Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-04-14

lives, his nose sunken, his fingers nearly all
gone, his eyes red fungus mass. Neither of
the parents shows the least sign of leprosy,
although they have long been residents of the
leper settlement, taking care of their children.
Now we see, in this case, the elder children
so thoroughly poisoned by the disease con-
tracted by their parents that in three Of the
cases death was the result. One lives only
with the greatest difficulty. Finally, when
the syphilis has to a certain extent worn itself
out in the parents, two more children live long
enough for leprosy to develop. If leprosy
were distinct disease, why have the parents
not shown it1 They both lived long time at
the Leper Settlement, eating out of the same
dishes, sleeping on the same mats-in daily,
hourly contact with it, Now can cite num-
erous cases, similar, or with only the usual
variations of daily life. There are snany cases
here where the Oldest child in family has
leprosy, and the younger, syphilis, one or
other of the parents, or both, having syphilis.
One case illustrates well as fifty.
But it is poor rule that does not work both
ways. At the Leper Settlement, there are now
two little girls, one born Nov 1, 1873. A
few days before her birth, her grandmother
died a leper; few weeks after, her father
died leper; before she was two years old,
her mother died leper. Her grandmother,
father and mother, all three, had leprosy for
some years before the child was born. The
record is complete yet this little girl shows
no sion of leDrnsy lint dnec chou ,al, oh
inherited syphilis. In the same house lives
her companion born Feb. 9, 1874 In this
case both father and mother had leprosy for
years before the child was born, and good
Father Damien says he saw this girl as a babe
nursing at her mothers breast when the mother
was living mass of putridity.
Yet the little girl shows no sign of leprosy but
does show unmistakable inherited syphilis. In
. fact every single child born Of leprous parents
shows syphilis first and only when they are
more than seven years old. as a rule, does leprosy
develop and in some cases leprosy never devel-
ops at ALL Do we not here see an illustration
Of the law Of atavism; that is, leprosy frequently
skips one generation to reappear in the next
Now when We know that syphilis has natural
tendency to wear itself GU, of the system this
becomes plain.
By Chinese law, man contracting leprosy
Gan only marry a woman who has contracted
ii; the child Of leper can only marry the
child ola leper the grandchild of leper can
only marry the grandchild Of leper but the
great grandchild is clean and can marry al
will.
In the Bible we read, "For the Lord thy
God am jealous God and visit the sins Of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation"
Again, all the physicians here who have had
much experience with the disease, so far as
know them, except one, admit the difficulty o
distinguishing accurately between the two dis
eases at certain stages. There are the same cop
per-colored sores thick crusted with scabs tn,
same aching bones the same swollen glands
the same pigment patches; The same intens,
feeling Of GOODNESS and the same necrosis O
death Of portions Of bone. In fact large par
Of the symptoms Of the leprous are identica
with syphilis.
WIN nv" uioP 'iiis Poiit anu Sohc W IN
part the public is most interested in, its con
tagious OF infectious character. The lepros
report ofthe College Of Physicians (of London
tells US that, the all but unanimous convict
ion OF the most experienced observers in differ
en-, parts Of the world is quite opposed to tn
belief that leprosy is communicable by proxim
iiy or contact" Experience here amply cor
roborates this view; and its infectious proper
ties are certainly small.
To instance this know OF one white ma
here who married a native women seye