The Portland daily press., 1889-06-07
SETTER N ws FRO lsoHnsrown
The Survivors Not the Victims Of
Disease .as Reported.
The Town Swept Too clean to Leave
Cause for SIckness-SIgns Of Men
tai Sickness to be Seen on Every
hand-Men With TremuIous Voices
and Women With Haggard Fea-
furas

PHILADELPHIA, June Ga special des-
patch to the Medical News of this city, from
staff correspondent at Johnstown today,
says: Notwithstanding that many report
ers have sent messages from here indicating
that diseases. the result of exposure. are ex-
ceedingly common, the fact is that in three
of the largest hospitals very few cases of
any kind exist. Oyer 90 per cent of these
individuals are suffering from injuries in.
CURED during and after the food. The cases
OF pneumonia are very few, and the report
that measles are to a large extent epidemic is
entirely false. From some secondhand
clothing we saw distributed from the relief
train, we feel sure that lack of care may re-
suit In the production OF large amount of
contagious disease The danger of malarial
poisoning, we believe, is not present. The
conditions favorable to the production MAS
mi are absent. The water, sweeping through
the valley with enormous force. carried off,
in majority of the cases. the soft mud of
the river banks to distant and low lying bot
tom land aud has covered the entire site of
Johnstown with a layer of pure sand and
gravel varying in depth from few inches to
foot. All the cesspools have been thor
oughly washed out and afterward filled with
sand. Every particle Of dirt and
CITY FILTH WAS WASHED AWAY
and it would be hard to find, hygienically
speaking, more cleanly spot than the main
portions of Johnstown. The danger will be
in the accumulation Of new filth owing to
the large number of strangers living in tents
and the outdoor life of the survivors. There
is absolutely no use in sending more physi-
clans here, save that by their training they
may assist in carrying out measures belong
ing to the realm of preventive medicine.
"The mental condition of almost every
former. resident Of yohnstown is one of the
gravest character. The reaction which will
set in when the reality of the whole affair is
fully comprehended can scarcely fail to pro-
duce many cases of permanent or temporary
insanity. Most of the faces one meets, male
ana female, are those Of most profound
melanchOlia, associated with an almost abb
solute disregard of the future. The nervous
system shows the strain it has borne by the
tremulousness of hand and lip in man as
we'll as woman. This nervous state is
i9rther evidenced by the peculiar intonation
9l 9ml words, persons speaking mechanically.
Inc voices OF many rough looking men,
changed into the tremulous notes of a
nlgn lpltch, make one imagine that
A CHILD on THE VERGE OF TEARS
is speaking. Crying is so rare that your
correspondent saw not tear on any face.
The women are haggard with pinched
features and heavy. dark lines under the
eyes. The evidence of systemic disturb
ance are so marked that it is possible with
the eye alone to separate the residents from
those outside. The fact in favor of control
itng any malady is found in a very general
exodus of the townspeople who crowd the
platform at the departing of trains. The
dead animal matter, Is a pressing evil for
consideration; we doubt If it is as Important
at .Johnstown as further down the river.
owing to the large amount of decomposine
flesh In the water at this point No disine
fectant can reach such cause Of disease
save the action Of large volume of water
which dilutes all poisonous materials.