The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-07-27
ar FOR OTHER CITY NEWS SEE EIGHTH
THE EFFECT ON MEM PHIs.
The Yellow Fever Interrupting d Most Sue
oessful Business Season.

The following interview Is from the Louis
vile Go,uiv-Jounal, and The gentleman inter-
Viewed is the managing editor OF the Memphis
Apaianehe:
Reporter suppose you do not anticipate
q repetition Of last years mortality
MIR. BrUwer-The conditions render that re-
suit impossible. Our most experienced ply
sieians and practical observers generally rio
not believe the disease will spread to any great
extent except In certain localities. Thus far 1t
has shown no such disposition. Last Sunday
several VI our most distinguished physicians
said nearly all the cases were Welding readily
TO treatment, the form being the nildsst ever
known. But, aside from this, the material will
not be there for the fever to work on. | have
spoken Of the exodus Now, the non liable
population remaining must be considered.
According to the most reliable data, there are
at present in Memphis-nearlv all whites
1000 who had the fever in 1867, 1873 or 1873.
They are now siron-ead,' y second attack oe-
curing rarely, as in measles or smallpox. We
still count the eolored population as nom
liable. The fever never attacked the colored
people as class before last year. This fact
Is significant. The population Of Memphis
Is about one.third colored. Few OF this class
have left They comprise two-thIrds OF the
liable .eolored and the non-liable whites who
have had the disease, and the totals to the
exodus accomplished and to Gomez subtract
the grand total from abous $4,000. to begin
necessary to demonstrate the imp0ssibility of
q great epidemic this year, even assuming
that the fever will become an epidemic at eli.
At present there is none. OF siKty-tWo deaths
from all causes Tor the two weeks ending the
nineteenth instant, six were from sporadic
yellow fever; three each week.
Rep.-What has been the general effect on
business
Mr.. Brower4-It has been most disastrous I
don't know that Gun express it more clearly
than to reply that, SO far as business Is con-
eerned, Memphis is suffering from all the In
furious effects OF a great epidemic without
having any epidemic ut all. Lust years hor-
rors created almost universal panic. And
when Mulbrandon died the other day, under
the spur OF their memory the vast country
that trades with Memphis began quarantine
ing. It soon became impossible to ship goods
fined to the city ceased. For d few days utter
the panic began there were very heavy ship
ments OF groceries and provisions to the
country. Many Of the interior merchants
have thus provided against being left without
supplies, az In 1878 This. however. is q mere
trifle, and the benefits derived from it were
not shared by our wholesale merchants gen.
orally. They must soon begin supplying the
fall and winter trade, and, as nothing can be
forwarded from Memphis, many Of our larg-
est houses have opened branches North, to
which their goods are now being shipped from
the East where they had been held longer
than usual, through apprehension Of another
although the official reports will not show
over twenty deaths from yellow fever for the
three weeks ending Saturday next, business
is as utterly paralyzsd as If the death list
the fever should soon disappear, there cam
not be much Improvement in this regard
until frost. You sec what fear, no matter how
slight its basis, can do.
Rep.-What- will be the permanent effects
OF this years fever on Memphis business2
Mr.. BOwer-Between November /, 1878, and
July 10 Memphis did q rushing business.
One seasons work, delayed until November,
was crowded into few months. The past
seasons business has been very prosperous
In all branches-much more 50 than during
the season Beforehand / anticipate that one
equally as active will begin with the first
killing" frost, or earlier should the fever
disappear II there were at present facilities
for business no house would have closed. The !
trouble Is not to find men to keep them open, |
but to ship goods Rescind the railroad, town
and shotgun quarantines tomorrow, and
business will move right along as usual.
jury, to Memphis by these occasional out
breaks OF fever grows out of tie effects |
OF immigration. The dread of pestilence |
keeps out population and capital, and
this alone prevents Memphis from growing
very rapidly. 1t Is the best business point on |
the lower Mississippi; 100000 bales of cotton
Will come, fever or no fever, and the present |
volume OF business will be maintained. But |
huS1l III 10 5HOWu bIlhJ @tHIB IGFbE pTOOI-I
and it will be shown In time-there may be no |
material increase In business capital or
population. According to population and |
capital, Memphis does larger business than
any other city In the country The statistics
show this. Clerks average as much in sal
aries in nine months as In twelve In Northern
cities All kinds of labor, skilled and un-
skilled, is better paid In Memphis than
In the North. mention these facts as bearing
on the general question. Memphis cannot be
killed. Her recuperative powers are something
wonderful. The world believed that perma-
nent paralysis had begun last year, yet, as / |
have already mentioned, the season just
closed was unusually prosperous In every re-
gard. We suffer from gross violations of sani-
tary laws. Az q city Memphis has left IN
done that which is necessary in point of SAM
tation to render yellow fever epidemics next
to impossible. IT has required a long time TO
beat this unwelcome fact into peoples heads
Even last years great epidemic was INSULT
Gent. Everything looked SO bright after
ward, But the experience of the past fifteen
days has wonderfully enlarged the popular
An epidemic Of another kind |
will begin In November. It will be an epl-
demie Of practical sanitation. And ii will not |
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