Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-09-06
CHOLERA IN MANILA,
Fifty to Seventy-five Deaths
Daily in Philippine Me-
tropolis.

Washington, Sept. l-Advices TO the
war department OF the progress of the
cholera in Manila and the Philippines
indicate that there is no hope OF check
ing the disease until the typhoon sea
sOn is on. The health service Of the
city government Is overwhelmed with
the work that has fallen upo 1t and
the health officials in all the interior
towns are in the same plight. The
| endemic is not confined to the low
country towns, but has been under
Roadway In Dagupan and the mountain
towns north OF there for a month. An
efficient system Of reports has been
maintained, and the authorities know
what they have to contend with. the
number Of deaths In the provinces
| range from $50 to $50 daily. The be-
ginning of the rainy season makes the
danger even greater. as the streams
carry the cholera germs everywhere
and spread the disease. There are, on
an average, from fifty to seVcnty-fVc
! cases daily in Manila and nearly as
many deaths. There are many cases
on the shipping in the bay n this is
an Increased cause Of danger. as the
quarantine authorities cannot get at
them and violations Of the health regu-
latiOnS are constant.
Bodies Found in Pasig.
The worst occurrence is the death Of
natives who ave crawled off unCared
for and have died in out-Of-the-way
places. II is a common thing to find
bodies Of victims Of cholera floating in
the PasiS. and in n day recently six
such bodies were fshod out. The dis
ease has in many cases broken out on
ships that have been In close quaran-
tine for several days. 1t is said this is
due TO the water in the bay, which Is
very impure. The ships have CON.
densers, but few distill the water and
so remove all danger of infection.
The morgue drivers are oYerworked
night and day. The hospitals are nllcd
and temporary ones nave been pro
Niled. Part of the difficulty arises
from the superstitioHs ideas OF the ma
lives. who believe he disease Is n Wis
itation from heaven and not To be re-
sisted. II has several times occurred
hat bodies OF men and women who
have died Of cholera nave been CON
Cealcl by the natives for several days
before the health authorities have
found them. Official reports credit
much OF the difficulty in c~ontending
with the epidemic to the inefficiency
Of the Filipino doctors. When work
ing under Americans they are useful,
but Independently they fail. They Will
not carry out instructions and Connlve
with the natives TO conceal new cases.
Epidemic in Japan.
Victoria, h.. c., Aug. 29.-Cable ad-
vices received here say the epidemic
Of cholera is reaching alarming proper
lions on the other side of the Pacific.
the outbreak extending further and
having more victims than ever before
reported. II extends from the island OF
Java to Japan. and almost every city
on the coast, and many from the inter
ior, are affected. The disease, too, is
contracted by Europeans as we'll as ma
lives. In Hong Kong. from the begin
ming Of the outbreak to August G, there
has been 523 eases, six OF the patients
being Europeans, and 81 deaths, Of
whom four were Europeans. In Tien
Tsin the last report placed the number
Of cases for the year at 1.049 and 76i
deaths within the city walls and LOIS
cases and sos deaths outside the city
walls. In other places in hin the
proportion Of cases and deaths is just
as great. A dispatch says hundreds
have died in Java.
a writer from Kuelin, Kwansi prov
inCc, says:
II write from n city stricken with a
violent epidemic of cholera. People are
dying by hundreds daily. outside the
city more thai 1000 ave died. Whole
families are reported to have died"
In Japan the disease Is working havoc.