The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-22

nah to the Marine Hospital Service and
| expressed his pleasure at this evidence
| of confidence. He trusted that Savan-
nahians would never have occasion to re-
greet this confidence. Dr. Wyman allud-
! ed to the services rendered by Health
| Officer Drummer as quarantine officer at
Havana. and especially his services of a
patriotic nature, at great personal risk,
! in furnishing the government information
! at a critical time which proved of great
| value to the country. Turning to his
| subject proper, DIR. Wyman said:
| In April, 1887, an American citizen, tenn
porarily sojourniug in Central America
determined to return to the United Sta ,es.
! He was in San Jose, a small city on the
| Pacific coast of Guatemala, one Of those
| unsewered, insanitary Central American
| coast cities which are the breeding spots
| of yellow fever, where the disease pre-
| walls annually and is limited only by the
amount of new material 10 feed upon. lie
/, left, in apparent coed health on or about
| April g. and partly on mule-back and
| partly by rail, assembled the mountains
| and crossed over to the Atlantic coast 10
! Port Barrios where he arrived April T. and
at once took a steamer for New Orleans
! From the latter port he imme liately pro.
! ceeded to his home at Ocean Springs, Mis-
sissippi, where on April l3, he was SEIZED
with an attack of yellow fever, so mild as
10 escape observation. In due course Of
! time, by the latter part of August, there
/ was well defined epidemic OF yellow
| fever in Ocean Springs, and, it had spread
to other states, with results which must
still be fresh in the minds of all here pres
emit of shotgun quarantines, disturbance
of business interruption of passenger
traffic. hardships imposed on travellers,
! and all the other unhappy corcomi ants Of
| a yellow fever epidemic
In nine states there were 4,325 cases re-
ported and 4S4 deaths. The following year
there was a recrudesence of this feVet
there being reported 2479 cases and Us
deaths in two states. Last year, despite
the previous severe winter. there We're
again, in Louisiana and Mississippi, 205
cases reported and thirty-one deaths.
The foregoing mortality therefore, the
interruption to traffic and travel, and the
injury to the business of great CONNER
cial cities, almost incalculable in amount.
during the last three years, can be traced
to the conditions prevailing in the little
town of San Jose on the Pacific coast Of
Guatemala.
This has lead to an investigation by the
Marine Hospital Service of the conditions
prevailing in these towns of our neighbor-
ing Central American republics. which
have such a fearful influence upon the
lives and prosperity of our people
At the close of the yellow fever season
last fall ali experienced medical officer,
thoroughly conversant with the Spanish
Language, who had long residence in Cen
| trail America and had been serving in
the office Of the United States consul at
Vera Cruz, Mex, was commissioned to
make a tour of inspection. His route was
| across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec begin
ming q the city of Coatzacoalcos which
is the Gulf of Mexico terminus of the rail-
| road about to be constructed across the
isthmus, and including Salina Cruz, the
Pacific terminus of the road. and the in
tervening towns. Thence from Salina
Cruz on the Pacific coast, he has inspect
ed the coast cities of Guatemala, includ-
ing Ocos Champerico and San Jose. and
the coast and adjoining cities Of San Sal
vador. including Acajutla, Sonsonate,
Santa Anna, La Ceiba, Santa Tecla, San
Salvador, and La LiDerad. Our inspector
reports that the cOmmandant of one Of
| these coast cities had received notice thar
there were some cases of bubonic plague
in Brazil and inquired of him very par
tcularly whether the Pacific mail steamer
on which he arrived, had stopped at Bra
zil on her way from San Francisco.
| From San Salvador he has proceeded to
| Panama, and is now in Guayaquil, Ecua-
dor, from whence he returns to inspect
the towns Of Costa Riea and Nicaragua
and later will report upon the towns on
a
with the exception of seven, where Marine
Hospital Service inspectors are stationed
| each year TO prevent infection being
brought with fruit vessels
These countries and these cities with
! Spanish names, at first thought seem far
! remote, but | have only 20 refer to the
| 1897 incident, just related, to impress unon
you the direct relation which they hear
to the United States. This is not the time
i nor place to go into details hut
| the reports thus far received show a re
markable lack of the first principles of
| sanitation and an entire absence of quar-
antine protection in these cities Our in
spector reports that in 1885 a case of vel
low fever was brought to La Libertad in
Salvador by a German steamer from Guav-
! aqual, and there being no uuara ntine nro-
cedures the disease was introduced and
spread throughout the entire re-
public There were thous nds OF
deaths from the disease that
! year. and the following wear IA
was nearly as bad 1t is obvious. there.
fore, that there is wofu disregard Of
| sanitary obligations on the part of these
! ports and cities, which every year. bv roa
son of rapid railroad construction and i'm.
crease OF steamship lines. are brought in
| TO closer commercial relations with fba
ports f'the United States. These are orr
| neighbors, and we cannot be Indifferent
to their negle>t of sanitation and ouaran
tine laws nor to their passive endurance
OF pestilence, which not only affiicss them
selves, but may afilict us
So great has been the increase i'm com
merce within the past few years thai n
may now be said without exaegeration
that the sanitary conditions ana the healtb
of the people in any port Of The world is
of material interest to the people of ali
other countries. Take as an Illustration
Santos. Brazil, where the sanitary condi-
tions have been VIGOROUSLY bad Iast No
vember the bubonic plague appeared nj
that port, and its effect was felt, as though
by an electric shock, In the city of New
York, nearly 5000 miles distant The priee
of coffee was raised upon the consumers
merchants of New York felt the financial
loss involved by the necessary quarantine
restraints, the conditions In Santos he
came the subject Of careful Inquiry, both