This is a tragic piece of history for the staff of the Elgin National Watch Company and as you'll read, not everything appears to be what it seems and the clincher that confirms it for myself is the article published in 1944 which seems to confirm that there was indeed a cover up of sorts. The following entries are press coverage as reported during the outbreak.

In the early weeks of summer 1916 there was an unusual prevalence of inexplicable diarrhoea among the adult employees of the watch factory, then came the outbreak of Typhoid.

The watch factory had dual water supply from both the Elgin city and also the Fox river. It was found that the Fox river supply had mixed with the city's water supply and contaminated the drinking watch supply within the factory.

The company busied itself in relief. They employed physicians and nurses. They took care of every sick employee needing care. When the health authorities came in for investigation they gave them help. When the source of the pollution of the water supply was discovered it was corrected without hesitation. 

When the epidemic was at an end the company, on its own initiative, settled with the families of former employees and with the employes. I do not know how much the company paid out. I have heard that it was in excess of $100,000, and I can readily believe it. The employes are satisfied, the feeling is good, the company stands well in the community. Had the company try and resist the payment of claims they might have escaped. It is to their credit that they did not try to escape responsibility by legal technicality, by delays, expenditure of money, or in any other way.^[5]
How to Keep Well, By Dr. W. A. Evans, Published in the Chicago Daily Tribune, March 21st, 1917

Editor's Note - The following story of the typhoid epidemic in the plant of the Elgin National Watch Co. is an example of how the controlled press "covers up" advertising corporations. The Chicago papers in handling the story mention only the fact the Elgin company had "open-heartedly" offered through the state industrial board, to recompense the families of its employes who died "from a typhoid epidemic in the city of Elgin". They didn't mention the fact that bad drinking watch in the Elgin plant caused the epidemic.^[7]The Day Book, January 27th 1917

The epidemic broke June 1st and raged until mid-August, when nine victims were stricken in one day. It began to subside when the watch company on June 19th cut off the source of the deadly plague - the old artesian well - and gave its employes pure city water to drink.

Dr. Alban L. Mann, city physician of Elgin, made a report of conditions at the Elgin National Watch Co. factory on August 22nd. He attributed the epidemic to a "deadly sump" in the factory, In part he said:

"I found that the principal supply of water distributed to the institution, both for drinking and industrial purposes, came from an artesian well said to be approximately 2,000 feet deep; this supply was not pumped directly into the service mains of the different buildings and operating rooms as it should have been; but was pumped into a reservoir on Watch street, whence it was distributed to different points by gravity, a part being deflected to the National House for use in operating the elevator service there, after having served which purpose it was piped to a 'sump' or catch-basin about five feet deep, situated underneath the floor of the blacksmith's shop and accessible by means of a trapdoor though this floor this tank also apparently received the main supply from the reservoir, and from this catch basin was distributed to the various drinking founts and taps throughout the factory."

Dr. Mann said the surface of the water in the catch-basin was about a foot below the floor of the building and that fine dust and debris accumulated in this water, which was later drank by the employes. He also found that second supply of water was obtained directly from Fox river without filtration or purifying treatment of any kind. In conclusion, after examining the bacteria found in the water, Dr. Mann said "The result was astounding and clearly established the source of the typhoid infection in the water supply on the premises of the Elgin National Watch Co."

Elgin is a poor place to seek information about the plague that left 22 families in mourning and brought sorrow and, in many cases, poverty to the homes of 40 watch workers.

To tell tales out of the factory is to get fired, and Elgin is a town of practically one industry - watch making.

This is what Mrs. George Parkin of Grove avenue, a former employe of the company and wife of a  watchmaker, said:

"I was one of the first victims of the epidemic. We didn't know what the sickness was. The doctors didn't seem to know at first. Many of the boys and girls were stricken at their work tables; they would just topple over; then they would rush them off in taxicabs to the hospitals. It was awful to see the poor things staggering down the steps; we knew many of them would never come back."

"I was home, fortunately, when I was taken sick. I thought I was poisoned. Boils and sores broke out on my back and my face was covered with brown patches. Then the fever came. I had to give up work and go to the hospital. My husband was sick enough to go, too, but he just had to keep at work. I was in the hospital three months and two days. I have been home a couple of months, but I am still very weak and the doctor is still attending me."

"I was dropped from the payroll the day I reported sick. The company is still paying my doctor bills, but the loss of work makes it very hard for us."

A watchmaker named Cruse mourns the death of a daughter, who had been employed in the factory. The family is in destitute circumstances, some of his fellow workers say. Cruse asked the company for aid at Christmas. He was told he should be glad to have his doctors bills paid. He has not claimed damages for her death and he is not on the list of beneficiaries to be paid today.

When the employes of the Elgin company were being stricken down day after day the company announced it would pay all doctor bills, but Att'y Carberry said they made no offer of death damages until the cases were filed before the industrial board. Then they agreed to settle.

P.S. - The Elgin company paid no Christmas bonus. ^[8]The Day Book, January 27th 1917

This list was originally compiled by Barbara Schock from newspaper articles of the time. It was originally hosted online by the Elgin Genealogical Society and is no longer online. (You can find it via web.archive.org). All credits go to Barbara Schock and the Elgin Genealogical Society for this list. 

The list is from a notebook which is available at the Gail Borden Public Library and also the Elgin Area Historical Society, the notebooks are titled "Typhoid Epidemic of 1916 Index Elgin, Illinois". 

Typhoid Victims

Typhoid Deaths

This is Elgin's darkest chapter in regards to the the welfare of their staff. While not required by law to pay for medical treatment, they did step up and cover all medical bills associated with the treatment of typhoid outbreak. They also paid out compensation for those that died. What they didn't do and were not obligated to do, was to pay wages during the time that it took staff to recover from the illness. While this doesn't sound like too bad a deal, I have found one staff member that took 3 years to recover and return to work. While all his medical bills were covered by the watch company, it failed to provide any financial assistance for his dependants and if both working parents were affected then the family was in a difficult situation on how to provide for the family.

It is clear that since weekly water testing was carried out on the well at the factory by the research department (the smartest people at the watch factory) that Elgin took it serious to avoid another outbreak from the well. What is of concern is that it clearly it is still in use years after it was stated that Elgin separated it from the water supply as part of the investigation of the outbreak.

The Pension fund and Relief fund would be established in 1918, quite possibly as a direct outcome of having to face the typhoid outbreak head on.

The following people have be gracious enough to contribute further information to this article

Steven Banta - list of victims and deaths information