The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-09-11
NOT A NEW CASE YET.
The smallpox Situation Ia Grossly
Exaggerated,
THE ugglRRlNIED STATEMENTS
OF Reckless People and Papers Lead
20 Quarantine ProoeedinEs-GreAs
Rush OF Chlldrsa aad Others "a be
YAcclnatsd-ons Flag Less now
Than Yesterday MorntnE-The Pre-.
cautions Complete aud EdSeIlVO.
Thers I'd. bod now nc y InaIIp01

| IN wheeling yesterday
One nag Was taken down, the danger
being past At thGt house.
The case OF HeREy HitIon, in the rear
Of Sixteenth street, s:ill fails TO show
any typical symptoms OF smallpox, The
health officer has in no way relaxed biz
prccauiion, to prevent eontagIOn from
that source, II it should provo to be
smallpox, but owing to the peculiar
characteristics Of tue case he il mot yei
sure thatit iS smallpox.
Yesterday there were the usual mum
ber OF excited rumors Of new casos,
Health Officer Jepson investigated a
number Of these, aud found the report,
untuunded. Iithsliars could bestanped
out VI easily as the disease can, the talsC
reports, which do much harm, would
DO quickly stopped,
The most nO.able thing yesterday was
the rush to GET vAccinated. At the city
health office there was constant pro-
CeSsion OF people, mainly children, in
aud ont, Every doctor in town was
also busy vRCcInSIing people. All the
prisoners In the county jail were vac
cinated by DR.. Mccoy, IT,
The weather continued favorable for
putting an end to the spread OF tho dis.
ease. The day was one OF the warmest
for aeveTal weeks. There was no dOvel.
opment to add to the public uneasinesI,
aud tho general feeling OF nervous
drsad scanned to DO considerably Rllayed
in the city, In the surrounding towns,
however, there was really unreasonR-
bic degree OF alarm, Leading to quaran.
tine proceedings In several places. The
officials who took such steps wore gen.
orally misled by sensational rumora.
Some oil these, almost criminal In their
fNlsity, found their way into print. For
instance, the Bellaire Tribune had this
paragraph:
1.-THE extent Of II has been persistent.
iy undereItimatsd, and even now when
steps are being taken to quarantine
the Injected houses, tho public ia told
that there are but tWenty.eight cases,
when there can be counted that mum,
Der OF tagged houses upon single
sqnare."
This 10 an absolute ialsehood. There
eau be no decent authority for such q
statement. From the first appearance
OF the disease in Wheeling, the authori
ties have taken prompt steps to quArau
tine all cases. Tho newspapers, or al
least tho IETGLLIdENCER, has printed
the absolute truth about the disease
when there was any development de
mandIng attention. No attempt wa
made 10 suppress the truth. The Iri
bune's statement that there are twenty
eight tagged houses on a single square
ia false and inexcuSablo.
The Steubenyille Gazette, usually
careful in such matters, intimates tina
the truth was suppressed during fai
week. This is AIso unjust and untrue
There was no special reason for uneasi
ness until Friday, when number o
new csses broke out on the South Side
Fair visitors had no occasion TO be II
that part OF tho city. In other part
thore was no moro danger OF Contagiol
than there lie to-day in SIeu benvlle O.
Bellaire; not so much as in Martini
Ferry. Tho appearance OF new case
was not Chargeable to official neglect.
The fact is that at both Pittsburgh
aud Cincinnati there are cases OF small
pox. One came from each place t,
Wheeling, and to them eau be tracel
all the cases that Wheeling has suilere,
from this year. The present condition
do not warrant any more stringent pre-
cautions against Wheeling than agains
the othor cities named. The cases herr
are carefully isolated, vaccination hAj
been practically universal, and the gen
eral sanitary condition Of the city is no
such as to aggravato an epidemic.
The death ratio from smallpox is pro
nounCed by competent authority 70
markably low.
Yesterday Judge Campbell wen
down TO Moundsvile to hold specia
term Of the circuit court. When lie ar
rived hsfound there was a quarantine
in force, and he came back. Tho Cour
will be held after the quarantine i
raised, Captain Dovener and othe
lawyers were also on the train. Tho
managed TO got q special permit from
the mayor and acting health officer
and so forth to go to the court house
except Attorney General I. $. Riley
who was not around when tho ban,
wagon passed and did not got u note
He had to remain at the station aoverN
hours. Several persons who drove
down in carriages yesterday were mo
at the MoundsVille corporation liuo ant
turned back.
The people Of Plea ant Valley wanted
10 send Nj Haberstick, WHO has small
pox there, back to town, and his som
desired also to have him returned, bu
last night this movement was finally
and omphatlcally set down on by I'll,
health authorities. Tho police guarded
alt tho roads from there into town iast
night aud night before TO prevent hIl
bong brought in.