The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-08-09
THE YELLOW FEVER PANIC.

rect, the lies already afloat concerning the
fever here without giving all our space to this
subject. Even Ii we had room for this IL
would be as useless to correct these stories, |
to reason with terrified Vidksburg, Natchez |
and Mobile, as to attempt to rally panic |
stricken and fleeing army. 1t is due, how
ever, to our Board OF HeaEth to make at least
one correction, especially fas the error arose
here The correspondent OF the Associated
Press in this city telegraphed that DR.. Chop
pin had proclaimed that, after August s. he
would refuse to furnish the press with the
number of new cases of yellow fever reported
to the Board Of Health each day. This intel
ligence has naturally caused alarm elsewhere,
being generally construed into an attempt Oh
the part of our authorities to conceal the
prevalence of the disease here. Ihe quaran-
timing villages jumped at once to the concl1-
sion that the fever was so bad that the Board
of Health feared to publish the true statistics
of it. The mistake was a senseless one, ana
very Injurious to New Orleans, as the recent
action of Shreveport and Vicksburg In the
matter Of mails has shown. DIR. Choppins
order could, by no possible twisting, be con-
strued into any such meaning. he distinctly
declared that the number of new cases should
be given to the press for the benefit OF the
whole country, but declined to give the resi-
dences of the sick, which could interest none
but our own people.
This is about the only story afioat concern
ing the fever that 1t is worth while correcting;
the others are too ridiculous and absurd to
discuss We would suggest, however, to the
St. Louis tttpublican that it is not In good
Il re- %I-r oil
of yellow fever "The Death Roll;' that
would indeed convert our fever into genuine
epidemic All persons sick do not die, and 1t
is not pleasant for q convalescent to read his
name In q "Death Roll" it unsettles him.
We are glad to see that the other st. Louis
papers do New Orleans justice in this matter
perhaps the wild stories told Of the "hot
wave'' In st. Louis may be the cause OF this
magnanimity-anda are under special obllga-
tions to the Globe Democrat for expressing
grave doubts of the story which roustabout
on the "City of Alton" told q reporter of that
paper, that on the day he left New Orleans
two hundred people had died of the fever.
The Mobile Meas has the best yellow fever
tale of all to tell. 1t has learned from re-
liable gentleman, it says, "that our loving
| oAAohehAo
has sent out emissaries all over the country
to circulate a statement that there Is a great
deal of fever in Mobile and that our citizens
are concealing it In order to draw to this city
the trade that Is wont to go to the Crescent
City,
We are sorry that the reliable gentleman
refuses to tell whether these "emissaries' are
engaged by our city government, or Board OF
Health, or whether general subscription has
been taken up here to employ them. We are
sorry for this, as we were extremely anxious
to know who had invested his money in this
very profitable enterprise. That such stories
concerning Mobile are ailoat, there can be no
doubt We have seen them in the rural press
of Mississippi and Alabama and heard them
here We were convinced when Mobile began its
extraordinary embargo system that it woulc
create suspicion and beget rumors OF fever
in that city itself. There may be another
cause, too, for these rumors. In the very
next column of the Nens to their statemen
of this reliable gentleman we notice thu
largest array of undertaker's advertisements
with pictures of hearses, collins, ETC., that w
have ever seen in any newspaper North, Eas
or West. The wording Of these cards, too
are particularly ominous. We notice, for In
stance, that the Mobile s1ndertakers have lait
in an extra and new stock of coffins at greatl!
reduced prices. We suggest to the Nears tha
In the present scare prevailing in Mississippi
and Alabama, these advertisements, which
being pictorial must attract especial atten
= ton and notice, will only,add to the panic
We are confident that it is these very advef
tisements that, to a great part, started tn
rumors OF fever in Mobile. In the presen
condition of affairs in South Alabama thes
i pictures of hearses and coffns in the Nelo
. are more than sufficient grounds for quaran
timing Mobile
Here is another incident: 4 party of fiv
persons from New Orleans were landed by
q steamboat at Caledonia, near Cairo, on th
4 Ohio, last week, three Of whom were reporte
sick of the fever. These, it was said, wer
Z left lying on the beach until night, the peOpl
: of Caledonia refusing to go near them fo
fear of yellow fever. It turned out afte
e wards that all of this party were well enoug
g to leave the beach. If any of them had reall
q been sick it is terrible to think what migt
!: have been their fate
n We submit that this yellow fever panic
n discreditable to the country. Preeaution
n one thing; panic another. If crowded thes
Il tire were on fire. it would hardly be eonsidere
j. sensible and proper TO shout i" fire." rush f
e the door, and create panic. And yet Mobil
q Wicksburg ct al are doing this very thing al
l. much more, informing the audience that's
s is q gunpowder magazine under the theatr
y and suggesting that, thanks to them al
n their boards OF health, there is not muc
d danger of any sparks reaching this Enagazin
eI We throw out these suggestions disinte
l. estedly. The quarantining villages can
g New Orleans no more harm. If they Wi
O glance at the Cincinnati papers they will NJ
9 tice that similar panic started in that cit
g a few. days since. The authorities, hoWeve
q soon found that this panic was injurfng th
b business and future of the city and fEightel