Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-22
DANGER FROM DISEASE
REFUGEES, AND NOT THE DEAD,
MENACE HEARTH IN ANTILLES.
Another Peril fn Martinique and St
Vincent-Fruits and Vegetables
Needed fer Survivors.

From the Philadelphia Record.
In the Medical News DIR. Soper, who
Cleaned up Galveston after the great food
which swept over that city on September g.
1850, discourses under the above title on
the catastrophe at st. Pierre, Martinique,
from the point Of view of the sanitarian.
The timeliness of the article and the inter-
est OF the communities of the entire west
ern hemisphere in preventing the refuge
camps on the desolated island from becom-
ing centers of contag ion should entitle the
article to the widest currency. It would be
serving a useful purpose also to forestall
the exploitation for sensational purposes
Oh this phase of the calamity by circulat-
ing the matured opinions of a proved ex-
pert In sanitary science
10 begin with, the source of conta pion is
NOT 70 De sought in the decomposing corpses
" the former Inhabitants of st. Pierre
oul doors in themselves are not ordinarily
dangerous, and those who are compelIel
to handle the bodies of previouslv hea1thv
men ana animals killed by violence need
nave httle fear of thereby contracting any
t % ,le so-called filth diseases. Yellow and
t!pno1d levers, bubonic plague cholera ana
similar ailments are known to occur onI,1
Wien the mlcro-organisms associated with
.'ein are carried by some means from the
10 u VI llVihg body of an infected individ-
-'' "iu communicated to another person.
upper r OoQ Essential.
ne h'H'g refugees, not the dead victims
VI raging volcanoes of Martinique and St
vincent are to be feared as possible orig
majors OF a pestilence. Mal-nutrition is
o'ie Oh the most common predisposine
CAUSES OF disease Improper as well as in
a1eequate 1ood may prove the initial source
common to the Antilles
OttoinarHy the inhabitants of these islands
supsist 10 great extent on fruits and a
h hesstaele diet, and while there is no likeli-
oou ol me refugees suffering famine it is
possible that those who are So genarouS1Y1
;oiiihs 10 their aid may forget to include
III tnelr shipments of salt cod and corned
,lsat proper proportion of fresh fruit, OF
which the devastated islands have heen
stripped bare. Great terror or anv othar
mental strain is also cause of debility
wedhehlng the powers of resistance to in,
r ro..ol!. MOST grave of all the conditions
paoiiotlVe OF unhealthfulness are the in
sanitary habits of the native West indians
alu the congestion Of people weakened nv
mental and physical suffering in the cities
of refuge. Wv et''e"
Density of Population.
e" persons nave any idea of the density
OF the population of the Lesser Antilles
within radius of 125 miles of Martinique
'nere reside In the islands of the Wind
ward and Leeward groups 675,ooo people.
lai Unique alone contained about 10000
previous to the eruption, representing near
~ ~ oo persons to. the square mile. The
worst feature Of the situation is that Tho
puik OF this population has been driven
from the vicinity of the comparativelv
heaithfui hills of the north coast to the
France t. 'o'' ue
Dr. soper suggests? the deportation of
Ienusees TO other islands and their dis
trloutlon in well-regulated camps under
stIict hyslenic supervision until such a
IONS shall be possible and their dependence
upon ala from without shall have ceased
II must be clear to any intelligent person
.ilat uue provision for sanitation as a pre-
ventive of epdemics in the stricken islands
Is quite as important as the supply of food
ana shelter to the impoverished and help
less victims of the catastrophe Sanitary
as urgently are distributors of rations
and clothing