New Orleans Republican., 1873-08-29
VOLUME VI1--NO. III.
DR.. Peters ON Cholera.

OL CplOtuAC VuAStlOhC AOE q IOug SuAouSA
the West and South. IN order to give him
a senioficial power Of obtaining informa-
ton, che Board Of Health Of New York re.
9uested him TO report on cholera a. il ex'
listed in the regions he visited. How much
Of q rowing commission he deemed this to
be it 10 hard to tsli. II - certain he
stretched it to cover an imaginative opinion
Of She disease in New Orleans. which he
never came in sight Gf Some Of his absurd
statements. as published, have already been
corrected in the REPUBLICAN,.
In ths September number Of the S"ns
a,riom, monthly journal of New York. he
comes to she surface again. Having had
sufficient time and data to correct his erro.
nsous opinions, it is somewhat surprising
to find him reiterating them Although
they are stubborn things. he finds a. little
difficulty as the obstinate Englishman in
"'denying the facts"
His article on "Ihe Southwestern Cholera
Of 1873" commences with this sentence:
This outbreak Of Asiatic cholera com.
menced in New Orleans. on February
ninth, in the person OF = Prussian aged
ftty-six.
. The history Of this ease is briefly this:
Name. Peter Thompson. said TO be
frussian sailor. Had lived some time in
Galveston. went from there to Pensacola,
where he left his wife and children. He
arrived in New Orleans from that city t,cs
mssntLs before he was taken sick. No sue
ceeding ease can 10 traced to this death.
The ease located nearest to it was = equare
and . halls away and one hundred days
later. Chs ease vas caused by indulging
extvavagantly in cabbage while suffering
from diArrheA
The second case occurred tive miles from
Che first ease. Yhs patient had lived five
years in the city and had visited no chips.
There il ne communication between the swo
portions OF the city except by cars and the
greater part Of Land between them is not
built upon. The disease 10 this case was
brought on by hard ds;akinS.
DR.. Peters says:
The first Ieaths from cholera We1o among
foreigners; and the deaths among the whites
almost always exceeded those among the
blacks, showing that the disc Sss wss rot Of
indigenous origin
Is she excess Of white population il In
nearly the same ratio, it is hard TO see how
this inference can be drawn. It is ''recOn-
siling facts to the theory" The two first
victims were certainly not natives, but it ia
equally ceftain they had lived here 300
long to have imported the disease.
The third case was Of colored native Of
Ls.lisians eighteen days lateS than and
three miles and half distant from number
two, and . mile and . half from numbeI
one No communication had been had with
any ship or either Of the ether easee. The
next ease in that vicinity was tive nouths
and thirteen days later.
Tie fourth case was that Of black
woman. She had been hear no ship, and
had 40 connection with any ease. Her
husband had come down che river on the
Z. E. Lee o few days before. and died OF
what tlE nsighbcss considered the same as
heD disease, but which was certified as in.
3ammation of the bowels.
The fifth case was mile and half from
the last, and in that vicinity there were no
more cases for ninety days.
The sixth ease was Of black man, fifty
years old. lie went to his business in the
morning and died at halfpast two in the
afternoon. The beastfy filth of his premises
was undoubtedly the cause OF 1t. No case
occurred in this ueighborhood for twenty
eight days.
The next case was that Of a homeless X an
from Natches. DR.. Peters will hardly con-
tend that he brought Asia:ic cholera down
the river.
No two Of these cases can be connected
with each other. They were not brought
fl lom any ship. No subsequent. case can be
traced 20 them
Dr. Peters repeats his statement. the
fa,sity of which has already been shown in
the REPUBLICAN, that
Il was generally admitted and understood
that the disease had been imported by
some German vessel, or vessels from the
Baltic.
Who made any such admission except
Dr.. Peters it will be hard for him to tell,
for there is not physician in the city who
believes it was imported. Vhe doctor'
warped understanding has evidently been
captured by the idea, but il will be difficult
to induce any rational bein. to subscribe to
tha. belief, when not singls vesse! has
come from there since November. 1877. AS
further evidence against SO unwarrantab1e
a theory DR.. Howe has secured the sworn
statement Of the physician and captain OF
every vessel that has arrived at Quarantine
station that there has been no cholera on
board during the voyage. During the
whole sick term the Charity Hospital did
not receive single immigrant who was Ill
of cholera. Two sailors only had 1t. 1hey
were fifty-nine days from Liverpool. and
had been in the city ten days. There were
no passengers on the ships that brought
them. IN the whole list Of cases no: one
can be traced to ship. Enough has been
given in detail to chow the absence g: the
peculiar contagon of Asiatic cholera.
If DR.. Peters had sought for hi. facts here,
instead of poking around with his dIsor'
dered imagination, he would have been
supplied with accurate data. But he never
came here, and reyer applied to the Board
Of Health for any information. After en-
largiuy on hi. yarn about the Baltic vessel,
he says:
The disease va. .tamped cut 30 quickly
and vigorously in New Orleans, that these
facts did not make much impression upon
the public at large.
1t is pleasant to have him make one cor
rec. statement about these facts. 1hey
IL .,aEa anr imnnession for the