Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-11-29
lEpeR MARRIAGES IN VENEZUELA.
The children OF Lepers May BE Entirely
Free from the Disease.

The Children OF Lepers May BE Entirely
Free from the Disease.
The report on leprosy in Venezuela
made To the state department by Il.
Plumacher, consul at Maracaibo, de-
scribes at considerable length the in
PRODUCTION of the scourge in 1S25, when
a sufferer from Santo Domingo landed
at Maracaibo and spread the infection.
In the course of three years the evil
had attained such proportions that an
island about four miles distance from
the city was set apart for the isolation
of incurables.
1t was not until 1876, however, that
q charitable work among these exiles
was undertaken by a number of good
women in Maracaibo. Their efforts in
the way of better buildings, social OBJ
and care have been SO sue
cessful as To have attracted wide atten-
ton, and this lazaretto bids fair TO be-
come the place of seclusion for the
whole of Venezuela.
There are now about 12J patients on
the islands. Water works have been
constructed, and abundant supply Sc
cures cleanliness of persons and quar-
ters and the irrigation of the ground
devoted to agriculture. The diet is
wholesome and abundant, and the av-
erage cost of the maintenance of each
person amounts to about S13 in Amer
lean money monthly.
A comfortable building has been
erected for the use of the employees,
while for the patients a large ediiice
built of concrete, forming a parallelo-
gram, with "A courtyard in the center,
is divided into separate apartments,
plainly but sufficiently furnished. A
neat chapel has been built, where every
Sunday religious service is held and the
sacraments administered Ia those who
may So desire, \ pleasant feature is
the estahlishu at of cottages, with
ground, attach 4, in which reside those
patiens who's means permit il. Land
is given frye Z amy one who is able TO
erect n lweli.Is and as there are quite
a number WHO possess regular Incomes
little homo, ais are soon formed, Civ
ing the islaI q cheerful aspect.
Ii was a. first a much mootea point
as 10 whether marriages should be
permitted amoHg the patients. Ii has
always been well understood that a
union between n sound and a diseased
person would be liable TO result in the
propagation Of diseased offspring, but
il was believed that marriage between
two undoubted lepers was sure 10 be
fruitlcss. So, after a long discussion,
permission was given, and a number of
weddinCs were celebrated.
For years the theory Of s~terility was
not contradictod by experience, and
seemed to be about definitely settled,
when two births occurred on the island,
the parents in each ease being lepers.
Neither of the children has as yet shown
eNllploils Ol TIE ulst.iSt, anu one ol
them who had reached the age Of il
years, having passed his whole life on
the island with his leprous parents, was
allowed to return TO society, after hav.
ing been formally pronounced clean by
a board Of competent experts.
This is but one instance Of the puz.
cling character of the disease. The
general effect Of these marriages SEEM
to have been TO induce more cheerful
ness and resignation, and 10 add great
ly TO the good discipline Of the estab
lishmert, Although marriages would
not be allowed between n sound and u
diseased person yet in the ease Of the
development of leprosy in one Of a
couple after marriage the sound con
sort is permitted to accompany the
other to the lazaretto, and this has oc-
CURED in many instances Coz. Pitts.
burg Dispatch.