The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-09-24
"a TOY EpIDEMiC.,
What New Orleans Paper Thinks
of the Fever Scare

of the Fever Scnre.
new Orleans States, September 20.
When we read Of the rumors oroun,
'own and the reports in the press
abroad. one feels ns though he were
breathing pestilentlai air In fever
blasted town. When we read tho entire
truthful and full reporta Of the board O,
health and tho comments OF most Of our
newspapers. ono feels ~ though he were
pelng refreshed with balmy breezss laden
with the perfume 81 the rose and the
orange. surrounded by lfe-giving in
tuences
~ we have really yellow fever I'm our
miast, It Is In the mildest .orm In Which
the dread disease has over appeared an
earth. After all the miserable fright ana
All the rumors and lies that have be.n
set ailoat. there has beengnot single
ueatn from the alleged pestiience The
one death reported. that Of the Gein boy.
was not death from yellow sever Nh,
ehiei had been Ill CT fever. was GONZALES.
cent. came TO Canal street and consumed
large quantity or Ice cream ard soda
water. went home and OF course. died
THIS was death. not from yellow fever
but from an overdose of ice crenm md
soda water taken at an unseasbhable time
ne pestiience. II II IL psatilencc ia
q toy pestilcnce, a s-rt OF doll baby AZ.
tair. IL the little girls OF today could
reaiisc what yellow fever peatlenca h,
II they couLi look back and see the march
o. tne yellow death In all preceding cpl
uemicc, moving aG consuming win,
heated with the fires OF hell carving asath
and terror and tears aud misery ana woe
anto nearly every household, with tho
tendency or childhood 20 imitation. NAV
Wouiu make or the present little sputt n
plaything. They would play thsre In A
yehow FEVER epidemic; little Dolly nutiopa
would play that her doll YVES very M with
me tever. indeed not expected to live.
nWie same Towhead would whimperin ely
teii that hers had the black yomit and
could scarcely DO expected to live thro,vh
~, ,ne next twenty-four hours and little Mol
ne kedcheek would play that her doll Ind
suppression OF urine and that her ca.e WI.
homeless and then the man dolls woula
90 introduced as doctors and wcild d,ren,
that tho premises be iisinfec,ca nnd
mammals cologne bottle would be exhaust
90 ~ dtsin'eciing the doll houses and papa
would be kept busy making pastcbsnrJ
cofnns for the dead dolls, dead ct tho vel
low fever, while all the other dolls would
be robcd In black.
AZ RMS is Just the sort OF yellow
FEVER visitation 10 have in New orlenus
now. not whit more deadly and not a
wnN more dangerous. ana yet Thousands
Ct us1aily sensible people have loaf their
heads. made stark fools OF themselves
ana acted more like herd Of wild Tex,s
cattsc stamroded on the prairie than IKE
sensisie people who have homes to pro-
tect and business interests to care for
me spectacle OF whole country amlt-
Ten TO wilderness. to actual craxlnesa nv
phrase-"yeicw fever''-is n,l,ab,e ,ns
contemplate beyond description. A val
low fever epidemic Is something tcrribl.
anu Wien once started Il move, like n
prairie nre. II carries death ana woa
upon 'ts blasting wings. In the who,e
history Of yellow fever epidem,cs noth,nv
q the utter gcntlencss. the utter mildnoss
me utter harmlessness OF the ylsl,.
ton can be found. or, II there NAV No
then II must be conceded that the vs,,ow
lcver can come 10 us In the eulse ~ :
comparatlvely benencient and hsnevoisr,
visitor. Carlyle once said that London was
city o. enc million OF Inhabitants. mostlv
Tools witnessing the Wild, miserable Ard
eontcmptibie fright that this little harm
less burst Of fcver has produced. we ars
almost tempted TO paraphrase Carlyis.s
remark about London and saw yew Or
leans y city Of 100000 people. mostly
damned fools ''s