The Savannah morning news., 1900-10-23
THE ARMY REGIME A FAILURE.
nAvANA's UNsANITARY CONDITION
DUE TO BAD MANAGEMENT.


Placed in Charge of the work
inexperienced ANA Incompetent
Win Less Material to Feed Upon
Than Ia Former Years There h
More yellow FcVer-sOme of SUR
EcoB MAJOR Davis NREaries-rhc
EIectrosone Experiment Failure.
The sanitary experts o. savannah re-
gard the present unsatisfactory sanitary
condition OF Havana. with rs prevailing
epidemic OF yellow fever. as due entirely
to the mismauagem Of the army, which
has undertaken 10 direct everything IN
that city. os well az elsewhere 10 Cuba.
including sanitary matters
The moriuary record for September
shows $40 deaths in Havana. Of which So
are ascrlbed 10 yellow fever. and total
OF 80 TO feyers Of all forms. This makes
a very bad record especially after the
amount Of money spent in sanitary inn
provements is considered The high death
rate Is also remarkable In view Of the
fact that there Is less material there now
for yellow fever to work upon thar In
former years
DR. VIM F. Drummer. savannah's health
officer and formerly quarantine officer Of
Havana. expressed his views very plainly
when seen by a Morning News reporter
yesterday.
The condition OF affairs is due to the
lack OF knowledge on the part OF the
United States army officers 10 handle any
serious sanitary problem. said Dr. Brun-
ner The simple truth is that the people
in charge do not understand their bust
ness They have not had the practical eN-
perience TO ht themselves for such work.
The management OF the sanitary depart
ment under Gen. Ludlow was bad enough.
and II has evidently not improved any un-
der Gen Wood. The latter seems TO De
cndeavoring 10 put IN practice the same
measures with which he succeeded In put
ting an end 10 the fever IN Santiago. that
Is. bv simply clearing the city OF its non
immune population This will hardly prove
successful IN a large commercial city like
Havana.
The amount OF fever prevailing al this
time is an the more remarkable. said
DR. Drummer, "becnuse Of the fact that
the amount OF non-immune material Tor
b. 10 work upon Is much less than IN
former years The United States troops
are auartered outside OF the city to ies-
sen the risk from fever. Under the
Spauish regime there was constant
shifting back and forth from the home
country OF troops which were changed
every four years. many OF which were
quartered IN the city. thus amordinE
fresh supplies of material for the fever
10 work upon Thousands Of spanish
merchants traders. clerks ana laborcrs
were constantly coming out from Spain.
Very little OF the real work Of the city
was done by the Cuhans. the etevedorcs
and dock laborcrs coming from Spain.
! This steady flow Of immigration Afforded
| constant fresh supplies Of material for
| the yellow scourge 10 prey upon. AMI
| In the naturally unsanitary condition Of
the city the fever fiourlshed as a matter
OF course.
1T was to be expected" DR. Drummer
said with 4 businesslike and intelligent
administration Of affairs by Americans
and the application Of the most approved
sanitary and scientific methods. that the
/ ravages Of the fever would nave been
greatly reduced particularly in view OF
I the fact that the supply Of victims. ow-
! ing to changed conditions. has been great
| " reduced Such results have not been
realized. After two years OF American
control the conditions appear 60 be- as
| bad as ever and the sway OF the yellow
/ ScourRe continues
The trouble with the government Of
/ hdials in charge" said Or Drummer Us
that they undertook 60 conduct the sanl-
tary affairs OF Havana as II they were
/ dealing with Boston or some other North
ern cities. The men In charge. We're
/ without knowledge OF local OF climatic
condition and the proper methods % deal
ing with these conditions. and they have
| seemed little disposed TO learn The poor
results are not surprising"
| The chief sanitary officer under Gen.
Ludlow. was a Major Davis. a railroad
doctor from Chicago. and appointed at
the instance OF Senator Cuilom OF mi
| nois DR. Drummer was then quarantine
| inspector OF the port and NJ was sur
prised 10 find that the new sanitary chief
/ seemed devoid Of even che most element
airy knowledge Of sanitary methods Hs
fitness FOR the position was based upon
the fact that he had once lived In Tennes-
see al the time Of the yellow fever cpi-
I demic. at Memphis. Ia 1873. and the
knowledge thus gained was suppos'd "a
qualify him for the position Of chief san
itary officer Of a tropical city.
one 81 the first moves OF the new san
itarian was 40 order all the cows removed
/ without the city limits. As the Cuhans re-
gard the COW with almost as much favor
as do the Irish the order raised great
howl IL was never enforced and II was
Charged that the dalrymen had raised a
I hiaAAitN anu AtuA IL NNfff " ANAlu do the
most good The matter created quite a
sensation. II was never shown. however.
that any OF che money reached Major
! Davis and as General Ludlow stood by
MIN in the matter nothing came OF the
| charges
/ one Of MAI Davis favorite schemes was
an electrozone plant by which sea water
was 10 he treated with electricity and
through the eltcorlysis thus induced was
] he ia als
was 10 be used ia washing down the walls
OF houses and infected places generally.
Electrozone was 10 be the great agent by
I which yellow fever was 10 be driven from
its lair. The plant was completed at a
cost OF $4,000 to the government and the
manufacture OF electrozonc begun There
WAS also a royalty OF so much per gallon
| 10 the patentee % the electrozone system
II Is evident that electrozoue has failed
| OF II. a private letter received by Dr.
Drummer from "a friend In Havana says
that they are having a lively time with
yellow fever. and that the "eiectrozonc did
/ not quite do the business"
The Marine Hospital Service has a rep
resentative az Havana. but he seems TO
be without the authority 10 exercise an
intelligent supervision Of the city's SAINT
tary ARRANGEMENTS or to take effective
measures against the disease. At any rate
the army regime has proved a failure
from a sanitary standpoint. and Havana
Is as much a danger spot to the Southern