The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-26
would IN due time be mastered and Suppressed.

/ nus NpilFNl'li'AH %
four years may BE- trusted TO givo tho normal
law then the plague Ia Bombay Is an infection
which follows the rains. increases steadily IA
the dry and cold season advances. and subsidies
penrly 10 extinction In June ard July. having
come to the height Of IT. curve about the mid
die Of March. Outsil. Bombay thero has been
no such uniformity OF season. Just ~ there has
been no such strailur35 from year to year.
After taking several towns and districts for tho
purpose oi COMPARISON the correspondent pro-
cccd,.
"Thc conclusion ~ forced upon ~. however
unwelcomc, that thoss must be some special
cause at work IN Bombay which Is not all on
tho surfarc aud does not wholly meet the eye"
From the rest Of his letter II would seem that
the soil Of Bombay Island has been for years
thoroughly soaked with scwago, while pOr-
tons OF Il that wnre formerly purified by rcgu-
lar inundatlons are 10 longer subject to those
periodical washings. SO that the soil OF certain
parts II the island has been converted into a
plague soil"
On Eel. L., 1897, the Niceroy tclegraphed 20
London that there was apparent connection
between structure OF buildings at Bombay and
progress Of plague" On Feb. 10 Bombay had
informed Calcutta that It intended. as a radical
measure. TO amend Bombay Act III Of 1879.
par D. Alter such revelations as were made
of the latriucs Of tho workmen's houses aud Of
the gullies between them one Is rather sur
prised TO learn that the new Industrial quarters
Of the city had been under a Building act at
all. Instead u closet pipes and connections
with the main sewers We hear Of surface scav.
enGinG by largo body Of swrepcrs, aud some
Kind Of sewers from which nth had to be carted
away.
The removal OF the nightsoil had been a se-
rious problem when Bombay was hardly half
the size. There Is a legend that "a bold man
once proposed that it should be carried by rail
clean ont Of tho island. and deposited on the
nearest sandy waste Of the mainland. Since
that time n whole new suburb has sprung up
on the northern side. like a Lancashire town.
with sixty or more large cotton mills. and the
expansions OF the native town towarl them,
The high ground next the sea around tho
southern end Of the island had been long in the
occupation Of the European residents. The old
native town lay around the foot Of these salg-
brious ridges, and was formerly subject to in
undGtion during certain months Of the year.
IA the demand for building sites increased.
the advantages Of elevation were still further
waived, insomuch that tho latest extensions
have been toward the central hollow Of the
island. which had been reclaimed from brack-
ish II arsh.
The completion Oft hc several sea ramparts,
which had been in progress for 200 years.
made continuous dry ground Of what used TO
be-. at high tide. seven Islands joined by cause
ways. In Flyers map OF 1872. there IS marked
a wide gap in the seward ridge. called the
Great Inlet or Breach Of the Sea- nearly OPP
posite the now r~opulous ward OF Byculla, II
must have been a difficult piece OF engineering
to carry main sewers for several miles through
these flats with a sufficient fall toward the
Indian Ocean.
Beside tho antccedent probability that the
soil Of the low-lying parts Of the island has re.
ceived more Of the sewage than Is compatible
with health. we find in Gen. Gatacrc's report
sach statements for particular spots in the
north Of the isldnd "a most 81 the sewage es-
Gaping into the ground drainage Of genera
tons having soaked into the ground" Sow
age-solden soil" and naturally unhealthy.
most Of the houses having been built On re-
claimed ground" The stratum in which the
filth fermentation goes on Is none the sweetcr
for having Leen long the bottom Of a brack lsh
marsh it Is subject also TO extremes o. satu.
ration and drought. which are always attended
WIN Il@k . anu y I'N'lNfS Oi w. NJ
many places, the enormous volume OF slop
water from the abun liant water supply brought
into the city from the mainland.
Is il surprising that such a combination OF
adverse circumstances should have turned the
soil of certain Iarts Of Bombay Island into a
plague soil: Some peculiar aggrayation OF
insanitary errors is needed TO produce, or TO
bring In and keep, such a disease as plague,
,,Lg.I 4 ft1.a1 a.. m ,N,4 ,tIVra ~ ,,g..
ton. But we know. by the testimony Of In
dian medical officials. that Spontaneous
plague" has 20 arisen on a small scale in the
case OF isolated hOvel, in the Kumnon jungle.
which hal been occupied all winter by cattle
on the ground floor and by one or two fam
lies Of people in the loft above, In these hot
beds Of disease. the rats have been the first
TO feel the poison AMI to attempt escape from
il. The comparison i not iattcrirG to the en-
iightcncl municipality Of bombay. II their
city has become q hotbel Of plague. it has
become so in moro I~usillous and reconcile
ways. They do not appear TO have been fully
aware Of the possib.itics from a foul sol. in the
limited space Of the island; otherwise. they
woull not have suffered for year, past the
refuse to be conveyed cut Of the city in carts
AMI thrown into q place Gale! the fats. where
the fresh dcpc-it wa daily covered by earth.'
and the reclaimed ground 80 lryeilcl mp for
building uIon. Their officials have prepared
tables Of the temperature. atmospheric moist
ure. and winds. from DAY TO day. but they have
neglected the one thing Of the kind which
would have given them The key to the seasonal
curve OF the infection namely. the state Of the
ground water.
The Bombay experiences have brought into
great prominence the significant hybriis Of
Vlague-typhuld TlaRuc-Ch0l"Ta and uIHguc-
pneumonia, IN" last form having been Itst OBJ
served in numbers during August, lSi7. when
the true plague was IN Allowance, and having
been associated with damp IN N" houses. Tho
hes, observer OF the great plague 81 London.
the npOthprary BOghurSt. cAmr to n conclusion
from which we have still something to learn:
And Therefore my opinion falls in wholly with
those who make the earth the seminary and
seed. plot II these vcnonQus vaporsa and pe-tit-
erOus cniuvia, which NitlhtH and corrupt the
air and consequently induce the pcstIlpncp.
And seeing that time prOluceth and
perfrcteth all things, the plague may be- gem
Grated thus. that in some compass of wears or
tirle the la'rns lr"-, of The earth come to "A ma
turc fermentation
Last Monday the House Of Lords added some
what to the guynty Of the nation. The incident
might be entitled The Bride. the Boy aud
Lord Salisbury It arose over the discussion
Of the Youthful Offenders bill. by which was
lcgalize1. as far as lies in the powers Of the
House Of Lords to leGali2e such n bill. a Eradu-
ated scale Of punishment, according to age.
Of from six strokes to eighteen strokes of the
birch instead Of imprisonment. II IS easy to
imagine the objections that would be raised on
the ground Of cruelty. degradation aud 50
forth. The Prime Minister declared such IDEAS
=, a., afn. san tip,,pfnlitV pul .yil,ptIv