The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-01-26
CLEANLINESS AND DISEASE,

The appearance OF a fearful plague in
Bombay, following its destruction OF
life In China, has been the subject OF
much newspaper discussion, More than
half the population of the Indian city
has fed, the people camping out on the
plains as far as possible from conta-
gion, The cemeteries are already
filled to overilowing The nights are
made hideous by oymbals and melan-
oholy dirges. often ditieulty Is eNpe-
rienced in burying the dead, friends
and relatives refusing 20 carry the
oorpses. Covpses have been
found in the street"
Fear has been expressed that this
pest. ~ hideoIs i'm its symptoms, 50 APP
palling i'm the swiftncss with which Il
slays its victims, will spread TO Amer
ioa> Fortunately, the fear is not shared
by the sanitary officers, over two
years ago DR. +, W. Reilly, according TO
the Chicago Times-Herald. In summing
up the evidence al hand in the Journal
of the American Medical Association,
declared: Where the developments III
sanitary civilization have advanced suf-
ficeintly to destroy the conditions ne
cessary for the existence and growth OF
the plague bacillus, there the plague
has been annihilated; where these ne
cessary conditions may occur or exist
in the unspeakable tilth OF the lower
classes of Oriental hahitations, II needs
but the introduction OF the specific
germ to cause reappearance Of the
pestilence."
Aubert- Roche put 1t: Civilization
alone has destroyed the plague in Eu-
rope: civilization alone will destrop II
in the Orient" We little think how
much science has done to check the
progress OF pestilence that in ancient
times. and even within the recollection
Of persons now living. spread with ter
rible rapidity from nation ito nation,
while the people died like flies in win
ter. Even as late as the first quarter
of this century yellow fever was a reg
ular visitant OF the north Atlantic ports
while less than thirty years ago chol-
era inflicted Chicago. Now yellow te-
yer, except as il appears in Isolated
cases is unknown in Shreveport, New
Orleans and Memphis. where within
twenty years il has claimed Its vic
tins by the thousands. while cholera.
V hen il finds breeding ground in a
European Of American "i'v. g SneNdi'y
surrounded as it were by a circle Of
fire and burned out as soon as its me-
dium is discovered. This very plague
that the rats OF Bombay are carrying
through the clotted native quarters is
no new scourge. II was not driven out
Of Europe until the eighteenth century,
and remote cases Of the disease have
been reported on the continent within
seventy-five years.
The infinite pains OF the student of
bacteriology have given the sanitary Of
ficer his weapons. The bacillus Of
cholera is known. and the sanitary
officer has but to see that II Is not
taken into the stomachs Of his clients
10 stay the ravages Of the pest. The
indian plague is merely another pro-
test of cleanly nature against filth.
Civilization is soap and hot water, and
not water. with or without soap, is the
great antiseptic. In India and China
the European residents who take or
dinary precautions are, in great de-
gree. exempt from the pestilence.
They are living up to the nineteenth
century standards, while the natives
ere inviting death by squatting down
amid surroundings perhaps a little
more melancholy than those which were
common in Europe during the seven
teenth century. We have often thought
that the men Of that day went so much
TO war because they were glad to get
away from decidedly unpleasant homes
OF course, IL would be too bold to
say that America has experienced its
last great pestilence. The devil still
has a dart or TWO in his culver as
that wholly internal la grippe proves;
and there remain neighborhoods in this
city which would afford the very best
encouragement to the Indian plague.
But it could not spread. There is
yellow fever in Cuba, there Is cholera
in Persia, there is black death in Bonn
bay, but in those countries in which
sanitation has kept pace with scientific
knowledge the people are free from
danger.