The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-17
ADVANCE OF THE PLAGUE,
MoTTyG FROM NAN TO NAN AND FROM
PORT TO PORT.

NJ Hanotnux, the former Minister Of Foreign
Affairs in Franco, has written n letter 10 the ~.
caro- declaring that the Asiatc plague is In Eu.
rope and calling for an International commission
10 project Europe in Europe itseli" In his letter
NJ Hhnotnu1 says:
the plague Is in Europe have not seen
any evidence OF the discovery Of the precise cir.
cumstances under which il has been introduced,
but its presence is officially announced ard q
denied by nobody. Moreover. the people Of Eu.
rope have now for some time been expecting Il
i. may almost DO said that its advance has been
remarked beforehand. just like the evolution u
O malady In body threatened and contaminated
AS usual The plague OF inntcd In Ala A
terrible Ct iicuic favaged India Its progress
was facil lated by an accumulation Of frightiul
misoriea the result Of famine such as the word
has rarely witnessed The two scourgcs TO-
mine and plague, marched together The sp,c-
tacio presented by the most beautiful Engl!sh
colony during the past three years has been dread
full II such o thing had occurred in French
colony. heaven only knows how hoarsc the Eng.
lsh throats would be from shouting about our
inAptitudc for coloninng. But at all events, tho
plague, the daughter Of misery and famine took
up its quarters IN India, and It has not yot boen
oxtirpetod-
-Opoo In India, one might well say that u
had reached Europa We all remember the panic
that was aroused two years ago when the an
nounoomeut Of Tho advance Of tho plague was
spread abroad. Aarseilles, which "a always
tho frst 70 be attacked. closed its port Doubt
less the city recalled The horrors Of the plague
of 17aO, In the days Of the Bishop BelEunce Nor
seilIes had good reason 70 remember that plague,
but IL was wrong 70 close the port which II was
Obliged 70 reopen. not without come confusion
At tho Same Wmo tho governments of different
r.lx
measures 70 DO taken 70 guard against the IN.
vason Of the disoase An international con-
ference was called Prophylactc measures
debated at length and carefully enacted. Then
tho conference adjourned, believing that Il had
thoroughly guarded against tho threatened
scourge
Bat tho plague carcs little for resolutions
on paper II simply embarked on board ordi-
nary vessels that is TO say. the boats that take
tho Musselman pilgrims from India to Arabia
There its presence was discovered by the doctorA
They asked tho plague for Its papers II pro-
scented them. They shut Il up in the lnzAr
house Of Tor. II submitted good humoredly
Once in this place Of prediction, II had only
to wait and take things quietly. A year passed
on, and then suddenly it was found in Aexan-
driA In the land OF the Pharsohs it was somo-
what benign II appeared and disappeared =
two or three cases hcrc and there and then no
more for come time AS rule the mslady at
tackled the poor natives, but tho exceptions 20
10 show that II is by no means inclined TO spare
any class or to 60 away in hurry.
Let US not forget the excitement that arose
on the southern shores Of the Indian Ocean when
the plague suddenly appeared in Tamatave and
weakened for q moment the energy OF our colony
in Madagascar We were still thinking about
it there when the malady nadc another bound
-l,oI
Of the Pasteur Institute, recognized it and in.
formed the world of his terrible discovery. Tho
population came near tearing him to pieces and
one OF his colleagues Doctor Cortn, assaulted
him in the street A riot was created The
shops were closed and tho people shouted Down
with him!' To the water with him. Just az
II Sebastian Faure himself were al the head Of
tho movement The police charged tho mob
Tho wounded as usual, were policemen
That was all very well. but Il did not drive tho
plague out of Oporto. Tho mob may gut more
stores and attack more doctors and police officers
but that will not prevent tho plague to continue
slowly but surely Its deadly work.
But now that the thing is manifest and the
prophecies realized. will Europe at last take the
trouble to open its eyes and adopt the necessary pro-
cautionary measures2 The first OF these measured
IL seems 10 me- Is TO fix the responsibility, immedi-
ate and direct, In the clearest manner II plague
which for two centuries has been kept away from
Europe Is now brought TO our doors we Should
know exactly how It came why ii came, and where
has been the negligence or the opposition TO the
safeguards established TO keep It out
Everybody knows now that this disease IL
not transmitted through the air. 1t needs direct
vehicle for its expansion. such water or i'm
mediate contact Spiders and rats have been
blamed for IL They have strong backs and
oke is sometimes improved by being sinister
and lugubroua The plague is transmitted
n the most natural and the most evident manner
hat is 10 say, from man TO man, from boat to boat
md from port to port Nothing can be clcnre1
han that International rules have been esrsb-
ished to prevent these contacts and transm1s-
'ions. Why and by whom have they been v.o-
ated, That is the question
THE public which is sometimes careless even
n regard TO matters that concern it most has not
lways followed with proper attention the I'D
nirable efforts made by science, and particularly