Evening star., 1903-08-03
CURING TROPIC DISEASE
ONE FEATURE OF THE WHITE
MANS BURDEN IN LUZoN.
How the United States is Endeavoring
to Check Cholera and the
Plague.

Manila Corr. of the Boston Transcript.
Go, bind your sons exile.
To serve your captives need;
To wait in heavy harness on futtered folk and
wild.
Your caught sullen peoples.
Half devil and half child.
These lines of Kipling seem wonderfully
appropriate to the work of the American
health officers in this archipelago. No
doubt the triumphs of American science in
their contest with tropical diseases will
some day form chapter in our history Of
which our people may we'll be proud. To-
day we are waiting in heavy harness"
SO far this part of the white mans bur
den is concerned .
At the Army and Navy Club. one of the
most delightful retreats in Manila. the
visitor reads on the bulletin board each
day the story of the tropical diseases 1
found the other day this entry, which may
seem ridiculously small or surprisingly
large when this letter reaches the United
States. according to the developments of
the interval. But allowing for that possi-
bility. / submit one days record as per
haps a fair type: In the forty -eight hours
ending at 10 o'clock IN. there were fifteen
cases of cholera reported. with the same
number of deaths. one case Of smallpox
and four cases Of the plague. Two deaths
from plague occurred during the period
under review.
Cholera Bulletin.
The bulletin begins with provincial chol-
era. giving the number Of cases in each
province where 1t exists in one column and
the number of deaths in the next. Just be-
low this fresh and cheering intelligence
comes the total number of cases reported.
brought down to date. with the total num-
Der OF deaths since last years epidemic be-
gan and the percentage of recoverles. To-
day 1t stands at sixty three. The next de-
partment Is city cholera, similarly tabu-
lated. City smallpox follows. After reading
of disease which claims two-thirds Of it's
victims, smallpox with only six deaths to
twenty y-flVe recoverieS seems almost benef1-
cent IN It's operations. CITY plague fol-
lows, with one hundred and one deaths and
1ve recovertes. No insurance policies will
be written on persons attacked by this
malady. The next section treats of the
location of plague cases in the city, so
that during the afternoon drives one may
recall as one passes through new city di-
visions where the name has been seen be-
fore.
Whites Die of the Cholera.
1t Is great mistake to suppose that only
orientals die Of this disease-a notion which
the white population here from the best of
motives try sedulously to instill into the
minds Of their friends at home. The deaths
from cholera in Manila last year, in the
epidemic months. as reported at the census
office. were follows:
Month. Natives. Americans
April 3SS
May .-..-.......-........ 4i5 13
June. 4So
august 5SI 10
This represents an American death rate
from this disease alone for the year of
seven per thousand. No one supposes that
St "a
every effort was made among the native
families to avoid American sanitary meas
ures, by secretly disposng of their dead in
the quickest possible manner. The short
time that elapses between an attack Of the
disease and death makes this often possible
Every man with whom you talk will
tell of how near cholera came to him dur
ing the epidemic last year. The head of
the coast survey tells of one of the Ameri-
cans in his employ who had occasion to
make short trip in Spanish boat one
OF whose crew subsequently died OF the
disease, and so 1t is assumed that this was
the source of Infection. This coast sur
vey man was taken Ill in the morning and
died at noon. The first lieutenant of d
cavalry troop, numbering sixty-fivs men,
relates II lost four from this disease. The
circumstances there. however. We're excep-
tionally severe, as the faithful old Chinese
cook came down with the disease in vio-
lent form, without warning.
Army Patrol.
Just now the army is patrolling the val
ley from which Manila's water comes, and
a partial quarantine Is in progress in the
port The transport Sheridan loaded its
passengers eager to begin their long yoy-
age to the states, and rode down the bay
to the quarantine station. where she sat
for five days, like a painted boat on a
painted sea. Five days under a tropical
sun in an overcrowded vessel. swinging
on summer sea. but making no progress,
contains little that is pleasurable; but
everybody agrees that Ii is better than an
outbreak of cholera in midOcean.
Full quarantine deals desperate blow
to business; everybody who can, at such
times gets away from Manila. No new
persons come here, and those who remain
are so overcome with fear to lose inter-
est in the ordinary activities Of life.
Opposes Quarantine.
For this reason the business community
is violently opposed to quarantine. Old
English and German merchants say that
1t is case Of American panic. that there
is always some cholera and some plague
In the east. and that the best thing Is to
go right ahead and take reasonable risks.
This is not the American view. l believe
that American santa ton will yet accom-
pish much for the eastern diseases as
IT has done for yellow fever in our own
hemisphere. If SO. Americas s contribution
to civilization. as an indirect result Of be-
Ing in the Philippines. will be unspeak-
ably large. In spite of the terrible ravages
of these diseases relatively little Is known
of them. The layman can ask a score OF
questions. which could be readily answered
regarding typhoid fever, but which bring
out the response in medical circles here
that science has not yet learned
one OF the signs frequently seen about
Manila is this: ''Premio por ratas." or n
bounty for rats. Tons Of sulphur are used
in fumigating the holds Of ships coming
in from other Asiatic ports In short, the
Americans are making sanitation hustle -
as the Chicagoan predicted that his city
would do by culture.
HYPNOTIC INFLUENCE.
Hndoo Juggler Brought About a