The morning call., 1892-09-18

course. The Asiatic cholera moving more
or less steadily northwest, after crossing
the Persian and Afghan borders, passed by
Astrakhan up the river Folga, and then
along the railway line 10 St. Petersburg.
Thence il turned southwest, crossed at one
spring to the port of Hamburg. from which
place, carried by the shipping traffic, it soon
moved on round to Antwerp. The other
epidemic, originating around Paris, takes
course OF lis own, also northwest by COIN
cidence down the Seine to Hayre, and then
MP channel to join hands with its ASiatic
cOngener at Antwerp. From these points
our own shores are threatened at Middles-
bTough. Grimsby, Hull, the Thames estu-
ary and Southampton.
One day The French people will be heartily
ashamed Of the childish manner in which
they have sought to conceal the real facts
Of the case. The result of this attempted
conceal ment has been the introduction OF
the French cholera into Belgium; and this
is not the end. but only the beginning Of
the mischief. 1t was in April last that the
cholera first broke out in the Nanterre
prison and asylum. At this prison, which
was greatly OyercrOwded at the time with
beggars and vagaboDds, there is an artesian
we'll The water from this source is pure,
but very calcareous. Analysis showed, if /
remember rightly. that the water contained
only some fifty-nine microbes to the cubic
centimeter, and good deal Of chalk. Some
ignorant fun ncnoDary imagined chalk, which
is most innocent and nOn-poisonous sub
stance, was injurious; ard further, not
knowing anything about bacteTiOlogy, was
greatly alarmed at the presence Of few
microbes in the water. Unfortunately the
prison is also supplied with Seine water,
taken from the river at Suresnes, not far
from the BOis de Boulogne raeecourse,
familiar to so many Engtishnen. This
water should be used only for the hydraulic
lifts; but the prison fuDctionary in ques-
tion gave its water TO the prisoners to drink.
1t contained 81. 600 microbes to the cubic
centlmeteT, according 10 DR.. MiquePs
ANALYSIS. The result was ffty-four cases of
cholera within the prison, aud forty-four
deaths.
We cannot 90 further back than this. We
do not know why the Seine was contain
mated toward the end OF March, or why 1t
was contaminated after leaving the walls Of
Paris, and yet before II reaches Asnleres
and ST Denis where the main sewers of
Paris fall into the river. To speak Of
cholera nOstras, Of chOlerine, enteritis, etc..
when there were forty-four deaths out of
ffiy-fOur cases. is, of course, simply play
ing with the ignorance Of the public. Yet
this play is continued to the present day.
Soon the epidemic spreads; Suresnes, Pu-
teauX. Neullly, AsnieTes, st. Denis, Auber-
viellers, Argenteuil, and. III fact, all the
suburbs to the north and west of Paris were
infected. Persons of all ages contracted
ness.
The suburbs of Paris being governed by
multiplicity of small municipalities, there
is no general statistical record; but we
know that the deaths exceeded 500, and that
the proportion Of mortality is eXlraOrdin-
aTily high. While the cholera was thus
gaining ground in the suburbs of Paris. in
spite Of all the efforts of the authorities 20
disguise the fact another and ap-
parently distinct epidemic was ap-
i'm rrffh md FrnF
Asia. In February we heard that there
were deaths from cholera in Afghauistan;
then the disease spread to Persia, and scat
tered the inhabitants Of MesRed. From
this point the cholera seems to have tray-
eled, following the caravan routes, in two
directions. Toward the northeast IL passed
through Samarcand to Taschkend, where
the Turcomans gave an intelligent example
to the supeTstitiOus Russians. While at
AstrakhRn and elsewhere the Russian
people made riots against sanitary meas
uTes and sought 70 murder doctors and
burn hospitals, the native Turcomans,
whom the Russians are supposed to elyilize,
had the intelligence TO attack, not the doc
tors, but the real culDrits, namely the ind0-
lent, corrupt and incapable Russian Gov
eTnment officials.
The other direction followed by the
cholera was to the west and northwest 1t
crossed the Caspian TO BakG and 10 As
trakhan. From Baku, Tiflis, the capital OF
the Russian Caucasus. and BatOum. on tie
Black Sea, were quickly infected. AS soon
as Batoum was attacked Europe was in
danger, Turkey being our only protection.
But, so far, this protection has held good.
Though the sanitary condition of Turkey
is so bad that if the ch olera was introduced
il would probably produce terrible rayages,
the rigor with which Russian Ships have
been forbidden TO enter Turkish ports has.
for the time being at least, saved Turkey
and the Mediterranean from the Invasion of
the cholera.
Thus momeutarily checked 10 It's course
due west, the cholera travelled more rapidly
in a northwesterly direction. From Astra-
khan it went on to Saratos, Samara, Mini
NoYg0rod, and, finally, ST. Petersburg. and
there again menaced Europe. Checked at
Batoum, on the Black Sea. IL has not been
stopped at st. Petersburg. on the Baltic.
While watching with the utmost care its
eastern frontier, Germany has been attacked
ard surprised in the rear. The cholera
came to Hamburg. we do not as yet know
how. In spite OF rumors about snip from
HaVre. 1t seems pretty clear, however. that
20 reach Hamburg the cholera has followed
the continual flow of refugees and emigrants
from Russia. The children of Israel have
been cruelty prosecuted and driven out OF
Russia. ana they have scattered along The
road one OF the plaques OF Egypt.
Now let US examine very closely this fact,
which may be of the utmost importan CO.
The germ of the Paris cholera has been in-
troduced into Belgium by a workman who
came from Paris and died OF cholera at
Jumet, near Charleroi. The Paris epi-
demic, after travelling down the Seine to
Rouen, reached the mouth of the Seine at
Havre. From there the germ was taken
over again to Belgium by the ST. Paul. Out
of the five able bodied seamen on board this
ship four had cholera and all four died at
Stuyvenberg Hospital at Antwerp Since
then the cholera has slowly spread in that
port. From the Nerissen the sailor Fred
eric Mas was landed aud died OF cholera
in the same hospital. He came from HAM
burg, and brought with him, in all proba-
hiIitr the rerm aa IL had heen i'm M ted