The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-01
SMALLPOX is RAGING
THE EPIDEMIC is INCREASING
THROUGHOUT THE
STATE
GROSS NEGLIGENCE CHARGED
DIR. Beckman, of State Board of
Health, Makes Serious Charges
Against RenviIIe County
Physician.

Recent reports to the state board of
health show a marked increase in the
number of cases of smallpox throughout
the state and also a very large num-
Der of cases of diphtheria in some sec
lions.
1t is entirely natural that smallpox
should become more prevalent as the
weather becomes cooler, but the increase
in the past month has been far greater
than has been warranted by the changed
weather conditions, and in some locali-
ties the spread of the disease has been
directly traced to gross careleSSneSS on
the part of physicians or others upon
whom devolVes the responsibility of en-
forcing the quarantine regulations pro-
vided by law and the rules of the state
board of health, with authority of law.
DR.. E. H. Beckham, of the state board,
has spent some days in an investigation
of the conditions in Renville county,
where in the towns of Emmett, Flora and
Wang and the village of Renville three
have been twenty or more cases of small
pox within a period of but little over a
month. DR.: Beckham's report to Sec
rotary H. M. Bracken as to the result
of these Investigations was received at
the office in this city yesterday and re-
fleets seriously upon one of the physicians
of that district, DR.. w. A. Lumley
DR.. Beckham in his report relates the
detailed history of about twenty cases
of the disease in the four places named
above, all but one of which were at
tended by DR.. Lumley. 1t is set forth
in the report that the contagion was
spread from one family to another by
reason of failure to observe the quaran-
tine regulations and that some persons
were even permitted to go away with
threshing crews while broken out with
smallpox or after having been exposed
to it. One of the cases cited is mat of ia
baby named Zaski, who died Sept. 27,
admittedly of smallpox. DR.. Beckman
says in LIS report that the Lutheran min
lister who conducted the funeral cere-
mony but whose name he does not give,
told him that he had inquired of Dr.
Lumley if it would be permissible to
hold public funeral, and the doctor
told him that he and the family could do
as they pleased about that. 1t is charg-
ed that in several of the cases DR.. Lum-
ley removed the quarantine while the pa
tents were still broken out with the
disease.
MAY TAKE LEGAL ACTON.
The health department has not yet TAX
en- any legal action in the matter, but
probably will after Secretary Bracken has
had an opportunity to confer further
with DR.. Beckman.
Twelve cases of smallpox have been re-
ported from Cloquet since Sept 8. and
there are several new cases in Clay
county. Cases were also reported yes
terday from ST. Joseph, Comstock, Gran
lite Falls township, Fond du Lac Indian
reservation and some from Redwood
county. 80 -
In the collection of data regarding diph-
iberia the state health department mas
not as good facilities as in regard to
smallpox, but from local newspapers of
the different towns of the state and the
reports which are voluntarily sent in it
is found that epidemics more or less
serious in their character exist in many
parts of the state. Recent returns show
that the disease exists at Mankato.
Crookston, Sacred Heart, Duluth, Clio
quet, Preston, Anoka Wadena, West
Concord, Saltwater, Bristol, Wabasha and
LIE Sueur.
At Preston it is stated that there are
number of cases of what is termed
black diphtheria, and report from LIE
SUeur is to the effect that horses there
are suffering. from disease the symp-
toms of which are like diphtheria in HUI
man beings.