Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-18
industrial Home School since August %
has appeared as separate charge upon
the bills
Outbreaks in Previous Years.

outbreaks In fTSV1OuS ears.
Further: Serious outbreaks of similar
character have occurred in August or Sep
tcmber of previous years. and no adequate
cause has ever been discovered. In August,
1885, many inmates were similarly afflicted,
and the superintendent was so severely
alta cked that she lay at the point Of death.
In 1901 a large percentage of the population
were mysterfously stricken. In 1872, late
IN August or early in September occurred
an outbreak for which no sufficient cause
&C uld be discovered, when a larger number
were attacked than during the past season.
THE illness last August lasted for a
day; nobody died. Two persons a boy and
one employe were considered dangerously
Ill. but all recovered in few days. The
general health of the inmates has probably
never been better than during the present
year Were it not for the mumps there
would be no illness at all at present.
DR.. Woodward's Statement.
DIR. Woodward. to whom the letter from
the trustees of the institution was referred,
makes the following statement In reply:
The previous letter written by the health
officer relative to this subject was submit
ted, before being forwarded, to those of
the health department employees who were
personally familiar with such Of the facts
to which reference was made as had not
come under the health officers personal
observation. 1t was then and is now be-
1ieved by the health department to repre-
sent the facts of the case. The discrepan-
cies between that letter and the statements
made by the superintendent of the Indus
trial Home School depend apparently upon
failures of observation and of recollection
which 1t seems impracticable to correct and
reconcile at the present time
THE health department has had no
knowledge of the previous outbreaks of
sickness similar in character to the one
which occurred in August last. and which
previous outbreaks are referred to in Mrs.
Blackford's letter. 1t is unable to account
for such outbreaks on any plausible theory.
They have apparently all occurred during
warm weather, and this suggests the proba-
bility of their dependence on putrefactive
changes of some sort in the food supply of
the institution-that is, ptomaine poison
ing.
Impossible to Determine
Just what article or articles of food, IL
any, were at fault 1t is impossible to say.
The fact that no similar outbreaks seem to
have occurred outside of the Industrial
Home School, although many persons out
side of the institution must have eaten
food from the same sources, indicates that
such supposed changes in the food must
have originated in causes peculiar to the
institution. On the other hand, an effort to
account for these outbreaks the theory
that they have been due to ptomaine poison
ing is discounted by their occurrence year
after year, and once only after the lapse
of several years.
There is nothing connected with pto-
main poisoning that would allow the condi-
lions out of which it arises to lie dormant
at given institution for about twelve
months then to be suddenly called into ex-
1stence at single meal, and then to lie
dormant again for a corresponding period,
the same process being repeated year after
year during a series of years: and the fact
that on one occasion no outbreak occurred
Tor three Years indicates that the cause,
whatever it may be, is not constantly
present"