The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-13
PLAGUE IN CRESCENT CITY
WORLD MAY CLOSE ITS DOORS
 AGAINST THE SOUTH.

low Fever-Officials Doing All Within
 Their Power to Prevent Spread of the
 Disease-The City May Become Panic
 Strioken-Its General Health is Good.
 New Orleans, Pa., Sept. 12.-Shortly before noon to-day the board of health officially declared six of the suspicious cases of fever on St. Claude street to be yellow fever. A couple of hours subsequently the board announced an- other pronounced case of yellow fever at Miro and Esplanade streets, also in the lower part of the city, but a mile or more away from the infected square. The announcement of the first six cases as yellow fever was not unexpected, al- though it was hoped from the delay on the part of experts that these cases were simply of bilious malaria.
 No general alarm has resulted here, although the news rapidly spread through the city. The authorities do not believe that the situation is ma terfally worse than it was four or five days ago and they are still confident of their ability, with modern sanitary appliances, successfully to quarantine the infected districts.
 The official bulletin of the board of experts declaring the St. Claude street case to be yellow fever was received by President Olliphant soon after il o'clock pr. Olliphant immediately sent for members of the press and gave out the report, which was signed by Doctors Lemionnier, Toutre, Dick ham, Petit and Parham of the board of experts, and Dr. Devron, the attend ing physician. The report was as fol- lows:
 we, the undersigned physicians, who from time to time have examined the twelve cases of fever on St. Claude street, between Clouet and Louisa, find six to be yellow fever, four of whom are convalescent. There are no other cases"
 Of the original twelve cases, all of which had their origin from case that had come from Ocean Springs, the six other than those reported to-day as yell low fever were reported this afternoon to be practically well, up and walking about their homes. Of the six pronounce edy ellow fever, four are convalescent, and two were declared to be critically i'll, one of these having suffered a re- lapse since yesterday.
 Among the suspicious cases reported yesterday was that of boy named Roy. living at Mirio and Esplanade streets. Doctors Lemonnier, Toutre and Matas were sent to make a care- full observation of the case This af- {& +o I>a occasionally yellow fever, and as hav- ing apparently had its origin in Scran- ton, Miss, or in the vicinity of that town. As soon as the report was re- ceived the board of health took charge of the house, quarantined the inmates,
 placed guards so that no one might come within close proximity to the premises and set to work thoroughly to disinfect the neighborhood. A brother of the patient who had left the prem ises some time before the official an-
 nouncement was given permit to re- turn, but orders were issued that un- der no circumstances to let him or any member of the household to again leave the premises.
 To a correspondent of the Associated
 Press, President Olliphant said this af- | ternoon:
 "Of course I have made this an- nouncement of the existence of seven
 cases of yellow fever in New Orleans with sincere regret, but there was no alternative left me, under my pledge | to keep faith with the public here and l elsewhere. I do not think, however, there is occasion here for serious alarm l unless conditions shall grow materially | worse. We shall have to await devel- opments.
 An earlier announcement of the | diagnosis of the St. Claude street cases | was not possible. The board of experts | which is composed of able, efficient | and experienced physicians, had made repeated visits to these patients, but | they insisted that they should be al- lowed their own time within which to | make a complete diagnosis. They de- sired to be perfectly sure before pro-
 nouncing the sickness to be yellow
 fever. They reached conclusion as
 soon as was practicable and four days
 ago they warned the country that all
 of the twelve cases were suspicious | Personally, I am unable to say
 whether or not these cases are of a
 mild or severe type. The absence of
 mortality would seem to indicate that | they are in the former class. That | there has been no spread would seem 1 to strengthen that view. I have no
 reason to doubt, however, that the complete sanitation of the neighbor-
 hood and the rigid quarantine enforced
 has gone long ways toward restrict | ing to the quarter In which the disease
 originated and I take hope from this | fact that we shall still be able to con-
 fine the fever within it's present limits The situation Is certainly no worse now
 than it was four or five days ago, for
 the disease being yellow fever then,
 must be now.
 1 With respect to the Miro and Es- planade street cases we are applying | the same methods of sanitation and quarantine as in the St. Claude street
 cases.
 We have now had a total of eight
 cases and one death, the origin of all
 or which may be traced to the infected
 towns on the Mississippi coast. They
 may all be classed as importations. Il see no occasion for any panic in
 New Orleans. The general health ot
 the city is good, and it is rapidly being put in fine sanitary condition, There
 is no present apprehension af an epi- 1 demic, and l have reason to hope that l we shall continue to be masters of tbe