The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-09-20
SHOW US A LEPER,

A prominent Milwaukee physician
says: cat the present time there are
four leprous centerS in the United
States, namely, Eastern Minnesota
and Northwestern Wisconsin, among
Norwegians; California, among the
Chinese; Louisiana and among the
Indians of the Northwest; that the
disease is spreading among us, and
that, too, with comparative rapiditY,
cannot for a moment be doubted, and
it would seem that the time has come
for legislation and federal action to
prevent its further introduction and
further spread" Leprosy has existed
for half century in Louisiana, but
| the colony has remained isolated, and
the disease has not spread to other
sections, even in close proximity. The
spread of leprosy in this country is
to be attributed almost wholly
to the Chinese. The dis
ease remains latent sometimes
for years, and when it does become
visible it is often slow in it's progress.
1t is incurable, and its victims, in the
| end, become most loathsome. The
rapidity with which this terrible dis
ease spreads among a people, when
proper precautions are not taken
against general contact with lepers,
may be conceived of when it is stat
ed, though not of such long ex-
istence in the Sandwich Islands, that
now at least seven-tenths of their
population are lepers. When we
take into consideration the trade
| done with these Pacific islands
and the spread of the disease in the
United States the necessity for gov
ernmental measures against it's
growth becomes apparent. Here we
are receiving sugar and tobacco from
the Pacific islands, which find their
way into thousands of hands. We
are sweetening our coffee with sugar
handled by lepers, and people are
chewing and smoking tobacco
handled by them. Not only are they
receiving the leper-handled products
of the Sandwich Islands, but in this
country Chinese, in whom lurk the
undeveloped disease, or who hide it if
possible from observation as long as
they can, are employed in num-
bers to handle tobacco in its prepare
ton for market. In tobacco one,
therefore, often smokes the scruff OF
| lepers, depositing within their systems
! IF NOT tho cnn6S of OF II
cancerous affections, not whit less
horrible. The leper colony in Louis.
lana has long engaged in the pro-
duction OF tobacco and rice, which
they exchange for clothing and othel
necessities, and it may be that this
loathsome disease even now exists
unknown in many family circles. TIL,
four seats of leprosy in this country
to which attention is called
by the Milwaukee physician
are slowly and surely sending out dirt
poison to the masses. Tobacco manu-
faeturers of California, and even those
in the east. where Chinese are EN-
ployed, may be rolling up and pack
up leprosy for the people, and tn
government fails to interfere. w,
are probably using leprous tea an,
sweeteninS our whisky with ler
rous sugar, and no pow
er inIeryenes to protect us
When congress was saying the Chi
nese must go, it would have bee
wise to add that the vile disease whic,
they feed-and scatter should also Il
We have borrowed too much foreig
civilization, and this disease Nigh
have been kept from Spreading, had
not been that we have been devotin
our energies too much to foreign az
4 questions of all sorts. AOur bod
polite has been made l6athsome
and now the body physical is CROWN
more and more contaminated To-da
leprosy may Turk undeveloped ON un
recognized in thousands of famf1ie
Certainly there is constant danger {
contamination. Show us leper, an
then let the shotgun policy" be pu
into application.