The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-12-16
NATIONAL HOME
FOR LEPERS.
Provisions Of a Prospective
Bill in Congress.
PLAN TO RESTRIG? THE DISEASE.
Measure to be F'a 'hered by Senator
T. G. PIatt in the Senate and
Representative Wanger in
the House.

Senator T. c. Plat and Representative
/ P. Wanger of Pennsylvania viii intro
duce bills this week. it Is reported, pro-
Viding for Commissioner of Leprosy and
home for Iepers. The intention of
the bill is to have this nation in har-
mony with the suggestions for fnterna-
tionaI action of the Berlin Leper Con
ference.
The bill provides for a Commissioner of
Leprosy, who shall be a physician of ten
years practice and who shall receive a
salary Of $4,000 year He is to reside in
New York or san Francisco. For the
erection Of buildings for the Iepers S5G,-
GOO is to be appropriated In addition. a
square mile Of the public domain is to
be set aside for the colony Of unfortu-
Eates
No Iepers are to be admitted as imnf-
grants, and persons coming from Ieprous
families are to be under the strict super
vision OF the authorities for at least
seven years.
Restriction Provisions.
Among the provisions Of the act are
the following:
at shall be unlawfsI for any State
board OF health knowingly to keep OF al
low to be kept within its Jurisdiction any
leper, unless such leper Is isolated in a
special asylum, away from patients SUI
ferins from other diseases; OF permit
such leper, If able to take care Of him
self, or if he is taken care Of by his fam
lily, to remain in his family or with
strangers in the household otherwise
than under the strict supervision of the
State Board of Health. approved BY the
I
In no case shall such leper be permit
ted to reside in any public boarding
house hotel or eat at a public restau-
rant His clothing is to be kept apart
and his washing to be done separately In
no case shall his clothes be washed in
public laundry He must use and wash
mis- own eating utensils, sleep alone, IN
less married. and have no bodily contact
such as kissing etc, with any other
member of his family
Marine Hospital in Charge.
It IS further provided that the United
States Marine Hospital shall have full
charge Of the Lepers' Home. The bill has
the endorsement of many State boards of
health On the other hand, Florida, Lou
isiana. and New Hampshire have signfied
their objection TO the Marine Hospital
Service having anything 20 do with the
leprasy question
Dr. Albert s Ashmead. of New York.
says that sequestration IS necessary. as
the leper himself fees from his fellows
because he cannot stand the lOathing in
which he Is held, and also because the
Government is responsible TO the com
munity TO guard it freEa the increase of
the plague DR. AShmead says:
SeQuestratiOn mast not be used BIZ
half; to isolate IepeT in his own house.
as they do in Norway. is only to gid the
pill to hide its bIsckness. without dfr7fD-
ishing its effect On the other hand to
condemn an individual TO q cOcped-up
room, to deprive him Of air and exercise
Is thousand times worse than to con-
denim him TO the gaIIeys- The isolation
must be social. not individual
Lepers VIII Welcome 1t.
''The lepers. far from being afraid to
leave society. will desire to do so. and. al
though their disease will remain. they
viii have more tclerable existence We
shall il this manner cut al the root
plague which threatens the future of ex-
banding America and which would put
hundreds of families in mourning.
The Scandinavian States, such as Hi
nois, Indiana, Michigan. and Minnesota.
ain doubtless through their Senator's and
Representatives oppose the bill, it being
the belief of the Scandinavian OF vveaIth
that individual isolation is preventive
Of the spread of the disease. Dr. Arnauer
Hansen. the Scandinavian authority, SAYS
that through this method the Iepers have
not only avoided unusual hardshiDs. but
that there were S.0G0 sufferers in 1856 and
only zoo this year. He does not explain
that this decrease was largely due to ex-
porting them TO the United States.
France discovered that in two PROV
inces leprosy was on the increase. or
rather had reapDeared, and vigorous
measures were taken to stamp it out
The conference in Berlin has shown that
the peril Of the plague is growing. and
america must take some action to protect
herself. It is very real and urgent pre-
caution