The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-22

Havana, Cuba, March 3.-As the time
draws near for the withdrawal of the
United States army Of occupation from
Cuba, review of the work accomplished
by the American forces during their stay
on the island will prove interesting.
When the agents of Uncle Sam hoisted
the stars and stripes over the palace at
Havana three years ago, they found them
selves confronted by one Of the most
gigantic and undesirable jobs that ever
fell to the lot of white men to perform
The situation was so dreadful that any
other than crowd of Yankees would have
backed down. At this time Havana was
probably the uncleanliest city in the
world. Its streets were strewn with filth
and its mortality was in some respects
higher than London or New York. The
seed Of centuries of Spanish neglect and
misrule was bearing bountiful harvest
Of death and decay. The Americans did
not shirk on account of the magnitude of
the undertaking. They rolled up their
rated the most wholesale housekeeping
in the course of history. They carried
away thousands of wagon loads of rubbish
and refuse. They cleaned and swept the
dirty streets. The women of the Red
Cross-those blessed angels of mercy
came to help them. The hungry were fed
and the naked clothed, Hospitals were es-
ed for the homeless. The feebly beating
pulse, Of industry was nursed until it be-
gan slowly to revive. The crusade for
health and order has been conducted
with unfagging zeal. The fight of the
sanitary forces against yellow fever has
stretched from months into years. No
army of invasion was ever confronted by
a more stubborn foe than this yellow ter
Tor proved Itself to be. The Significance
OF the decisive victory that has been final
ly won against 1t, attaches not only to
Cuba, but to the world in general for the
discoveries brought forth during the cam
paign on the island may be utilized in
combating this dread disease wherever it's
ravages are known.
Yellow Fever Stopped.
The most important development of the
operations conducted by the Havana
yellow fever commission was the discoy-
cry that this terrible disease is spread by
mosquitoes. Some authorities have here
tofore suspected these insects Of being
the distributing agents of the malady, and
the Havana commission proved the sur
mise to be correct. The fact was estab-
nshed by experiment. Several volunteers
were placed in room with infected In
sects-there are many varieties of mos
qultoes, but only one kind carries the
germ OF this fever. These men had not
been exposed in any other way, and, after
being bitten, a number of them contracted
the disease. Several of the brave fellows
lost their lives by their heroism. AS an
additional experiment, the contagion
theory was tested. Another band of VOL
unteers went to live in houses where vel
low fever patients had been CHARTERED.
They used the same bed clothing ate tba
same food and drank the same water that
mad been used by the unfortunate occu-
pants VINO had preceded them. None of
them became infected
The outcome Of these novel and dancer
Gus experiments established clear case
against the mosquito, and the gentlemen
composing the commission immediata1v
concentrated their energies upon the study
Of the habits of the insect. They found
that the particular species that spread
the fever laid their eggs in water: thar
they operated in small territory, sell
dom flying over few hundred feet from
their haunts Plans were accordingly
laid for their determination and the de-
struct1on OF their breeding places. An
organization called the mosquito brI-
gade" was formed, and a systematic
search Of the $4,000 houses in Havana was
begun. Wherever standing water was
found it was drained, covered over or
treated with oil. The work was performed
as thoroughly as system and perseyer-
ance could. accomplish it.. The houses or
rich and poor alike were invaded and All
forced to conform 81 the rules Of the COM
mission. In tie tenement districts where
the people were too poor to comply with
the regulations, the brigade manufactured
covers for all water receptacles and put