Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-23
How to Prevent Spread Of
Pestilence.
IT COMES FROM CHINA
AUTHORITIES AT MANILA HAVE
VIGOROUS QUARANTINE.
Reports of the Condition in Chinese
Cities-Shipment of Dead Bodies
and Stealing Of Collins.

ana SIedl1uS VI SoAahS'
One of the perp1exing problems of the
American authorities at Manila will be, for
wears to come the prevention Of the spread
of pestilence. Standing at the open door OF
China, the plague-center Of the orient, with
communication by all kinds Of small craft,
the introduction of cholera and bubonic
plague into the Philippines cannot be pre-
vented. The most that can be expected of
the rigorous methods employed by quaran-
tine officials Of the archipelago is that they
will keep down the raVages of these dread
diseases.
If communication could be restricted to
the port of Hong Kong, much of the danger
would be averted, because of the alertness
of the English authorities in that great
entrepot But while they are employing
every appliance known to science to prevent
the spread of plague and cholera, Canton,
Fatshan, Honam, Kit Yang and other popu-
lous cities of Kwangtung province are reek-
ing storm centerS of Infection. Inc chi
nese authorities are apathetic, and even II
they tried they would be powerless to en-
force even the simplest rules of health.
Recent reports by Consul Robert M Nc
Wade of Canton give graphic details of the
frightful condition of affairs The Chinese,
with fataliStic unconcern, pursue their daily
aNOcatlOnS IN the mlQSt OF dying ana UeaO,
and even invent, with characteristic shreWd-
ness, means of profiting from the pestilence
that surrounds them. Their wits are train
ed to circumvent all health regulations.
They drink poisonous water, eat infected
food. breathe germ-laden air, and, when
overtaken, die the death with a stoicism
worthy of better cause.
Shipment of Bodies.
If away from his ancestral home when
the plague overtakes him, the Chnaman's
friends employ every artifce to send his
body back to be mingled with the ashes of
his fathers. That a whole city might be
contaminated in this shipment of a plague
corpse is no concern of theirs. This ship
ment of bodies is, of course, prohibited,
even by the Chinese authorities but they
are continually discovering ingenious meth
DDS of evading the law. A recently re-
ported from Canton is in point. A Chinese
died of the plague in Hong Kong whose
home was in kwangtung province. One
of the customs officials at Canton was ex-
amining the freight of the steamer Powan,
from Hong Kong, and had occasion to open
barrel, which, according to its invoice,
was alleged to contain ninety cattle Of
sharks fins, a Chinese deicacy. When the
lid of the barrel was removed two human
feet protruded and examination dis
closed that the barrel contained the body
of Chinaman who had died Of plague in
Hong Kong.
The bubonic plague at Canton and Sha-
meen, which is divided from Canton only
by a narrow, tilth-aden creek, is of a much
more malignant type than has appeared in
former years. The bubo, swelling, in
stead of remaining in the armpit or groin,
appears on any part of the body and sud
denly disappearing, reappears on another
part Victims are found dying in the
streets, so sudden is the attack At Fat
shan both cholera and plague epidemic.
Consul McWade, apparently despairng of
| his ability to describe conditions saws: at
is one of the dirtiest cities in south China
I q of ctr
Trials of Missionaries.
The trials of a missionary in China are
not all on account of the Boxers Rev. C
A. Nelson, who is stationed in Canton. re-
| ported this little incident to Consul Nc
! Wade:
| "A few days ago Mrs Nelson went by
| boat into the Lung Shun canal which en-
tiers Just west Of Shameen and divides
| Wong Sha from the suburb. Shortly after
| entering the canal, she saw a dead rat
| hoating, next dead pig end few mo-
! ments afterward, dead babe came floating
/ along and Joined the pig and rat. and to-
| gether they foated into the Pearl river
| Another missionary, Rev. Jacob Specher,
| at Kit Yang, eXemplifes the virtues of
! christian forbearance under trying condi-
| lions
I'VE are having at present. he writes,
| "a very bad epidemic of the plague at Kit
| Yang, and it is almost a daily occurrence
| that dying persons and dead bodies are de-
| posted directly in front of the entrance to
| our mission compound"
His Excellency Tao MI, viceroy of the
| Two kWangs, ordered this practice stop
| ped.
Rev. Andrew Beattie reports that both
! plague and cholera are epidemic at Tai
Leung, IN the Shun TAX district, and that
I hundreds nave died IN the district city OF
| Isang Shing. In this city the Chinese have
| MADE money out of the pestilence in a Gu
rlous fashion, that of stealing collins.
Stealing Collins.
$50 great has been the mortality" re-
ports Consul McWade that collins have
to be ordered from the villages in the
neighborhood. The demand for collins has
become so great in some places and the
price so high that the coolies who carry
the collins to the hills have an organized
plan for stealing collins. As is known. It
often happens that the coffin reaches the
grave too late in the day to be put into
the grave and covered up. Sometimes it
| occurs that a coffin will remain beside a
grave for days before it is covered. The
coolies have taken advantage of this Gus
tom, and during the night take the BODY
and bury it without the coffin, and the cot
Tin is taken away and sold. This has be-
come very common about Tai Leung'
1t is impossible to obtain even an aDprox-
innate estimate of the mortality through
plague or cholera, or both. The Chinese
authorities make no distinction between
the diseases. CHASING them both as pest
lence," and no mortality statistics are
gathered.
Under such conditions, and with plague
spreading, together with the fact that
cholera is sharply epidemic al Macao it is
not surprising that Hong Kong reports in
creases in both cholera and plague in spite
OF the rigid quarantine inspection The
spread of both fatal maiadies to various
parts of the Philippines is a natural conSe-
quence. Unless the conditions can be- i'm
proved in southern China it is likely that
Manila will be permanently under the
shadow Of the black plague"
OUTING AT MARSHALL HALL.