Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-10
CHOLERA's HOLD ON NAPLES.
Effort of the Authorities to Suppress
the News.


the News.
A special cable dispatch to the Philadel-
phia Press from Naples, Italy, says regard
Ing the spread of cholera there: Deaths
| from cholera here have averaged thirty
daily for more than a week past. 1t Is
| impossible to learn the number of sick be-
| cause they hide themselves. The number
OF patients in the hospital Is not published
| either. This Is unfortunate. as those who
/ recover In their houses spread the disease
more effectively than those who die. The
authorities don't admit the existence of
| cholera The United Kingdom Of Italy.
| from the government at Rome to the small
| officials at Naples, is engaged In a conspira-
| cy TO conceal the truth. 1t has only become
known through an Italian physician who
/ associates with Americans. The dispatch
handed in at the telegraph ofhce by the
Press correspondent last Friday was re-
Tor at Rome.
No news concerning cholera is transmit
| ted Even a telegram mentioning it, sent
stopped, although he has every interest in
minimizing the fact The great epidemic
Of 1884 broke out in April and was con,
cealed until August. The government had
hoped to conceal the present epidemic en-
| tirely. This. like all other outbursts. had
a small beginning. but the oninous fact Is
| its present rate of progress II will be very
serious by September. Here is its history:
| The Epidemic's History.
A big feast occurred in the Carmin dis
trict on July Is. The guests had drawn a
lucky number in the lottery and gorged
themselves with bad fish and bad fruit.
One man died Sunday night Two days
later the United States medical inspector
OF emigration. DR.. Young. heard of the
result Of meteorological examination
which showed plainly that this man died
| of cholera. At this season Naples Is de-
serted by English and Americans. but
I -x-fN xy-ft -hn n
battle. The rumer Of the truth got out
among them. and. to allay any fears, the
authorities stated publicly that there was
Prince de Torino died Of the disease
Within twenty-four hours visitors had
ns% sn from naples PIE
where In the meantime several more
deaths had occurred in the poor quarters.
in on the 18th with twenty-three cases and
! five deaths. She was sent away to the
quarantine station in Sardinia, ostensibly
to carry the chief sanitary inspector of the
kingdom, although the dispatch boat could
| have performed that service equally well.
During the first week Of the epidemic
deaths. July "a and 26 there were fourteen
| cases and five deaths. July q there were
fifteen cases and five deaths. July 2s there
were eleven cases and seven deaths. Then
came two days of rain and the rate fell.
July 81 there were eighteen cases and ten
deaths a, a. august there were ten cases and
|
three cases and ten deaths. August there
were twenty-five cases and fifteen deaths.
August there were fourteen deaths.
| 1t IL Actual Cholera.
These are deaths registered by the author
tiles as gastroenteritis. The Press corre-
| spondent knows absolutely that they are
| cholera cases. The comma bacilli taken
| from them are preserved In the hospital.
| Add to these figures the number concealed
| entirely occurring in houses and recorded as
| something entirely unsuspicious and the
| number occurring in the suburbs, which are
| not recorded at all by the Naples sanitary
| authorities, an average Of thirty Is easily
| reached.
| Capri, Postici and Torreannunciata are all
infected Eight deaths have occurred in the
| usually very healthy island Of Capri. BY
some II Is attributed to a German woman
| who left Hamburg when the plague was
at Capri. Twenty-three deaths in three days
have occurred at Postici. which adjoins Ma
Piles.
| were. no doubt. Of rural origin. as the pas
sengers had not stopped In the city. Ital-
ians attribute them to Greek immigrants.
on the ship without admitting its existence
here But one of them. FL Mattine. asks:
Even If there is cholera, which there is
The Karamania sailed two days before the
sanitary authorities here knew of the ex-
istence OF cholera, and consequently before
the United States medical officer knew it.
Credit Is due DR.. Young for discovering its
existence as soon as he did. in spite Of the
determination to conceal it. The population
of Italy this year has shown a greater ten
dency than ever before to move to Amer
lea by way Of Naples. Forty thousand had
gone By June; a thousand have left #, since since
isolated for five days. bathed. vaccinated
and disnfected.
The Massilia, Cashmere and weser are
grants to New York. The Hesperia of the
Anchor line. with 400 on board, has row
- - =
her passengers will be bathed and vacctnat-
ed on Monday. The emigrants have been
in mutinous condition at what they call
outrageous conduct OF the American gov
eminent in quarantining them In their own
country. The Crown Prince OF the North
German Lloyd line will sail next with about
500 emigrants-
Cholera breeding Places.
France has just announced that she will
not give a clean bill of health to ships
from Naples. Greece has established quar-
antine. The breeding places Of cholera in
Naples are wells in the Bosso portion and
elsewhere. in which refuse food and sewage
IS thrown. Serene water, supplied to Naples
is excellent. but people have to pay for
using more than certain quantity, and
have no hesitation in using filthy well
water. Bosso Porto Is an ancient street
filed with itinerant vendors of fruit. meat
and sewage-fed fish. People live in cell
lars. called bassi, Of great old houses
Another feature Of Neapolitan architecture
is a set of buildings having windows only
on the courtyard. which receives most Of
the sewage
Three persons died in a house facing
the post office. One was a woman called
La Bella Tutarola, or the beautiful fruit
seller. one Of the popular beauties of Ma
pies. The lower classes hide their sick
under beds. believing that cholera is the
result of the upper classes trying to poison
the lower in order to reduce the popula-
ton. They even say that King Humbert is
in the conspiracy, although he worked
with his own hands among them when they
were dying at the rate Of 1900 day.
To Suppress the Disease
The direction of affairs in Naples Is for
tunately in the hands of a royal commits
sioner. AS a consequence the efforts to sup
press the disease are as vigorous as those
to suppress the truth. The sale Of piums
and snails has been forbidden and all feasts
Bad food is thrown away as soon as discov-
cred Infected bedding Is destroyed. not
disinfected. The police watch the houses
all night, but the idle, dirty Neapolitans
are doing their best to defeat the efforts to
save them. Cholera patients are in Co
bugno Hospital a set of isolated wooden
buildings on a hill outside the city. They
were erected In 1884.
The troops in the barracks outside of
Naples have been forbidden to enter the
city. and cholera hospitals have been
erected for them. Signs Of fear are mani