The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-30
TO STAMP OUT SMALLPOX.
MARINE HOSPITAL SERVICE ASKED
TO TAKE CHARGE.

Health Officer drummer Has Made a
Request Upon Surgeon General
Wymnn for This section of the
State-ERectiNe Measures Re-
quired to Check the Further
Spread of the Disease in south
GeoraIa-NOw Three Gases Mt Sn-
Nannah's Pest House, All Brought
From other COunties-COmpuIs
Vaccination begun and the Police
Court HGbitues Given a Good Taste
of II.
Hen.th Officer Drummer has asked Sur
geon General Wyman to have the Marine
Hospital Service take charge of the small
pox situation in Georgia, aud he has rea-
son to believe the request Will be com
piled with. Georgia has no state health
board and no provision for dealing with
epidemic diseases by the state authorities.
A recent law, however confers upon the
Marine Hospital Service the authority 10
take charge Of epidemics within the state
upon a request TO this effect from the
Governor. As such Intervention is badly
needed at best the request will doubtless
be forthcoming.
DR.. Brunner's idea is that the service
should take complete charge establishing
camps of isolation and adopting effective
measures to stamp out the disease. The
service rendered assistance last winter
but its representative confined himself to
giving advice to county and local authorl-
ties upon the proper methods of dealing
with the disease. The consequence was
that but little effective work was done
and the disease lasted through the sum
mer and is now more general in its spread
than was the case last season. DR.. Brun-
ner expressed his disapproval Of such half
hearted measures at the time and in his
letter 10 the surgeon general stated plain
ly that a different system of work would
have 70 be adopted if anything is to be
accomplished.
In discussing the matter Dr. Brun-
ner said that the situation simply Is
that smallpox prevails to greater OF
less degree in nearly every county in
South Georgia. While the disease has
not assumed alarming proportions ana
while the death rate mas been remark
ably low, it is ample time, he considers,
for effective measures to be taken for its
suppression.
LII. Drummer mas already Dt5 uh MS YUM
paign of compulsory vaccination in the
city. A large and interested audience
was neatly trapped at Recorder Hart
ridges matinee yesterday morning. Be
ing Monday morning, there was a large
crowd of prisoners, witnesses and oilers
in attendance, together with q few attor-
neys and court attaches The doors were
guarded, and none of those who had pass
ed into the trap were allowed to go out
again until their arms had been scratched
with the vaccine points or satisfactory eV-
idence furnished of previous vaccinat don.
1t was just the class Of material that Dr..
Drummer likes 20 get in his work on, and
he was well prepared with corps of city
physicians and sanitary inspectors. IN
ALL some thing over 100 persons barred their
arms TO the virus. Some objected very
slrenuously, but objections did not go.
AmS2g the prisoners We're two negroes
who had been arrested Saturday on com.
plant of a sanitary inspector for refusing
to submit to vaccination. They were each
fined 80 or fifteen days in Jail, and NOT
having the money they were sent to jail,
after having been Vaccinated.
There are now three cases of smallpox
at the pest house, al negroes. All three
were mpostations. one from Button, one
from the interior of South Carolina AMI
the ether from Blackshear. The first case
was found in Robertsvile, the second in
the Cid Fort and the third in YamaCraW.
These are all that have been found in
two weeks and each case was brought in
from distance. No case of infection has
develop ed in the city.
In each instance where a case was
found all tie oc upants in the house were
also removed TO the pest house and plac-
cd in quarantine there. In addition 10 this
all the resi6en in the vicinity were re-
CURED to undergo vaccination. In enforc-
ing this rule the inspectors were not par
ticular as to whether those upon whom
they laid hards were actual residents Of
the neighborhood or mercy there through
accident or curiosity. goin~ on the safe
principle that the vaccination would do
no ham anyway. The city physicians
have been doing great deal of vaccin-
ating al their offices and DIR, Drummer
estimates that the work is going ahead
at the rate of 100 vaccinations daily.