Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-01-14
The GRIP EPIDEMIC.
Large Percentage OF the People
Of the United States
Afflicted.
Schools and Colleges and BUSH
ness Hampered With the
Disease.
Physicians Have Found No Sat-
isfactory Specific For the
Malady.

Chicago, Jan IA More than half a
million persons in the grippe belt,
which extends across the United States
from New York to the Rocky; moun-
tains are suffering with tbs, disease.
The epidemic is greater in the east.
with vide bulge in the belt in Penn
sylvania. Illinois is also extensively
afflicted. The western cNaet is com
paratively' free and some Of the south
Iern cities, where 1t is dry and clear, are
practically exempt.
In proportion 10 their size Pittsburg,
| Reading and Allegheny City, in Penn
sylvania, are the most seriously visited.
In those cities the mills and factories
are short handed and arv falling be-
hind with their orders
In the big cities of New York and
Chicago the changea,ble Weather has
caused the grippe to spread al an
alarming rate, and altho few cases are
reported as fatal, the number of cases
/ is enormous.
Wichita, Kan, has Introduced q now
city in the way of an aft@r result, near
| sy' all these having the grip being att
tackled by nausnps immediately upon
getting over the first disease.
| The big colleges ale suffering consid-
lsera!bly from the epidemic Princeton
I having many cases in the hospitals.
I Harvard claims to be exempt. but Ann
4A1'bor and some of the others are SER
l8iously distressed.
| In Indianapolis the legislature is re-
/ ported as being a popular place for
grippe invasions. arldFmaii5l OF the state
reprs sentatives have been incapacitll-
ed for active work
The town of Princeton, Ill.,, holds the
percentage record, one-ilalf Of the pep
ltilation being reported i'll with the
grippe.
In all the cities heard from the dis
ease appears To caus. the greatest
trouble whore numbers of persons con-
gregate daily, such as factories. schools
and colleges, the only norabls, exceip-
tons being the perliteEiiaries. which
l3are usually free from aftiiction.
Galveston, Tex. which has just
passed thru flood. has little grippe
but is undergoing a visitation of small
Ispox pneumonia and more grave dis
,eases.
The grippe belt begins at New York,
where ii Is wide and heavy. From there
it extends broadly thru Penns ylvania,
sOhio Indiana and Illinois. In Iowa,
missouri, Kansas and states farther
Iswest and north the belt tiins out
4 con5id erably. In the south the dis
case appears oily in spots of consider
/ able area.
The total number Of cases reported
i from 40 cities and towns is 56SSS5s
New York ana Chicago leading with
100. o0O cases each and Philadelphia fol-
/ lowing with 10000.
i Chicago in the midst of an epidemic
4 of influenza, ind thus shares the ia te
sIof nearly every large city and almost
4 every town iii the country The disea 81
If4sss prevalent in all partH of the city, and,
Towing to the unfavorable conditions of
1.-The weather principally the lack OF
\ sursline has assumed a rather viru-
llent type. CAUTIOUSLY enough, the gem
d eral CONDITION of health in the city,
4 influenza, estimated at 10000. with
i their resulting compiled tiors. is good,
land the mortality is not much greater
4 than usual at this season of the year.
According TO the figures of the health
.
{ IAN causes during the week ending or
!, JON > was ISL. against 81 during tbs
!. corresponding week of 1860. Among
those deaths there We're eighteen
caused by influenza 161 caused by
pneumonia, and forty-nine by heart
l6isease. most of those cases probably
suIerinduced b. influenza During the
j spending week of 1900 there was
lonly one casa Of death from influenza
ninet y two cases from pneumonia, and
l.forty cases of heart disease.
4 During the week ending on Jan. ; the
itotaI mortality from all causes was 553
against SIS in the corresponding week
: of 1900. During that week seventeen
Il persons died from influenza, l29 from
=, pneumonia and forty-one from heart
y disease. During the Corresponding
Z Week of 1900 tllere wac no death from
influenza, ninety-one persons died from
pneumonia, and tfairty-four from heart
disease. Considering the large number
:. of deaths from pneumonia and heart
disa se during the last two weeks, the
: Increase in the general mortality was
insignificant
q Az to the best means of treating and
avoiding disease Dr. Herman SpalGine
-5Iof the health department expressad
q himself az follows: Nothing positive Is
7 known a bout the primary causes of this
; disease. OF course. the bacillus of influ.
: enza has bean discovered and special
tied in separate cultures. but no anti.
8 toxic treatment has as yet been de.
: vised. Nosone njoys perfect immunity
from the disease and practically nc
r prophylactic measures of more than a
1 general nature can be suggested GU,
8 system of strict supervision in tht
: schcols has, so far been sufficient i,
prevent wholesome spreading of tn.
disease among the children in the pub
lie schools"
Our knowledge Of the influenza ba.
: cllus." said DR.. Adolph Gehrnann. th,
bacteriologist of the health depart
5 ment, ia still imperfect. The difficult,
. lies in the fact that animals are little
!. if al all, susceptible to incubation witt
Z the influenza germ, and we can not vel
experiment with human beings Tn
:, bacillus ls known and also the fact tina
= it thrives IN medium rich with REL
!. = blood corpuscles. but beyond that no
!, much of positive nature has been dis,
covered so far"
o Jessie Morrison's Next Trial.
p Wichita, Kas., Jan. 14.-Miss Jess
d Morrison, who wac tried for the muir
8 der of Mrs. DIN Castle, with the cas-,
g resulting in hung jury, will be re
II tried at the March term of the distrit.