The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-08-21
ROBERT BONNER AS MAYOR would see that
the city ledger was kept straight.
The Epld. and Fear.

Both the yellow fever and the yellow
fever panic continue their ravages on the
Lower Mississippi. From two to twenty
deaths a day is the range OF losses in the
various towns, and in the larger ones this
is naturally and justly counted as q low
rate of mortality for an epidemic year
but in some Of the little towns, where the
daily persistence of even Il small loss
makes painfully perceptible havoc in the
narrow circle OF familiar faces, the fatality
is described in extravagant terms as
'terrible" and 'ieariuP' and so on. 1t
is terrible enough there, no doubt;
but the use OF adjectives OF this
class appears to have had an effect on
the minds OF people beyond the neigh
borhoods to which they have been applied;
for these people, falling to observe by the
number OF deaths that the severity OF the
visitation is not at all extreme, have ac-
cepted it as rated in the stronger terms, and
have consequently given way to foolish
fear, whose only possible results must be
to increase the number of persons taken
down with the disease and to increase its
fatality with those taken. Fear cuts off
the persons taken from proper attention
and assistance generally and thus destroys
those that properly attended to would
get we'll; and the number of these
this year appears to be about eighty
per cent. But the worst effect of fear is to
induce directly in the frightened person
that condition OF mind and body which
T.. ,,xfa
in the air, but the operation of which intec-
ton the body would resist if in it's normal
state There is one common truth in re-
gard to diseases OF this class, which is that
the poison that causes them does not attack
merely the persons 1t kills or prostrates.
1t attacks every individual in the town or
neighborhood subject to the epidemic. It
is in common and daily procession into
their systems BY the lungs and out by
the ordinary glandular emunctories. II
the poison Of yellow fever were known
it could probably be detected in the per-
SEPARATION or other excretions of every per-
son in town where it prevails. But day
or an hour comes when that poison over
powers the organ which excretes it then
the exc1etion is discontinued, the poison
accumulates and the person is prostrated
by it and killed unless happy accident in
the treatment or supreme effort Of the sys-
tenn renews the interrupted process of ex-
erection. Now, the action of fear or anxiety
even on the glandular organs is so CON-
monty known to the people as to be the
basis OF several proverbial sayings, and in
the case Of yellow fever these moods Of the
mind operate especially by the derange-
ment of organs that must be in regular and
easy operation to keep one in the best con-
ditions to resist the disease. 1t is useless to
tell people not to get frightened-as those
who are likely to be frightened at all have
not the power to control their emotions,
even though advised Of the danger of such
perturbation; but this consideration should
prevent the unnecessary indulgence in
high sounding adjectives.
These cautions are rendered the more
necessary by the present aspect of the dis
ease in the South. Deaths and new cases
are more frequent at New Orleans and vicks-
burg, and the infection has manifested itself
at new points. We shall continue to receive
trustworthy reports as long as the malady
RACES. Our list OF names of the dead will
be Of peculiar value to our many readers
who have relatives or acquaintance in the
infected towns.