New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-03
RATS AND THE PLAGUE.
TIE ARGUMENTS AS TO WHETHER OK
NOT THEY SPREAD 1T.


the plague, the scourge Of scourges, which men
have dreaded since before the days Of Thucyd-
;des and In the description Of which Thucyd-
ides the Athenian Manzon the Milanese ana
Dofoe the Engishman made literary reputa-
tions that would have lived forever If none OF
the three had written anything else. But the
trouble with the rodent accused OF disseminate
ing the bubonc plague is that he is hard 10
hang because he Is hard to catch
This. perhaps, is fortunate, in the interests OF
strict Justice The evidence that the plague ID
transmitted by rats any more than by MOS
Quitoes or mice or other small deer Is really
not enough fairly to hang rat on Inc
theory appears to be based on % the traditions
of Europe in the Middle Ages and in the seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries, and (Z) on the
popular belief Of the natives OF Hndustan and
the Deccan.
AS to the first ground, a New-York bacteri-
ologist OF the highest standing said last week:
"Thcre is no use in talking now about any
theory of plague infection that dates back more
than two years" which means, Of course, mat
the recent outbreak in Bombay and the search
ing Investigations by both the British-lndlah
and the Russian governments to which II led
have done a great deal to upset traditional De-
liefs on that subject. The pity is that the posi-
so far little more than crude material for the
future elaboration Of scientific workers As to
the popular Hindoo belief, which gives the name
of "rat disease" to the plague it may or may
not be more valuable than the genealogical
theory that sets the territorial globe on the
back Of divine elephant. which stands on
celestial tortoise, which is not provided by the
ancient legend with any "pou sto" at all.
TWO THEORIES RECOGNIZED
The work OF the Agra Special Commission.
appointed by the Indian government, was given
TO the general public in the spring Of this year
1t recognizes two possible theories Of the origin
of the Bombay epidemic one Of these is the
Kamaon Hill theory, which supposes that the
plague is endemic in the Kamaon Hills, and
from time to time-"as fate and the gods de-
cide"-s brought down to the populous cities of
the seaboard 10y travellers through other
casual channels.
The other may bc called the rat theory"
According to this the plague comes to the city
Of Bombay and to oonah from Mando. What
casts suspicion upon poor Mandoi is that it is
an emporium or centre Of distribution for the
Hong Kong trade From time mmcmorial it
has been believed 10y suffering humanity that
while Eblis is the workshop OF the bubonic
plague, China is the earthly centre from which
it starts on its tour OF devastation Now, at
Mando in India, there are storehouscs and
granaries filled with tea silk, grain ana other
Chinese merchandise, and those storehouses are,
naturally, the haunts Of rats. The plague, from
the character of its symptoms, has two chances
Of dissemination to the one chance of. for exam
pie smallpox, which scatters its bacteria only by
way Of the pus, or skin eXcrcment, or cholera,
which spreads only by way of intestinal dis
charges.
Therefore, any grain or any silk which has
come from plague stricken district of China
has double chance TO be the vehicle Of plague
germs. Rats eat grain and also eat silk-though
they will not take the trouble to gnaw cotton
except when the goods have been STEPPED in
grease or some other thing which they Hke-and
they eat grain. 1t follows that if there any
plague germs in the Mandoi storehouses the
rats of Mandoi are sure to swallow some Of
them.
RAT MORTALITY AND THE PLAGUE
Moreover it is known that an outbreak of
the plague is generally preceded 10y a remark
able and on other grounds, unaccountable NOR
tally among the rats. One Anglo-Indian Of
fetal in fact made it an argument against the
rat theory" that rats were ever seen dur
ing an epidemic of the plague. This fact. as
the official does not seem to have observed
might well be- accounted for 10y the death of
most of the rats and the flight Of the rest at
an early stage Of the outbreak But the odium
OF spreading the plague is considerably light
cred 10y the fact that the rats, if they are re-
sponsihlc for this evil, themselves suffer for it,
And in concluding what seems To be all IN,
evidence against poor Mus Rattus il is only
fair To- repeat that beetles flies. mosquitoes and
ncas all well known at Mandoi-arc still to be
heard from in cnnncclimn with lhn smhicct