The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-21
YELLOW FEVER PUZZLES.
OBJECTIONS LEFT UNANsWERED BX
~ RBOENT BPLDEMIO.

no,.,re unnsis e Discover Anything About
n, D,,e,ss or the Rnethsa or 1ts Trnns-
r-,,,ror-oia Theories Upset Changes In
Type-Io.-ss Caused by the Rpiaenic.
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 2o.-The yellow fever
endemic of 1897 IL now practically over. IL
has entailed far less loss of Life than was antic-
ipated. but tho injury to business has been
very great. The business OF the entire South
west has been tied up since the beginning Of
s~optembor. Some of the loss Is only tempo
rary. but there has been q positive, actual loss,
n shrinkaRe in values, In most of the infected
cities. 1t IL oven charged that tho extreme
depression In the price Of cotton, which Ia out
of all reason with the crop In sight, In due to the
fever. To commercial losses m ust DO added
the heavy expense for the elaborate quaran-
tines. The fever cost New Orleans In cash for
hospital, quarantine. disinfecting, and other
expenses not less than $3.50, 600, and the whole
South about 81. 100000. Finally. there In the
loss from factories closed and mon thrown out
of work. For tho assistance Of those loft idle
appeals were made to the charity Of the coun-
try, and there was fortunately little suffering.
It 10 impossible to form anyjdos Of the total
loss. because Of the impossibility of separating
business simply transferred from one point to
another from the actual positive and definite
Losses. Il II safe to say that the loss In wages,
In closed factories, In railroads bottled mp, and
i In Qopro01npeQV Hlubb Wbo UobWooh pOU,OUU,OUU
and CSC, 600, 900, and this for an epidemic
which killed less than 800 persons.
The yellow fever was reported from sixty
two places, Of which TWENTY-FIVE were In Ala
bama, twenty-ons In Mississippi. soven In Lou
isiana, i've In Texas, and seven scattered. In
forty-fou1 Of these places there were only scat
tering or sporadic cases. This does not in.
cluds Galveston, about which there La some
doubt. The Galveston people deny that the
fever prevailed there, but outside opinion Is thai
it did. The epidemic collapsed suddenly. It
did not wait for frost or cold weather. Usually
1t takes three or four frosts, A2', or o freeze, 80,
to kill 1t of. 1t simply c~ollapsod-no other
word describes Its sudden disappearance. Tho
fact is that tho yellow fever this year was weak
and feeble; 1t seemed to have lost its yiru-
lence and infectiousness and carried out the
idea that diseases, like races, reach q certain
degree Of development and then decay, growing
weaker with evory epidemic, until they finally
die out.
The weakness Of tho yellow fever was no.
where better illustrated than In tho case Of
Ocean Springs, Miss, the town at which 1t Is
supposed to have started. Tho disease. as far
as can be learned, started there late in July or
early In August. 1t had been pretty well dis
tributed when its existence was discovered on
Sept 8. And yet, after Its discovery there,
and when 1t was epidemic, there were only Al
cases and B deaths in a population Of 200, and
tho disease completely disappeared early in
October. when the.thermometer registered 80.
1t died Of Its own debility. In no previous yell
low fever epidemic had anything like this 90
CURED Tho disease also seemed far less con-
tagious or infectious than usual. A number
OF towns kept In constant communication with
New Orleans throughout the epidemic, but
never caught the fev er. Again, tho foyer
showed itself far less severe In its type. In
1878 the mortality was 29.s per cent. in 1858.
2s.9. and the average Of previous epidemics was
more than 30 per cent. of those attacked. This
30 Dor cent. this high mortality WAS due to the
fact that a number Of cases were not reported
ii4.5 per cent; Mobile AS per cent cent; BiIoli,
EdSapFd ss s ss11 psr o Mot1tG09n sY Z, &. 70 Io5 Per . cent nsi
ton in 1873; Of having the lowest mortality
Per cent, This is very low for q disease with
The q reputation Of yellow fever as . killer. It
idemics; It is only half the mortality the doc-
tors reported IN 1873. Several reasons are
yellow fever was Of not SO severe q type as
Formerly; It may, be added that the mortality
Seli Ssw fe oTlsaR %a during 1nls ~ sao p SeE ts0Sss Of the he
5sss1i s:s; GEAR: The general health was tsstsF
low fever epidemic Of 1897 that viii be Of use
south has been convinced that the present sys-
tenn Of State and:local guarantees is ~intoler-
now going up from tho South which has swept
away the old Opposition to Federal interference
Gratis are SUPPORTING national aDi' quarantine Hl1intio D' The
commercial interests OF the South are unani.
a sspss-t On dSns on Ing i; a5a 1T rs ps5 B5SeS Sast th sSs
Federal Government to take charge of Quaran-
With liz rao.nt -raat oo- a., -~lt.oI
science 1t was hoped to make important dis
coveriea about yellow fever. The result is
may DO that It is somewhat early to take this
not in yet, but those who have led In the inves-
tigation are moro or less frank in their ~confes.
% ilNo' Demand 5nas addey that haVe the lsaf inSes titalfi III apps By tDs:
tinued In Cuba Is a confession Of lack Of sue
f 3sss; I dnSestlhg ia10ns,. W W. 2. conducted aute along
the present epidemic, tho so-called Sanarelli
germ the source Of the poison, how the infec-
prevention of spread Of the disease.
De. Guiteras has already presented his report
but his conclusions are vigorously contested by
R Ib.yrn "a 7 II nearly every city. In each town
yellow fever in one Is dengue or acoiimating
fever in another. That there has been yellow
fever In Galveston all summer, Dr.. Guiteras has
testihed, and so have many reputable local doc
tors; but the dominating Influence pronounced
she SSsss ds n y. or malariai fever the health
Va - eNSoptSu tuAo laItoE
nosis as correct, and Galveston has remained
open In spite of the fever. Indeed, the dag
nosis Is moro unsettled than ever. Formerly
tho doctors agreed as to yellow foyer; now they
disagree: There is no standard. no recognized
South: There tS practically no such disease as
IN New, Orleans, Mobile and elsewhere, but It
ls called by q different name In Texas and other
parts of the South.
Complete failure has rewarded all efforts to
md the origin Of the yellow fever epidemic OF
this season. 1t 10 usually supposed to have
originated at Ocean Springs, Miss. and two
thatit same from the United States quSran.
tine Inc station At Ship Island; the other that It
party destined for Cuba. These are pretty
stories, but unfortunately not the slightest owl
dence has been secured to support either. II is
not even Known whom the fever came to Ocean
springs. Strange to say, the first news Of 1t
came from Louisville In July and 1t was not UNI
~ Sept. Q that the disease was discovered and
to indicate that the disease got Into the coun.
try sr . a. several Yer place" ss OF about the same time,
tors used to claim. This 10 In marked contrast