The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-10-11

United States by San Francisco seems
to have assumed a magnitude in the
East. In a special article on the SUBJ
iect the Chicago Times Herald says
that should the negligence of the cap
tain Of the BeIgic and Of the San
Francisco health authorities result in
An outbreak Of cholera in this country
that outbreak will be remarkable for
one thing: Never before has cholera
come 10 America by way Of tine Pacific
ocean. 1t has always come through
Europe, and to a certain extent the
history OF every European outbreak is
the same. When the history of cholera
IN Europe il studied it will be seen
that the British government is Re.
spOnsible for every life and every dol
lar lost in Europe and America since
Bengal, the home OF cholera, has been
under British rule. Thus the cholera
question is part of the Eastern ques-
ton, and so far as America and the
most of Europe are concerned, it is the
most important part of the question.
From the earliest history of the dis
ease an epidemic Of cholera in any
country outside Of India could always
be traced back to its home in Bengal.
Outbreaks of the disease in Western
Asia, in Europe, Africa or North or
South America, have always been
traceable to pilgrims and their usual
routes to and from the shrine cities OF
Hurdwar, Mecca, Meschid and KIev.
There are two great pilgrim routes
from Bengal-the first from Calcutta
and other parts of Bengal up the
Gdnges to the sacred city of Hurdwar,
1T the foot of the HimalayaS, on the
direct land route to the Caspian and
Black seas aud the Russian frontier.
The second is from Bengal through
India to- Bombay and thence to
Mecca. Pilgrims from India to Mes
child, the holy city of Persia, generally
take the route 10 Hurdwar aud Cabul.
Cholera has never originated out
side of India; il has never been carried
from India to Europe by the direct
water route; thus far, IL has never APP
peared in America until after Europe
was infected, and every Infection of
Egypt, Europe or America is trace
able to infected pilgrims.
In April of each year there are
about half a million of people at
Hurdwar. In addition to the pilgrims
are hundreds of merchants from Per
STA and all parts OF Western Asia.
Pilgrims 90 to Hurdwar infected with
cholera, or carry to the city the
corpses of pilgrims who have died of
cholera EN- route to Hurdwar, thous-
anGs die of cholera in the city, and
merchants and others become infected
and spread the disease wherever they
go.
In 1926 cholera was carried from
Bengal To- Afghanistan and Persia by
pilgrims; thence to OrenOurg, to- the !
north of the Caspian Sea in 1929, and /
IN n
ragged in 1880. In 1881 Indian pilgrims !
carried the pest to Mecca, where it |
killed about half the pilgrims. Re- !
turning pilgrims from Egypt and |
Constantinople carried it to their |
homes, whence it travelled to st. /
Petersburg, Sweden, Hamburg and |
Northern Europe In 1882 IT, entered |
France, killed about 40 600 people, !
crossed to England and Ireland, and |
came over to Quebec in five ships from |
London, Liverpool, Cork, Limerick |
and Dublin. From Canada ii came to |
the United States.
The epidemic which reached this |
country in 1915 and devastated the |
Mississippi valley in 1S49, went from |
Calcutta with some British troops in |
$40 Al. Injecting the Chinese and |
Burmese empires in 1871 43, it was |
taken westward to Bucara, thence |
went southeast to Cabul, which IS on /
the pilgrim route to Hurdwar, TO Per |
STA aud Europe. 1t reached Russia, |
passed through that empire and ap- |
peared in England In October, 1S4S. |
It was already in France, and from |
Havre it was sent in two ships to New |
York and New Orleans in December, |
ISIS. 1t reached Memphis from New |
Orleans on December Goth, remained |
partly quiescent during the winter, /
and the next spring spread all over the |
Mississippi valley and westward 10 !
California. The fact that it did not |
spread from Memphis during the |
winter OF IS4S-49 must not be taken as |
evidences that cholera cannot spread |
in winter, for some of the most vio- I
lent of Russian epidemics have ragged
while all Russia was covered with
snow.
The epidemic that we had in this
country in 1854 left Bengal in 1880.
ii arrived in Teheran in 1852, and
went To Russia by the Caspian sea
route. Pilgrims took the disease from
Persia To- Egypt; il crossed to Italy,
killed II 600 people in Messiua, went
TO France and killed ia 600, Tasssd |
over to- England and took 5000 lives.
In 1854 il reached New York on some
emigrant ships. The great cpl emic
Of 1888, which did not spread in this
country, though IL reached New York
in 1857, killed $4,000 in three mouths
Reaching France in 1854 il claimed
5000 victims in two Years Spain
lost $50 600 10y il in 1854 IS Italy
about $4,000 IN ISS4-SS This cpl
demic cost Europe 10000 lives aud
$500 600 900, according To- DR.. Shake
speare OF Philadelphia, who was ap-
pointed by President Cleveland to
make a special report on 10 To the
United States Government
For about fifteen years American
sanitarians have claimed that the re-
spOu~ibility for the maintenance of
cholera in India and for its spread
over the world rests entirely with the
British Government. 1t is most sig
nificant Al this time, when the eastern
and chnlar. a RON bling no