The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-09-04

the cholera seems to be Asia Minor. Persia
and the regions along the 1Tans-CaSplan
Railroad. The great cholera epidemic OF
1928 came from this region and extended
into Asiatic Russia. The cholera of 1850
first manifested itself in Persia. and it got
its start on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
1t cTept uD the Foiga just as this cholera is
doing, and it ravaged tie Russian empire,
aud during the following year spread over
Europe and wrapped its diseases spreading
arms around England, France and Ger
many. Thence il went into Spain and Italy
and finally came over 10 North America.
Nearly every cholera Of history has come
from the Irans-Casplan region, and though
Russia is doing all il can to keep it down il
is impossible 10 tell whether she will sue
eeed Down q "A StTakhan the people are dying
by the dozens every week, and there are,
am :old, in the neighbOrbOOd Of hundred
cholera cases in that city. Ii is through this
town that all Persian travellers must come,
and a rigid quarantine is enforced The
officials on the Tans-Casplan road inspect
all passengers. and careful examination is
being made at the different cities. At the
present writing. however, the people are
suffering from the lack of doctors; and
there is practically no medical service In
connection with the Russian villages. Dur
ing the typhus fever and the famine the
most Of the prescriptions were made by
private citizens. and the care OF the sick
was largely by well-to-do people. who did
the work for charity's sake. Reports from
the cholera districts are so unreliable that
IL is impossible 10 tell just TO how great an
extent il exists. There are said to be Il few
cases in the hos ital at Moscow. but so far
none have manifested themselves here, and
tho disease seems to be confined TO the
Volga.
The sanitary arrangements OF Moscow
and ST. Peters burg might be improved upon.
1t IS not that the streets and the houses are
not kept clean enough, for they are as we'll
cared for in this respect as those or any
other large cities of the world. The police
have charge Of the sanitary arrangements,
and If man does not keep the roadway ia
front Of his house clean or allows auy NUS
ance to remain about his premises he is
liable 10 find himself in Jail. and If he is
StoTekesper his shop may be ordered shut
for period of some months. as the author
tiles decide. The great trouble Is the lack
Of good water works, and, as TO the sanitary
building Of the houses, neither ST. Peters
burg nor Moscow has the best of drain
age and this city of st. Petersburg.
as cool as il often Is in the sum
mer, is built upon a marsh. and its
night air is flied with n0xiOus vapors. The
authorities are always fixing the streets
and the Neyski Prospect has been torn up
during a great part Of my stay 10 Russia.
About half of this street is paved with
great round blocks of wood. These are
the sea makes the wood rot quickly; and
this rotten wood packed full of the foul
elements which it has gathered during
years, is now thrown up under the sun to
dry. II is no wonder that fashionable St.
Petersburg moves almost bodily into the
country in the summer and that the city
has high death rate. The death rate Of
the Russian PEOPLE in ordinary times is
greater than that Of any other civilized
nation. and ii runs between thirty-fve
and thiTty-seyen per thousand. This is
81 per cent greater than the death
rate of Great Britain. 81 per cent greater
than that OF Germany and 80 per cent
greater than that of France. Over the
whole OF Russia the average death-Tate is
about thirty-six TO the 1000 in ordinary
times. aud this 10 twice as high as that Of
our largest cities. 1t is estimated that fully
half OF all the babies born in this country
die before they are five years old, and still
children are produced so rapidly that this
loss is overcome and the country has mil
lion more babies every year than the year
before. A curious thing about the health
statistics Of Russia is that the mortality is
greatest in the villages. while with us 1t is
greatest in the cities. The reason of this is
the poor food and the poor sanitary ar
raDgements which the peasants have, and
during this famine the typhus and the
cholera have become more apparent than
ever.
Speaking OF the cholera, picked up the
Beriner Tageblatt this morning and looked
to sec what the German reports of the Rus
sian cholera were / found nothing in it,
but on the first page were two big black
blotehes which effectually stamped the
prin ted matter out Of at least column of
the newspaper. This was probably the
news concerning the cholera, and Ii is q fair
example Of the state In which the foreign
newspapers come into Russia. No reports
concerning the cholera which are not ap-
proved by the Government are allowed 10 be
read here. Every paper is carefully ex.
amlned and anything which the cens0rs do
not like is stamped. This is 80 with all
newspapers, and such magazines and books
as are admitted often have pages torn from
them, and there is no such thing as a free
press in Russia. The papers receive instruc-
tons from the Government as to just what
they shall publish. II they do not follow
out these instructions they receive first
warning. Ii they offend again this warning
Is repeated, and at tie third offense the
paper is suspended. Three such warnings
always result in the abolition Of the news
paper. The warnings may be years apart,
and they may be caused by the mistakes OF
cheap reporters or careless pTo0f-Teaders,
but the paper loses its standing and at the
third warning its existence. Its editor is
also liable TO Imprisonment, and the result
is that there Is no such thing as free thought
In Russia. The most ridiculous things are
prohibited from publication, and nothing
concerning the Car is ever published
During large part of the time have been
in Russia the Gar has been visiting in Den
mark. lie met the German Emperor there
and the European papers have been full OF
gossip concerning him. Every line of this
has been BACKED out, whether it came from
the London Times or IN the way OF witty
remarks from the Flegcnde Batter, and a
large part Of the famine news has been
handled In this same way. / have before
me list OF subjects which were handed
over to the press during single year some
time ago, but they will hold equally we'll TO-
day. One Of them states that nothing on
the Jewish question Is to be published.