The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-01
SMALLPOX AT MOLINE.
DIR. Crumbine Finds 146 Cases at That
Place.

Since April there have been 146
cases of smallpox at Moline, Elk coun-
ty, and the city health officers there
seem to have been trying to initiate
DIR. Willis Dana Storrs, city physician
of Topeka They have carefully Sc
creted all information about the cpl
demic, and according to DR.. S. ].
Crumbine, secretary of the state board
of health, no information was re-
ceived of the existence of the conta-
gion until some of the country peo-
pie living near Moline wrote a. letter
to the governor protesting against the
way the Moline authorities were hand
ling the situation.
DR.. Crumbine took measures for the
suppression of the epidemic which
ought to be something of a revelation
to the county authorities in Shawnee
county. Instead of ordering the city
officials of Moline to suppress the epi-
demic, he notified the county commits
sioners that it was their duty to take
the matter in hand, and pay the bills,
and threatened to bring legal proceed
ings against them unless they prompt
ly obeyed his instructions. The orders
were at once carried into effect by the
commissioners of Elk county.
Here in Topeka the city has to pay
all the bills for handling smallpox.
Crumbine says:
My idea is that it is to the interest
of the whole locality tnat epidemics
should be suppressed. The city is not
the only party at interest. 1t is of the
utmost importance to the whole county
that the epidemic should be suppressed.
Down there at Moline there seems to
have been an effort made to keep the ex-
lstence of the disease secret. From the
first the doctors called it chickenpox,
Cuban itch, and all sorts of foolish
names. AS a matter of fact, the cases
were clearly varioloid. which is just as
bad as smallpox because from it can be
taken the very worst form of con-
fluent smallpox. 1 inspected eight in
fected houses at Moline, and found that
in each case the patient had not been
vaccinated. We now have adopted very
stringent quarantine regulations, and
the county commissioners have ap-
pointed a marshal whose business it is
to see that the quarantines are OBJ
served. The cases are not confined at
pest house, but each is isolated in
the house where it occurred. There are
now, according to my latest reports,
only Is cases of smallpox existing
n Moline
Moline is in the southern part of Elk
county and is an important junction
point on the Santa Fe lines.
There has been considerable small
oox in Kansas this summer, all of the
yarioIoid type. On Wednesday, DR..
CrumD Dine was nOI1I1eO LnaI smallpox
had broken out at La Cygne. He wired
Dr.. ]. B. Carver of Fort Scott, one of
he members of the board, to investi-
gate the cases and report. Today he
received the following message from
DR.. Carver:
Report of smallpox cases prepared
md sent by mail"
1t is evident from this that DR.. Car
rer found several cases of the disease.
Isolated cases of smallpox have been
eported at several other Kansas towns.
some of them have proven to be inn
ported cases, brought in here by rail-
DAD men from Colorado.
topeka has had about a dozen cases
# smallpox this summer. All nave
,een of the very mild type. 1t is very
unusual thing to have a smallpox epi-
Iemic in summer time. DR.. Crumbine
ays he is unable to account for it.
smallpox is supposed to get in it's work
Turing the cold weather, and if it In
reases in, frequency during the COM
ng winter, there may be a renewal of
he serious epidemic which swept the
tate about five years ago.