The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-27
YELLOW, FEVER
 NOT EPIDEMIC Senor Quesada Comes to
 Defense of Cuba. WERE ONLY TWO CASES These Sporadic Cases Were
 Quickly Isolated. Cuban Minister Asks World to Give Cuba Fair Show and Reviews
 Her sanitary

washing gton. Dec. ze.--senor ouesa- da. the Cuban Minister, in view of re- ports that yellow fover was beginning again to obtain a foothold in Cuba and that the Cuban government was not vigorously enforcing sanitary precau- tions. tonight gave out the following ofhcial statement:
 '"rhe rate of mortality in the island of Cuba has steadily decreased since the establishment of the republic. From official data the annual death rate in the four last months has been. in the district of Havana. as follows:
 August, 19.42; September. 1s.24; October, l7.31, and November, Is. 60 per thousand. and for the whole is- land IS. .51, 15.45, 40 and 10.00 re- spectively. This compares most fa- vorably with the best showings of the States of the Union and of the coun- tries of Europe and Is due not only to our splendid climate, but to the con- scientious efforts of the central sani- tary department of Cuba.
 There has been no epidemic Of Quarantinable diseases. Yellow fever. smallpox, cholera and the plague have not developed in Cuba since the proc the cases of yellow fever at Punta de Sal in October and November have propagated beyond the original cases
 Tt is true that owing to the finan- cial inability of certain municipalities. brought about by the recent war and. up to this year, to the low prices ob- tained by our staple products. they have been unable to do as much as they would like for water supply. street cleaning, pavement and sewers but in no wise has this caused yellow xul ho hrn is~ any of the ports or towns. President Palma has asked several times for large sums for public improvements and to help the municipalities and on- ly a few days ago an appropriation of $l00, 900 for immediate use, at his re- quest, was passed by the House of Representatives, the Senate amending the bill by increasing the amount three fold, and as soon as Congress re-assembles in January there will be ample means to attend to all sanitary requirements. Cuba is a nation gov erned by constitution and without the action of Congress no money can be disbursed by the executive. Yet. as evidence of how anxious are the in- habitants to maintain the work of san itation, the instance of Guatanamo may be cited, where a week ago the people met and subscribed several thousand dollars for street cleaning. etc.
 The sanitary authorities always have reported any suspicious cases of illness, and have cared for them with the skill of recognized experts.
 Cuba today is the quarantine station to a great extent of this country. over twenty confirmed cases of yellow fever have come to the island from other parts of America, some in steamers bound for the United States and they have been properly handled by the Cuban authorities.
 Since the two isolated cases of yell low fever. a small hospital sufficiently large for all needs has been made available in Santiago de Cuba for any cases which may arise on shore while the hospital at Cay Duan will be re- served for any important cases. Spe- cial inspectors have been stationed at the different mines, they will report daily through the local sanitary office the sanitary condition of these stations and two inspectors will undertake the medical and sanitary inspection of all the houses of Santiago de Cuba.
 "Dr. Nelson himself says that spo- radio cases are liable to occur. There Is no sanitation known which can pre- vent such cases. Vaccination has been used for years and still under the best conditions there is smallpox. It would be unfair, indeed. to say that because there were cases of yelloW fever in Texas this year. or cases of, smallpox in many cities of the Union, or deaths from yellow fever in Panama since the Americans have been in the isthmus, to blame the excellent sanitary condi- tions established and maintained by American health officers to misjudge the people and government of this coun- try. The utmost that can be expected of any country is that 1t sees that its sanitary conditions are not a menace to its neighbors and that if quarantine diseases should appear. proper precau- tions be taken to prevent their becom- ing epidemic and reaching other coun- tries to their detriment.
 The Government of Cuba Is doing It's full duty in the matter and intends to continue improving the sanitary con ditions of the small as we'll as the larger towns, which now can be com pared without any disadvantage with those Of any other country. Cuba thus far has shown that it is protecting its neighbors efficiently and that its sanf- tary officers are fully able to meet any emergency and court any scientific in-