick and Mr. Senier.

Unexpectedly, this "Poor Law Amendment" was strongly resisted by people after it was implemented, but we cannot deny the positive effect this bill has brought to people's lives. It can be said that even if the "Poor Law Amendment" Even in modern times, there is also a high value.But at that time, the bill aroused raging opposition. In the face of all this, Mr. Chadwick was not discouraged, and the opposition would only make him more determined in his own mind.He preached the correctness of the bill everywhere and defended himself, just as he said in one sentence: "It is very easy to want everyone to like you. If you want to accomplish something that no one has touched before, and implement it It is difficult to have a temporary effect on people in the end, and only the strong-willed and intrepid hero will succeed." Surely Edwin?Chadwick is a hero. He will not let temporary difficulties stop his progress. As long as he thinks that he can make contributions to people and achieve his own ideals, his body will have endless strength.

In Edwin?When Chadwick put all his energy into the poor law, he never forgot the idea of ​​improving the sanitation environment. He even wrote his vision of the sanitation environment into the report of the poor law.In the process of investigation and research, he found that there is a close relationship between poverty and disease, and the two restrict and influence each other.After a period of contact, Mr. Chadwick has a comprehensive understanding of the living and working environment of the lower-class working people. He clearly knows that the dirty living environment directly endangers people's health and makes people die of fever , cholera and other diseases.These conclusions made him more determined to improve the sanitation environment.

In 1838, Edwin ?Chadwick remained Secretary General of the Society of Poor Law Commissioners.One day, while he was working, a member of the White Worship Association rushed in with a news that made everyone panic. The members of the association said that a nearby pool had a fever, and more than a dozen people had died. Infected and died; the epidemic had now grown, and the terrified people thought that the cholera from Asia must have spread here.Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Chadwick quickly reported the matter to the Committee Association, and the Association immediately assigned Arnott, Kay and Southwood?Three doctors, including Smith, went to investigate this sudden incident. They must find out the cause of the disease and make a detailed health investigation of the city of London.This incident opened the curtain to improve the sanitation environment.

Edwin?Chadwick was involved in the investigation from the very beginning, and unlike others, Mr. Chadwick was more concerned about how to form a police force to maintain order in England and Wales.His recommendations can be seen in the report on this incident.As in the past, this report has also received unanimous praise from everyone. The description of the living and working environment of the working people is comparable to the content of Dickens' novels.After completing these investigations, Edwin?Chadwick began to grapple with the problem of improving sanitation.

In the House of Lords meeting in 1839, the Supreme Bishop of London proposed to form an urban sanitation survey group, led by Edwin?Mr. Chadwick in the lead, Southwood?Three doctors, Smith, Arnott and Kaye, were members, and the scope of the survey was to cover the entire England and Wales region, and all urban and rural residents were the subjects of the survey.After the news came out, the Scottish people hoped that the government would include Scotland, and the government agreed to the people's request. In 3, John?Sir Russell, in his royal capacity, informed the Society of the Poor Law Commissioners that the Sanitary Survey Area had been amended to cover the entire territory of Great Britain.Mr. Chadwick began to investigate the population and health conditions across the country, then sorted out and summarized the first-hand information, and finally formed a report.

The first edition of the City Sanitation Report was completed in 1842. When it was about to be published, some members of the Committee Association raised objections that this report should not be published in the name of the Poor Law Committee Association. What they objected to, thereby implicating the committee, and these people to Edwin?Chadwick and his Poor Law Amendment Act were always on the defensive.In fact, from the perspective of work, this report was originally completed by Mr. Chadwick alone. Since he was excluded by everyone, Mr. Chadwick simply published the report in his own name.

It is difficult for us to appreciate Edwin?The hard work Chadwick has gone through, the report needs more patience, perseverance and enthusiasm to complete.During his investigation, Mr. Chadwick rummaged through mountains of documents and statements shipped from across the country, either handwritten or printed.He needs to intercept and use useful information from different materials, and the hardships involved are hard to imagine if he has not experienced it himself.In Mr. Chadwick's investigative career, the amount of materials he has read is incalculable. If they were piled up in front of him, the lawyer would probably be surprised.

The urban health report caused quite a stir in the country at the beginning of its release. People have been blinded by beautiful illusions before. This report allows people to see the dark sides behind civilized society.Although public opinion reacted fiercely, this was not the result that Mr. Chadwick wanted most. He had deeper considerations.He hopes that the improvement suggestions in the report can be recognized by the government and put into action as soon as possible. This is the meaning of his work.The development of things did not let Edwin?Chadwick was disappointed. It didn't take long for the cabinet ministers to change the situation of inconsistency in the past. He decided to unite to form a group to help people improve their sanitation.

(End of this chapter)