The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-20
From Globe Washington Bureau.

From Globe Washington Bureau.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 10
The bubonic plague situation at San
francisco will doubtless make it nee
| cessary for the war department to di-
| vert the transport service to Seattle
| and the northern route. The confer
ence held here today in the office Of
| Surgeon General Wyman has opened
the eyes of the department. to the OK
treme danger of permitting the stream
of returning soldiers and others to land
at San Francisco and to scatter to all
parts of the country.
At the afternoon session Of the con-
ference resolutions We're passed re-
questing the secretary of war to take
thls step, but later the representatives
from California were able to get the
resolutions reconsidered by margin
OF one vote. SO the matter was left
hanging in the air. But now that the
matter has been brought to the atten-
ton of the department, it will not he
permitted to rest. Every effort will he
| made to steer the stream of Oriental
travel and commerce away from the
infected country
What the Conference Did.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 10
surgeon General Wyman, of the public
health and marine hospital service. and
Inc representatives of the health au-
lnorltles OF nineteen states, Indian ter
rltory and the District of Columbia,
met in conference here TODAY to con-
slider the SUBJECT of bubonic pIarua in
the United States Among those at t
tending are DR.. H. NJ. Bracken. of Min
nesota, and DR.. T. l.. Kennedy, of
Iowa
The surgeon general advised the
conference of the action of the marine
nospltaI service in sending DR.. A. IL.
FIennan TO San Francisco to inyesti-
gate, and of his CWyman's) personal
visit to San Francisco. He also read a.
telegram from DR.. Glennan dated Ian
", giving the present status and re-
view Of the situation, as follows:
III ighty-seyen cases have occurred
/ III Chinatown. Six sickened In ot1arf
parts Of the city. None proved to have
originated in the country. Total, 81
1 whites, Japanese and SO Chinese.
! since March, 1900.
Last case outside of Chinatown.
Oct. 81. AS mans personal habits
were bad it was possibly of China
| town origin, but could not trace any
! connection"
| The surgeon general read a letter
| from DR.. Glennan, in which he stated
that IN total Of twenty-five dead rats
found in Chinatown within given Pc
| ROD, eleven were discovered to have
been infected. Of 354 rats caught alive
four were found to have been infected.
Severe on California.
A resolution was adopted saying
| that the presence of plague in Cali
| fornia is established beyond debate
The next resolution adopted contains
! this:
This conference regards the habit
| ual publication of the actual facts rel
| atiVe to infectious disease and pre-
ventive procedures as the surest route
TO popular confidence, and is one Of
the means best adapted to minimize
| the injury liable to result from the
! presence of such diseases"
The following resolutions were also
adopted
THE present danger to California
and to the United States lies primarily
! Ill the persistence, during nearly three
| years, of a definite indus of plague
infection in the part of San Francisco
known as Chinatown but the gravity
of, this circumstance Is greatly in
| creased by the gross neglect of official
duty by the state board Of health Of
California and the obstructive infiu-
ence Of the recent governor of Cali
| fornia, by the failure of the city gov
| ernment of San Francisco to support
it's city board of health and by the
obstacles opposed to the operations of
! the United States public health service.
THE conference will consider the
safety Of the country sufficiently as
| sured as soon as satisfied that @ COM
| petent state board Of health in Co
operation with the United States public
health service, will proceed under def
| mite, harmonius and effective laws and
ordinances that they are provided with
| ample funds, and that they are jointly
and severally in the free exercise Of
| their lawful powers.
Federal Service Worthy
"The conference expresses its con-
! Viction that the United States public
! health service has deserved we'll of
the state of California and of the coan-
| try, and that it would go far toward
the restoration of popular confidence
if the United States public health off,
| Gals were admitted to the same rela-
4 tions with the state board of health
as have been steadily maintained with
| the city board Of health of San Fran
| cisco.
Y
the gratitude of the city of San Fran
| cisco are due to Drs. ]. NJ. William
son, Vincent F. Buckley, w. B. Levitt,
| Rudolph w. Baum. Louis Bazett and
! DR.. McCourtley of the city board of
health of San Francisco. Thes men
possess the uureserved confidence of
| the executive health officers of the
! country"
There was disposition on the part
| of some members of the conference to
adopt radical measures. A resolution
was offered proposing that the secre-
i tary Of war be advised that there IS
danger liz bringing troops through the
city Of San Francisco. Surgeon Gen
eral JVyman advised against the adop-
ton Of this resolution. Another pro-
| posed placing an embargo on railroads
! leading out of California unless cer-
tain steps were taken by the health
/ authorities toward the suppression ef
the plague. Neither of these resoli1-
/ tions was adopted.
1t was decided to send copies of the
resolutions adopted to the state and
city boards of health. with request