New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-09
THE PLAGUE ~ BOMBAY.
THE INDIAN GOVERNMENTS SPLENDID EFFORTS
TO SUPPRESS 1T.


TO SUPPRESS 1T.
From The London Times.
wrought in other Asiac cities the normal freedom
Of great Indian ports from me Pdsue Win
is densey packed million of inhabitants In the CITY
and suburbs is within the w Ras Sims and
from centres OF infection Indeed Calcutta es , ~
the parallel of 1T as Hne Of lives TO the
plague Yet Calcutta keeps itself free from us
been SO vigorously grappled with to reduce the
panic-strkng pestience TO form OF giandua si,
The medical history Oh be srusre Of Science
With disease At first it seemed as If the western
sspa of ndS ASIA a hss dee
and which continues it's ravages IN ~ wears nsi
Un, ny ss mater of fact the death list in Bombay
probably will not exceed Loo ior tne wno r, nur
;nbshitants But the virulcnce of the disease was
such that time almost every case pr ,h,d
10y Of November 5l7 died The effective cause,
whethc- bacillus an ATMOSPHERIC or insaniary
dreaded word plague throughout the rest OF ASA.
has diYused itself into general rise OF me neaon
was o, Observed to select it's victims so largely from
the INDECENT and il-fed classes that 1t got me name
of the poor plague. 1t still retains TINS CHARACTER
in Asia. and the Bombay death lists Of the last few
months place the results in striking iign anS
quarters of the town. and with certain exceptions II
has spared the weather. classes Engisnih i;h
whether through transmitted immunity WHICH
they have shared with the nations or Europe since
lS4l from higher standard OF living or ron on,
u,botever cause have enjoyed freedom from at
tack so remarkable as TO render isolated cases
them quite ra n ao g. Uer thousand at
the beginning of November. and. again. so iar az
cson 10 6 per thousand in the third week of tina,
MONTH the general death rate among the "en.leu
parsses %ss JUS and among the amply fed
pean community only is per thousand .. a..
plague from that which It bore TO the European
cities of Middle Ages and nSars al ms uSi ,o
me Pecp' from Heaven visitation God beyond
the control Of man. but an indirect produc. o, ue
and bad food beginning among the classes eas, anie
whose higher standards of life and OF generous alet
enable them to defy It. At the same time TINS
cnrreIa ton OF the plague with poverty opens up
serious possibilities during the present scarcity; 90
Ronbav city. and sporadic outbreaks in other towns
have usually been traced to infection brought IRON ron
In BOMBAY Itself a process Of cleansing has taken
place on scale which would have been beyond the
nowers of any city Of medieval Europe, and which
Is sill beyond the powers Of any Asiatic city out.
side of British India. The essential features OF
British Indian sanitation are pure ana Prac.icany
inexhaustible water supply brought by engineering
works from distant sources 10 the cites' coilP,c
evsem ~ municipal distribution OF the supply. the
nower of Thoroughly flushing the sewers. and sell
enthc drainage system for RAPIDLY ge.mns I'a h o,
Bombay is fighting the plague. The battle, althouen
so in her favor cannot De cohsaereo as VIZ" ,p
land Sanitation may. however claim that she mas
IN TO the present brought within quite manageape
Compass a pestilence which has hitherto dened con-
troll and which might have isolated Bombay from
the rest OF the world at moment when IL rs OF ur
gent importance that every port OF india shoud nc
OPEN - -. a.. .,ax,o
Calcutta has defended herself from the plague
with the same weapons. ana. 90 iar WIN pellee'
success The rapidly and completeness OF organ
ization with which she used her water supply Tor
Cleansing and flushing and setting the great city In
order against the enemy Is a feat worthy OF the
strong municipal bodies OF Paris or Berlin Indeed
row that the plague has been effectively Kept at
hsv the newspaper critic arises In Calcutta just as
he would In European capital; to question whether
the precautions did not exceed the necessity. But
II Bengal which lies in the worst line Of the Asatic
Mia o,,e zone and IL especially threatened with
WHINE gets through the next five months without
her suferlngs being aggravated by the black pesii.
Lance sbe may owe her escape In no small measure
10 the PaIta waterworks and the Calcutta pumping
atationA