The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1897-11-12
"SCIENcE" AND YELLOW FEVER
Caustic Comments from a Mobile
Lawyer.
NOZZLE, Ala, October 10, 1897.

l
MoBrLE, Ala, October 10, 1897.
Major W. 7, walthall, v~icksburr.
My Dear Major: 1t Is a pleasure In
deed IL read an article written by one
Of the old guards on yellow fever his
tOry-in this day whenever a cross
road NJ. d. Is proclaimed an expert
aud when these crOss-rOad experts AS
semble together they become the gov
ernnment, aud with indifference to
commerce aud humanity they deliber-
ately set To work 10 starve, maltreat
and insult the people and violate all
rules Of humanity.
Surgeon General Wyman is quoted
in Saturdays paper as expressing sur
prise at the enormous disprOp0rtiOn
between the deaths 10 the South and
the commercial injury which has re-
suited from the panic.
Here in Mobile, slavishly initiating
New Orleans, our Board of Health
has | conceive, nnlawfully undertaken
a campaign of isolation. restraining
the persons who are within the house
10 which yellow fever appears from
going outside Of it, even though the
family may starye or the patient suf-
fer for want OF attention; more than
this, prohibiting the mothers and sis
tiers OF the dead from following them
TO the grave. All this Is done you
know under the name Of scientific"
sanitation.
We have Guiteras, a many-voiced
man saying in Mobile that he had
been put to great expense on account
OF injury to his clothing from ''disin-
lection" thereof; to the Picayune that
he did not observe any of these pre-
cautions because a man could not
carry yellow fever germs in his
clothes; to the Globe Democrat inter
viewer, that while he did not think
that the germs could be carried, he
vas in the habit Of d%isinfectIng him
self frequently, while To leave his con
Trajectory statements out of sight it
Is generally believed in Mobile from
the methods OF his travelling that he
simply visited the sick and returned
to this city without any precautions.
While am not criticising his doing
this. yet II he can do this then other
people can and all embargoes upon
travelling are wrong. Besides this,
as you have shown in your letter, at
times there is a wide area covered by
TIE Injection, at other times a very
narrow one. When it is narrow, as
you VIII remember. the medical fac
ulty applaud themselves To the echo
and cry out tn the superstitiOus null
titude: "See how we have protected
you," see what benefit comes through
our methods of quarantine and sani-
tatiOn; when II is widespread they cry
out to the multitude: behold you see
how many thousands and thousands
OF beings have not had the fever, or
have been cured OF the fever; you see
how We have prevented the fever go
ing to Chicago" or any other point
will do as well for the safe of their
argument. So that whatever happens
the people are called upon to worship
these mock scientists and their evil
work.
Now the remedy is clearly not CT
fcctual quarantine, as many seem 10
think 1t is the dethrOnement of medi-
cal dictatiOn falsely parading itself as
science; 1t Is the general abolition of
the power 0 vested in ignorant
bodies to trample upon all the most
cherished rights of a free people.
TO recur to the published demon.
stratiop Of the unscientifc character
Of our %dictators, l will cite one or two
more matters.
The Alabama health officer DR..
Sanders, Il personal friend Of mine
and a most estimanle gentleman high
~ skilled in his profession, but who
probably never treittcd q yellow fever
case In his life, aud who has not had
the yellow fever, as | am told, coolly
says to the people Of Selma, that as a
fact that yellow fever is easily killed,
and | by fnmigating my person aftc,
visiting the sick consequently assure
the safety of the people l visit. The
scientific mind would not authorize
this statement as a fact. Moreover it
is not Il fact. The Ease Of a war YES
sci, whose name l have forgotten,
which in the sos after lying thrOuglra
long winter and Summer uff u New
England port and being put In com.
MERGE the next summer, developed
yellow fever aboard as soon as she got
in a warm latitude. This certainly
demonstrated beyond pe%radventure
that the germ, whatever 1t may be, Is
not easily slain. Again, Guiteras In
speaking of the absurdity OF cutting
off the New Orleans papers and mail
by Quarintining towns, declares in an
interview, that'these cannot carry the
infection because dry matter never
does. Well and good for this time.
In another interview lat Galveston l
believe 1t was) he Is quoted as saying