The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-01-03
GRIPPE IS IHERE.
Washington a Rich Field for
the Scourge.
s More to be Feared Than
Cholera
SAYS DR.. HAMILTON.
Insurance Men Shy of Those
Who've Had Tt.

" ASHlNGIoN, y an ,. - special
The capital has been oyerrun with Ia
grippe for two months During the former
epidemic OF this dread and mysterious
scourge Washington suffered more per
maps than any other city in the country in
proportion to its population. Hundreds of
well known men were stricken with it.
and many Of them died. In the govern
menr departments and in congress it seems
that every other man one meets has suffered
with this disease. Two-thirds OF them sor-
rOwfulIy confess they viii never again be
the men they were before that mysterious
visitation. More than one promising career
in public life has been cut short by the loss
Of vitality. the depreciation Of energy,
brought about by the modern destroyer,
Ia grippe.
Attacks Newcomers.
DR. Hamilton, the celebrated surgeon,
tells me Ia grippe has cost more lives and
broken down more men in Washington
th-n would be the result If cholera were to
visit the city There appears to be some
thing IN the sanitary condition of the cap
i1al which induces a spread Of this disease.
1t ravaged the city two years ago and is
now once more on it's rounds. Washing
ton IL heaIthfuI enough in most particulars.
1T IS clean, well drained city, but ma
laria is its worst and most persistent en-
envy The physicians say this tendency to-
ward malaria weakens the vitality of men,
particularly Of newcomers to the city who
have not as yet become fully acclmated,
and leaves them a prey to the European cpl
demic which we call BY the French name
It thus happens, oddly enough, that q
change Of administration ia Washington
increases the death rate II brings to the
city a large number of men and women
who soon feel the insidious influence Of this
maarial spot and fall victims to grip. con
sumption, fever or other diseases which
flourish upon low vitality II one were
TO say. looking at the matter from the
Washington standpoint. that the election
of Cleveland brought the grip scourge upon
MS, he wC-lld be laughed at, and people
would inquire what other woes are TO be
charged up to MI. Cleveland's accounts
Yet this statement, broadly. and for the
Indirect reasons already given, would be
literally true
Il Affects Life Insurance.
La grippe has left so many men in this
country in an enfeebled condition that the
life insurance Ompanies, always keenly
awake to the newest wrinkles affecting the
mortality rates. have added a new question
to the long and formidable list of inquiries
which they Ere at candidates for insurance.
Tt IS, Have you had Ia grippes' An af-
drmative answer to this question does not
necessarily prevent the applicant getting
policy. But if his general health is little
under par, If he has some unfavOrabIe
symptoms or tendencies. or If his family
history is not as good as it should be from
the standpoint Of longevity. the fact that
he has had la grippe may cause his rejec-
ton It may be the last straw that breaks
down the life insurance camel.
A western senator who is in the prime of
life and who has always regarded himself
and been considered by his friends to be
perfectly sound was much surprised few
days ago when 2 life insurance company re-
lected his application for a policy. VT Zen
he pressed the COM any for an explanation,
they told him it was true he seemed sOurd
and strong, but his family history was not
favorable, his father having died at 45, his
grandfather at 80. and his mother and
grandmother at about the same age. "Be-
Sides said the life insurance man, you
have had Ia grippe, senator, and the COM
pany is dreadfully particular about men
who have had the grip"
Congressman Hitt on Hard Times.
Though the times are hard and ready cash
is scarce, the life Insurance companies re-
port their business as good a. usual. If
there is any change over a year ago, it is for
the better. They explain this on the hypOth-
esis, which seems reasonable enough. that
as men get into financial difficulties, or be-
come suspicious Of banks and doubtful IS
to other avenues Of investment. they natu-
rally turn to life insurance for their families
u and for a form Of investment about whose
soundness, if the company is wisely chosen,
4 there can be no misgivings. IWo-thirds Of
the life insurance written nowadays IS a
combination of protection for the family Of
the insured with Investment for himself
Hi hard times. CT times OF scanty operation
IN new business enterprises, more men turn
to life insurance, just as real estate is all
ways the last value affected by q. panic
C0noressrnan HIT was talking about this
with your correspondent today, and he said
he remembers very wen the panic of 1873
and the influence il had upon men in the
matter Of Investments. They did not like
to leave their money in the banks, and did
not wish to invest it in trade or manufac-
turing So they put it into real estate, on
the theory that realty was always sure II
know a number Of instances" said Mr.
Hit. '.0f real estate purchases ut that time
made by men who simply did not know
what else to do with their money Because
of the panic they thought the prices low.
and as soon as times improved they expect
ed to close out at good profits. Those men
or their estates. are holding that property
today having never been able TO realize rs
much for it as they paid il the midst Of lhs
panic Of 1878"