Graham guardian., 1896-10-02
A DIPHTHERIA SCARE.

'uCllu, duu olIlCO iuCu tuG uItdu
disease has made its appearance in
he families Of Andre Maurel and
House. The announce
nent caused consideration in the
community. On Monday a speci-
II meeting of the Globe CONNER
,ial Club was called to adopt meas
ures against the spread of the
disease, and declaring quarintine
against peddlers and other persons
coming from Graham county |
bringing goods or household effects,
and ordering that an authorized |
officer be stationed beyond the
southern limits Of town to stop all
persons coming from that direction
and turn back all from whom
danger was apprehended.
Last year Globe suffered a vista
ton of diphtherla which was traced
6 the Glla valley, where the dis
ease is said to have been epidemic
for two years or more; and there
appears to be little doubt that we
owe the present scourge to the
same source, as traders from that
section of Graham county have
continued to arrive and sell their
products to families in Globe.
Diphtheria is a disease which
can only be communicated by con-
tact with infected persons or prop
erty, especially clothing, and,
therefore, the conclusion reached,
that the disease germs were i'm
ported is reasonably certain.
The Kimball brothers and Jos.
McRea, from Thatcher, were quar-
antined on Tuesday. The Kim
balls had already unloaded flour
and some household goods, which
were allowed to remain after fumi-
CATION, and wagons loaded with
lumber were admitted. Also a
subscription of over $40 was raised
for the Kimballs.
While the quarintine is an ad.
mitted hardship upon those just
arrived, or enroute, from Graham
county, nevertheless, the situation
is of such gravity, that no halfway
measure will suffice, and the Wig
orous action of the Commercial
! Club Cllpa5b dffeets-Yith general approval.
The health committee consists
of DR.. T. S. Collins, F. W--HsNeast; v est
meyer, T. A. Pascoe, N. l.. Amster
and Modesto Borquez, Jr., town
sanitary officer. Handbills were
sent to points in the Gila valley
yesterday, giving notice of the
action taken.
H. N. Clawson, of Thatcher, cal
led upon us this morning and
stated on the authority of DR.. G.
II. Porter, of Stafford, that there
was now no diphtheria in
the Gila valley, and had not been
a case for three months. This,
however, is contradicted by the
statement of a man named Alfred,
who lives in the valley, and who
lost a child from diphtheria about
a week or ten days ago.
Whether or not diphtheria now
exists in the Gila valley is rot
material. 1t has prevailed there
and no efforts to stamp it out, or
to prevent its spread, have been
made by the authorities of Gra-
ham county, while the Board of
Supervisors of Gila county have
been vlgilant to prevent any con-
tagious or infectious diseases get
ting a foothold here. If our
neighbors are careless Of their own
health, we most certainly will not
permit them to endanger ours"
Silver Belt.
The above statement of the case
is in the main correct, although no
case of diphtheria had been re-
ported from any portion of the
valley for more than two months
until last week.
The action of the authorities of
Gila county, while it will undoubt-
edly work hardship on a latge
number of people, is the only
course left to them for the safety
of the people of Globe against this
disease. There is no question but
if similar action had been taken
by the proper officers of this coun-
ty two years ago the disease would
have probably been stamped out
long ago.
Now that Globe has taken this
action it will be necessary to take
prompt action in the matter in
this county, and quarintine every
family afflicted with the disease.
The Board of Supervisors should,
and probably will, appoint quarin-
tine officers in each district, whose
duty it will be to use every pos
sible means to drive the disease
from our midst.