The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-09-01

L
Lone S,ar state has so far failed to
back up with the rifles and bayonets
and cannons of its militia. Border
towns in Alabama and Arkansas have
also met the refugees from louisiana
with shotguns and turned them back
or imprisoned them in quarantine
camps. Even as far north as Tennes-
see and southern Illinois the quaran-
tine is maintained to a certain extent,
but in these latter districts it is a
modified quarantine and without the
menacing adjunct of shotguns or bayo.
nets. Memphis, it may be recalled, has
as much reason as any city in the
world to impose a rigorous quarantine
in times of danger from yellow fever
as, with perhaps the exceptions of New
Orleans and Philadelphia, no other city
in the world has been scourged SO
dreadfully or so nearly depopulated
from yellow fever as has Memphis. In
the yellow jack" epidemics of a gen.
Grafton ago, when the people of New
Orleans were dying like flies, the pop
ulation of Memphis was being deci-
mated almost equally as fast. But that
was before science had come to the
rescue by stepping to the front and
showing that this greatest of yellow
perils might be controlled and elimi-
mated by simply controlling or exter-
minating certain fly-the female of a
certain mosquito family which science
! HiSpnUQrnn
agator of the deadly, but as yet uni
Identified, germ of yellow fever.
Draining of swamps contiguous to
this city and the raising of the grade
of its streets to a height that would
permit drainage by underground sew
ers, to replace the present surface sew
ers, are advocated by many as desira,
| BILE steps in the crusade against the
infectious Mrs. Mosquito Indeed, there
are many improvements of this sort
planned and portions of them are in
course of construction The pro-
gramme is for a complete sanitary
system of water works and sewers, the
cost to be $16,000,000. But it will take
three years or more before this great
and much-needed improvement can be
| finished.
May Oil All Swamps.
Whether any plan may be found fol-
rendering the great swamps to- the
southeast and south of this city unde
sirable places as breeding grounds fol-
the countless myriads of mosquitoes
that swarm into our streets and homes
and business houses when the wind is
blowing inland must be considered one
OF the greatest problems that New Or
leans and the state of Louisiana will
nave to deal with in the near future
Outsiders may consider that we are
never immune so long as we are ex,
posed to these two things-the capri
c1ousness of the winds of heaven and
the fecundity of the mosquito tribe
that domiciles in the irreclaimable
sWamps of our coast. But our case
nevertheless, is not hopeless. This
great state will find way to meet all
dlt1culties. 1t is rich enough and en-
terprising enough to oil all the swamps
of our coast every year and it may do
that very thing if this years test OF
the mosquito theory proves it's en-
tire correctness.
Federal Government in Charge.
In response to the appeal of the CITY
OF New Orleans, the federal govern
ment promptly look charge of the fight
against the yellow fever, and Surgeon
General Walter Weyman, head of the
united States marine hospital service,
and his splendid corps of trained help
ers, are Waging battle royal day and
night to stamp out the scourge. The
city authorities are lending the hearth
est cooperation and the defense fund of
$15O,OOO asked by the government to
exterminate the disease has been
raised
Though generally people are willing
to submit to the regulations of the
health authorities, there are some who
refuse to believe in the MOSQUITO
theory and VINO oppose the oiling of
their cisterns and the cleansing of
their premises. The Era club members.
who are women, have Volunteered to
proselyte among this class of the COM
munity.
There is mosquito ordinance that
requires landlords to screen cisterns,
Fine or Imprisonment is the penalty
for refusal to obey the ordinance. Very
few houses in the city are without els
terms, and 10000 to $4,000 of them will
be screened. The city is now spending
$16,OOO,O00 upon water and sewerage
system which, when completed, will
require the Abandonment of all els
terms. 1t will. however, be two or
three years before this system is in
operation and Ill the interval the oil
Ing and screening process will be es-
sential if the breeding places of the
fever-bearing mosquito are to be
wiped out.
Famous Investigation in Havana.
The famous investigation made In
Havana in 1900 and 1901 by the Ameri-
can military commission, composed of
Maj. w. Reed, M. D., and Drs. ]. Car
roll, A. Argamonte and Jesse w. La
zear, established the mosquito theory
of the origin Of yellow fever beyond
all question and paved the way to the
emancipation of Havana from a dis
ease which had prevailed there for a
century and half In these expert
ments Maj. Reed, with other officers
and privates OF the United States
u