The herald., 1897-02-21

Brother island, located in Long Island
Sound Under the present holding of
the board of health 1t may be that the in
mates of the leper hospital may be re-
leased, because the argument has al
ready been made that there is no use in
holding them if the public would not be
menaced by their freedom; that if they
have to be in hospitals at all they might
as We'll be in one of the regulation city
hospitals for the poor.
These facts are referred to because
largely upon the issue of this DISPUTE
depends the establishment of the leper
hospital in New York, which would
practically be the initial institution of
it's kind. When questioned concerning
his plans in the matter, DR.. Ashmead
said
II am considering the propriety of
starting Carrasquilla institute in New
York city. / have received from Dr.
Carrasquilla. Bogota, Colombia, six con-
sgnments of anti-leprous serum, ~ bot
ties in all. Further consignments Will
be following at short intervals. OF the
consignment received. / have forwarded
portions thereof to DR.. NanSen at Ber'
gen, Norway; DR.. O. Peterson, Inspector
general of leprosy of Russia, st. Peters,
burg; DR.. Edwards, president of the
Hawaiian board of health, Honolulu.
These gentlemen will experiment with
suits obtained.
prof. CarrasQuilla in his latest letter
to me says: The efficacy of the anti
leprous serum, tried for one year on a
large number of patients, leaves no
doubt, as you will find out for yourself,
of its power. The process gives all kinds
of security, which makes me hope that
you will recommend it to the attention
of others and persuade them to study
It,.
1.-THE above-named countries, Norway,
Russia and the Sandwich islands, have
had the following experience: In Nor
way, in 1856, there were 2S77 lepers In
the time elaps'ng from that date to 1891
475S additional cases appeared, making
grand total of 1885. There was passed
in 1885 a law known as the mixed iso-
lation law-that is, isolation in hospitals
and in families. If the family of the
leper desires to retain his companion
ship. they are allowed to do so, provided
they see to it that not the slightest dan
ger of contagion, so far as other people
are concerned, exists.
There was time in Russia when If
was held that the disease was not con-
tagious. The population at that time
was 124,000,000 Owing to the prevail
ing opinion, the leper hospitals were
closed. The fallacy of supposing lep-
rosy to be non-contagious was almost
at once apparent in the tremendous in
crease of the disease. Prof. Munich OF
Kiev and Prof. Peterson began studying
leprosy in Russia in 1879 Their con-
clusions, after long and careful consid-
GRAFTON, were that climate, situa ton and
food had nothing to do with the spread
of leprosy. A Russian commission ap-
pointed to consider the subject reported
quite recently that their Investigations
showed that leprosy was contagious and
therefore advised the segregation of ali
lepers.
There are in Russia today 5000 lepers
There are about the same number in the
Hawaiian islands. No one knows the
number of lepers in the United States.
A. rule, those whose cases are dis
covered are the victims of accident or
some other disease annaars Tn every