Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1866-03-27
SOUND SENSE AnOUr THE CHOLERA.


Within the present century, cholera
a disease indigenous in hot elimatesof the
East, has at various intervals, made its
appearance in the temperate latitudes ol
EnroDe and America. 10 is now again
exciting interest from its possible, and,
perhaps, probable approach to this
4 country.
The experience Of the last forty years
has led majority of medical men who
had observed the disease to believe that,
as a general law, il is not contagious. Ia
this belief I must individually remain,
until evidencem0re satisfactory than any
which has yet appeared shall Justify an
opposite conviction.
The great epidemics of 1850 and 1877
had remarkable coincidence in the
path which they pursued, and in the
order ana dates Of their arrival ia differ
I ent cities. They seem q have followed
. certain great routes Of travel, and TO
[ have avoided Others equally frequanted.
J According 10 Lesegue, tley both visited
J cOnSecutively, and IN corresponding
months, Tiflis, Astrachau, Moscow, Pc
I tersburg and Berlin. In 1881, cholera
did not take the most frequented route
I from Berlin To Paris, but passed along
] the shores of the Baltic, crossed over 70
Sunderland, went down % London, and
I again crossed the channel and arrived in
| Paris about six mouths after its appear
ance in Berlin. A disease propagated by
coRtagion Of any kind would hardly
have avoided the most fgequented
thoroughfares from Berlin 10 Paris, while
ii occupied half a year in going around
England.
The epidemic now or lately prevailing
In Europe appears to date back at least
nine months at which time il existed
amsug the caravans of pilgrims visiting
or returning from the City of Mecca. Ia
the middle of May last itwas at AleXan-
dria and Cairo, in June at atCOustantinOple
Anc0na and M1rseilles, and in NOVem-
Der ar Paris, Havre, and other European
cities.
Thus it appears that cholera has now
existed i'm Europe from three 70 eight
months, among cities having constant
commercial intercourse with seapOrts Of
the United States, daring which time
thousands Of passengers and tens Of thou
sands OF bales and packages have been
landed in our maradme cities. If cholera
were as contagious or portable as many
believe il To be, il ought to have begun
and perhaps finished its work in many OF
our seap0rts before this time.
EDidemics require two things for their /.
Introduction and extension. These are, 7
first, predisp0sition in the Inhabitants of 1
the place visited and, second, the arri- 4
val or presence Of an existing cause. /
This cause in some epidemjcs, such as
smallpox, is csutagion. In others 10 is
an OCcul influence, net yet discovered .
nor understood, not known % be con-
trolled, except in some instances, by
hygienic agencies. No country, / be-
lieve, has succeeded in Keeping out
cholera by quarantines, and no country.
as far as we know, can produce il aTti-
hcially OF retain it after the predispOsi-
ton has disappeared. In its own time it
moves on thoroughfares where men are
travelling, aud spreads in cites where
they are stationary, Tor no better reason
known than that mankind are It's neces-
sarv food. and that where there are no {
people there can be no cholera. But
why, of two freQueuted roads OF cities, IL
selects one and avoids the other, inye,ti-
gators have not yet been able to sal
isfv us.
The credit Of having introduced the
present epidemic into LuE1pel Is oy sort
Of popular reclamation assigned TO the
hosts Of sqUaIid dev0tees who perform an
annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Yet We
are told that the cholera exists every
year among the caravans Of Mussulman5
at the holy cities, so that their
supposed mission of forwarding the .
cholera to Europe in most years fails TO
be performed.
Cholera, like influenza and some other
migratory diseases. has no. always adj
yanced from East 20 West OF the We
licle in which il travels, or the course il I
IS next TO take, we know about as much :
ls mankind knew Of the cause Of light /
ming before the discovery Of electricity. !
Us conveyance and propagation have f,
been ascribed to air, % water, 10 mate .
'ial fOci, TO electricity, to ozone or 10 the
want Of il. OF laIe, in consequence Of !
he vast development by the microscope =
II the existence everywhere Of minute T
living organisms, il has become more
,OmmCn TO ascribe the arrival Of this and
,ther ike epiGemics 10 certain unseen d.
germs which are called seeds or ova,
'Typtagamic OF animaicular, according .
Is the fancy of the theorist iuriines him
% adopt vegetable or an animal nom :
uclature.
Bat in this, as in many other cases, II Is
asier 10 trace an analogy, or TO assume a
ause, than it is to prevent an effect. Al
hOugh inquirers have been inCelutigab.e
u their attempts TO enhghleu the world
" the means Of Kidding ourselves OF the y
lresence Of the various offensive Gotten 4
uts of our globe, yet no crusade has sue !.
eeded in hanishing from our fields and q
.0uses the unWelc0me swarm Uf musgUi- O.
oe~. worms Erubs and flies, which mo- "
est us with their 3nuual presence: norin !,
uppres-ing the blight of grain, The pG,a- l-
% rot, or thepeach tree disease. Happily, =
ONE, If not most Of these, have their pc
i0ds Of abatement or disappearance, and =
his rather through the order Of Pr0vi- q
ence than the agency Of man. Cholera v
Gems TO abide IN thesame category. We v
now little of its exciting cause, and not q
much OF its prevention, except that by u
In our personal habits the die y
ates OF reason and experience, we d. q
linish both the frequency and danger Of Il
b occurrence. .
Whatever may be the cause Of vehicle J,
( cholera, credulous and eXci.abie per- =
0ns are impatient OF suspense and are I.
rome 60 cut a knot which they fail 10 u
mite. When an epidemic disease first 2
ppears, some coincidence is always "
r0ught TO light which Is supposed capa- u
le Of accounting for it. The arrival Of n =.
aiD the opening of a trunk OF the I,
,ashing of a garment, are among the 1
lost frequently accepted causes. But as II
lese have happened q thOusaad times W
ei0re, and apparently under Ike circum- ~
.ances, without any known results, it y
ad been thought necessary by some Of AZ
ur late writers 10 narrow the compass Of II
ctual exposure down 20 the reception Of W
be morbid eXcretions of one individual g
ltO the digestive canal OF another. The u
rst impression made by this announce 50
lent must, If true, be one Of relief. the u
anger not seeming likely 20 happen y
cry often. But To the possibility of such 70
anger we can never oppose an absolute W
cgative, so long as we persist in eating .,
melts and founders caught about the u
l0uth OF our drains, or even turnips, ~
llads, and strawberries raised at Brigh- -
on. The risk, however, is 50 small, mat =
lost persons viii prefer 70 take it, rather 81
han to deprive themselves Of food or s'
IXury. p
In the same regard we cannot heip no. a'
icing that credulity, and perhaps private &C
upidity, have caused much stress to be Il
iid on the supposed preventive efficacy u
what are called "disinlectants, ~ a "
Mysterious word which implies a thing =
ssumed but not proved 20 exist. We il
ave deOdOrizers, such as chlorine, char
Oal, etc., which by their con. 5iuatiOns
snder certain efiiuvia impercepiiu,e TO
rs physician Of Malta, who covered
ertaiu surfaces in vessels with
ID, and had them "disinlected by chlO- Il
me gas, after which no new cases oc-
urred is TO be ci8ssed with other Ike
ssults with which the medical press al IT
avs ab0unds at the close of epidemies. r'
In clean and well regulated cities Of "
emperate climate, cholera is far from -
eing the mos, formidable Of epidemiOs e;
greater part of its victims are :he mis- /
Tably pOCr, the worn Out, the ID Vr0vi- =
ed, and the integlpvrate ia whom this ~
isesso only anticipates the date but u
oes not greatly increase the annual and -
ienuial number OF deaths. It's mortal y
Y in our Northern Atlantic cities rarely ~
MoUlts to one per cent. Of the p0Vula- -
On ia a given place or year, so that q I =
ian may reside through an epidemic in -
be of these cities with less IizK than he "
an take a pleasure voyage 10 Europe. I n
fter having witnessed many cases Of y
lOlera Ia this and other cities, I am fur =
Ter satisfied that it a..0lds one Of the "
isiest modes Of exit frOu the world, ~
People Whp would avoid or prevent N
lOiera should cultivate squanmIty, reg =.
lagity Of life and habits, cleanliness, sa- a. ~
.briOus exercise, temperance and avoid ., ..
nee Of all eXcesSes. When they have ~
one theirduty IN providing for the cereof al
be sick aliaying public r44.ios, and ~
~ public 4ussah6es, they may safely -
izHllss then apprehenslons. Little good =,
nd some harm Is always done by the in i,
lscFeet agitation OF a subject Whila - tOa y,