The age-herald., 1897-10-27
The Terror of the Tropics.

''De'aah Statistics of Colonial Troops' which makes inters sting reading.
 The report deals with Du.ch, Spanish, English and French colonies. The French part of this field includes the Soudan, West Africa, West Indies. Annam and Tonquin, New Caledonia and Tabta, but not Algiers The British part includes the Egyptian campaign of 1SS4-s5. and the Spanish includes the official return from her operations in Cuba and the Philippines between March, 1895, and December, 1896. From these it appears that Spain sent 100000 troops to Cuba, and their death rate reached a total of PTS per 1000. mot including the d.aths among the invalids sent back to Spain.
 The deaths amounted to 55,00O, to which
 must be added one-fifth for deaths among the invlalids. This list does not include those killed in battle, but only the victims of disease. Commenting on tn. repcrt a medical authority says:
 The death rate of the troops of France in her tropical colonies is seven times that of ihe army at home, and the moral IS limited, II CduupuSly eAibTtsSGu, tid as the number of FrenChmen is EmHed and not increasing, 1t bshooves her bet ter to husband her resources. The death rate of the French white troops in the above namsid colonies during 1891-95 in- elusive is shown, together with that Of 1nvalids sent back to France. During these years a total of 71,164 land and n1arine French troops passed through these colonies, giving a yearly e.age of 14,S32 officers and men, having an ail- 11t1o 1, ,,fA O ran noin from a minimrrn of 25 in 1893 to maxi mum of 76 in 1895, the year of the Mad agascar expedition. There was no epi- demio prevalence of cholera or yellow fever to swell the mortality of these years, which very largely resulted from malarial diseases, including "typho-ma- larial'' fever, dyse entery, etc. Especially did these diseases work terrible havoc in Madagascar, the doath rate in which rose in 1895 from an average of 10S per 1000 to S5s among soldiers and 237 in the marine. The Forteth Chasseurs-a- pied actually lost by death 506 cut of 300, and the Sappers 3S7 out of 500 men.
 The writer quoted refers to Dr. Man son, an eminent British m dcaIl man, and remarks:
 Is this mortality necessary? Dr. Man. son is of the opinion that it s not, and that it is largely attIfbuta ble to ignor- ance on the part of the European medi- l cal profession of tropical diseases and thelr Urea tment. Dr. Manson does not | presume to speak for the Continental medical schools or for the practitioners | they turn out About his own country 1 men, however. he has no hesbta tion. | When at the far ends of the earth the medical man has just to do his best with such knowledge as has been given to him in his British school, and has been ac- cepted by British Nanl'iners-kno wledge which, when brought to the test of prac- ftTNrs sc c1.Atr, lo T. pr. Manson says: q am gTieved to say that in this matter even at this present day it is just as it was thirty years ago. My educa tion was got by experience; the young medical cnan of the present day has to learn in exactly the same costly way as I did, and in the same stem school of experfence;" but "the fees are heavy" being paid for it is to be feared, fin human life
 Now whose is the fault? On this point Dr. Manson is perfectly clear, and we cannot but feel that he is perfectly right It is what one may call the "provin- cialism" of English teaching and of the whole of English medical education that IS at the root of the matter. We live" writes the British Medical Journal. stat | the center of a great empire, and we boast of it. Yet in education our stu- dents, one-fifth of whom will have TO maintain lonely fight against strange diseases in tropical countries. we teach that aspect only of medicine which presents itself to the view of those vdho prac 'fce within the boundaries of these fsles.'
 From this it would seem that the phy- slcians of Europe are not learning much ahat is useful about that terror of the tropics, Yellow Jack, and it is folly for them to attempt to treat their colonists and troops in those regions.
 It is safe to say that the physicians | of the gulf and and south Atlantic coasts of this country and their contem- | poaaries in the Spanish American coun- l tries know more about yellow fever it's prevention and cure than all the other doctors on the globe.
 As international conventions are the fashion these days. 1t would be a good idea ito hold next year at some conve- nient point congress of medical men from our southern. states, the West In- dies, Mexico and Central and South America.
 produce good results, and it might secure concellt of action fn preventing plague from spreading beyond certain narrow limits. In this enlightened age means 1 can be found to render yellow fever @ stranger to our shores for all time to come. -. .A