New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-11-25
TYPHOID SCARE In COLLEGES.
MYSTERIOUS OUTBREAKS At WILLIAMS AND BROWN
FOUGHT By Authorities
Sop Finds Water and MIL Supply AbOUe Suspicion at VII
NATURALIZATION Room Suspected at Providence
CLEW FOUND AT BROWN
Undergraduates Blame Sanitary
Arrangements, Ho5oeUer.
Isr TELEGRAPH TO TIE TRIsuNE.I


IBr TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIsUNE.I
Providence r. l.. Nov. 24.-Brown University
authorities are at last convinced. after nearly
q month OF anxious waiting. that they have
traced TO its source the typhoid epidemic, which,
without ever assuming alarming proportions.
has resulted IN seven cases of the fever among
students within three weeks. a popular college
eating house. where almost every student in the
college finds a chance to take q surreptitious
luncheon early or late, is at present generally
believed. through lack Of proper sanitary pro-
visions. to have been the source Of the injection
Steps have been taken 10 remedy the conditions
although the authorities are by no means ready
to admit that they have set on the source.
DR.. G. w. Gardner. who is the university med
ical officer said yesterday:
the source OF TIE injection. l am not prepared as
yet TO make any definite statement. l want 10
examine IS but OF the city, but ! think we
well past the possibility any epidemic like that
in Cornell
DR.. Gardner admitted frankly that suspicion
had been directed toward the luncheon room
mentioned above. and explained the lack of
sanitary precautions. which had aroused his
suspicious. At the same time he pointed out
that the source OF infection must be exceedingly
slight, since only seven men IN a thousand had
been infected.
The Brown situation is strangely unlike that
at Williams. In the first plao,. the source of
the trouble remains a profound mystery at
Williamstown. and there is good reason to be-
leve that it lies entirely outside the limits of
Williamstown. for all the cases were sinultane-
GUS On the other hand. there is rot the slight
est doubt that the source In Brown lies in
the college or near by. This admitted by
Dr. Gardner. To prove this Il IS only necessary
10 glance az the dates of the cases. The seven
students were attacked in the following fashion:
November i5 NS SysnSsf af
In other words, while all the Williams men
were infected at practically the same time. in
Brown the students have been attacked one by
one, showing that the source of infection lies in
the college or near by. and that Il still remains
OF course, the presence Of seven cases among a
thousand men is not necessarily an alarming
symptom AT Cornell the number mounted rap
idly TO a thousand. but. on the other hand. there
have been many disgusting runors affoat at
Providence, and the authorities have been ac-
tive
To discover the source in Providence was on
the whole. simpler than at wiliarnstown
First il was apparent that the source lay near
az hand. Then the usual Investigations were
made Of the water supply. But all Providence
was using the same supply, and II became ap-
parent that there was no epidemic in the city.
On the other hand, the number OF typhoid cases,
according to DR.. c Y. Chaplin, the sUperin-
tendent OF the Health Department, was less than
usual. The milk supply was in the same situa-
tion-there were nilkmen supplying the col
leges who did not supply the city also, and these
two sources were eliminated.
Examination Of the students revealed the fact
that both the sick and the well lived in num-
her Of ate At of
several dozen halls and boarding houses, but all
at time in the day dropped into the little
luncheon room for ice cream. candy. cigars, sand
witches. pie any one Of a hundred other little
mdulgenoies that please the undergraduate pal
ate. Here. then, was The point of departure for
the Investigators, and here q situation was found
that sufficiently serious 10 awaken doubts
il the minds Of the health officer. The close
proximity of the toilet rooms 20 the eating room
was noted. end doors were at once closed. All
efforts. however. TO find any source Of infection
in the food supplies of the restaurant have
failed Moreover. the authorities somewhat
baftied by the small number of cases. They rea-
son that il there were any virulent source of in
lection not seven but seventy students would
have contracted the typhoid.
The problem Of dealing with the men who
IT Brown than at Williams, since large city
hospital the Rhode Island Hospital was avail
able, and the danger Of infection from those
having the fever was met by sending the fever
patients at once 70 the big hospital. where they
were sure 10 receive the best Of care and to be
entirely separated from the college. Three men
were accordingly sent there four more whose
cases were not definitely diagnosed as typhoid,
were sent home, the last one on Saturday, and
the work Of ferreting out the source occupied
the health authorities almost exclusively.
Nothing like the same degree OF apprehension
exists at Brown manifest in Williams.
when seven cases in one day were followed by
two more shortly. all evidently contracted at
the same time The possibility Of closing college
has not been considered. although President W
II. P. Faur e, ike President Henry HOPKINS al
Williams, has talked the whole question over
frankly with the students and advised them of
proper measures TO guard against infection.
Brown authorities feel now that the danger
Of any great epidemic has passed, the students
thought Of typhoid. and the college authorities
are settling down with pleasurable Certainty
that they have detected the cause. although as
yet they have not made any official statement
At the same time. every possible step 10 guard
against the spread OF the disease has bee0
taken, and President Faunce. prior to his Trim
to New-fork this week. left orders that any de-
velopments should be transmitted to him: hut
Gears OF an epidemic have entirely passed al
though It IS recognized that the next few DAYS
may show one or two more cases contracted be-
fore the preventive measures were taken
As contrasted with the view OF the authori-
ties. there Is distinct student opinion that
while the source may possibly lie in the eating
room, the lack of proper sanitary ARRANGEMENTS
in University Hall, against which many protests
have been made by the undergraduates NAV
equally well be the occasion Of the spread OF
the disease. Some harsh words were spoken nv
the college men about the conditions In this
hall. and certain degree of hostile criticism of
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