New-York tribune., 1905-08-29

when the first case Of yellow fever annearad IN
the italian quarter The Tribune corresnorde,+
learns on good authority that the FIRST dea+b
occurred early IL May. more than~tvo n,on+bs
before the presence OF fever was officially de-
clared.
When did you bury your srst fever ,,,o+,,,,
this year?" one OF the big undertakers IN the
Old French Market quarter was asked
'Earlv in May" was the answer "and -
the yellowest have ever seen"
OF course, the doctors win saw. .-yy-ba+ ro,,..
can one place in an undertaker?" But one r,,,s+
remember that this particular undertaken has
been In business in New-Orleans through several
epidemics Long before the mosouito tbaor,
was evolved, when the sick and the dead v,era
supposed to be able to communicate the diseosa
ne stood by his post. He does not mead or
autopsy to tell him of what disease ,,a1,or
teNer FleOirn dies. Anyway, the Marine Hospita1
doctors have considered the testir,or,, 80 49,
uiiuei takers OF the Italian quarter OF sufficient
importance to have gathered considerable data
regarding the early funerals
EPIDEMIC BEGAN IN NAV
Inc tribune has already printed the testin,ory
u 80 " 1'aoor Cordova consul general Of Hon
aN' d NieulcaI graduate of Columbia Univer
sl'E' VINO was in New Orleans in Nav Ne AZ
In he
I1AIiah district at that time If certain Tta,ior7
padrones put upon the stand a,a 80 .,"1
swear as they talked to The Tribune core,
spohoent the fact that the fever endemic beoo
In May viii be demonstrated
Is Dig jump from May IL until June <
pu' Cnat is the next trend that the evidenca in
nc case OF the epidemic takes. On that do+o
=, e0- an unusual and unexplained exodrs e.,
v-,.t, Ter TO the sugar plantations
INN a radius OF $50 miles of New -Or1eora
Co., 1Ilo 0'S1Ilo thls exodus one must go hack
b.s - negro labor on the plantations
,rho ---eu utterly for a number of years past
e.. y. oeS as laborers have deteriorated Tho
= u those sent to the plantations was
oahce hall. They would dance all
i4sh' and sleep most Of the dav Five ~ -
-, ago the planters began to import italian
CTS Ihey found ways around the CONTRACT
@ocF IaW' and in hundreds of instances +ba,,
p3io the passage Of men and women whom
'Ley hoped to use on their plantations Tf INV
"a tnese prepaid immigrants decided to sta, IN
Ne"-OTleans the planters had no way Of forcing
them to leave under the law.
Inc result is that out of a population Of 325-
uOO at the outside New-Orleans holds between
~''oOO ana oo'oOO Italians Many of them an
huaIiy go to the harvest fields early in Sep
temDer This year they rushed out in luggers
he
padrones and several of the large plantation
owners to answer why, and one of the first cues
tions they are likely to be asked, when they are
brought before the grand jury as they surely
VIII be. is If this exodus which was so marked
that 1t was noted by the United States immigra-
ton officials at New-Orleans. was not due to the
TACT that the padrones and the planters knew
that there yellow fever in New-Orleans at
that time.
There is undoubted evidence that the presence
OF yellow fever in the Italian quarter was re-
ported TO both the State and New-Orleans
Boards Of Health before June 10. The chief
officers Of both boards declared that the cases
were nothing serious than malaria
On June Is there most interesting meet
ing Of three four prominent citizens.
members Of the Rice. Sugar and Cotton ex-
changes and the Board Of Trade Of New Orleans
with DR.. Kohnke. AS near as the Tribune CORE
spondent can learn these men told Dr. Kohnke
that there was yellow fever in New-Orleans at
that time. but that the situation was not grave
They assured Kohnke that he could RELY on
support If the facts were kept from the public
DR.. Kohnke does not remember any such meet
ing, and other men who are supposed to have
been there deny that 1t was held DR.. Kohnke
told the Tribune correspondent that the first he
knew Of cases Of yellow fever was on July 49,
It about this date that the operations Of
the State Health Board quarantine against
fruit ships from Central American ports began
to attract attention. The vessels enter the
Mississippi from South Pass, eighty miles below
New-Orleans, the postofice being Port Eads
After the epidemic of 1898 Dr. Holt State Health
Officer. succeeded in having a regulation passed
which required fruit ships from infected ports
to be six days out Of the last port before they
could pass quarantine. This regulation was
modified soon after Dr. Souchon became the
chief health officer in Louisiana, in 1902 The
later requirement was that the vessel should
have q clean bill Of health from the last port
that each vessel should carry physician. who
should register the temperature OF every pas
senger and crew member at lO:30 a. m and
80 D. m. and furnish the record TO the quaran-
tine officer.
LAW NOT PROPERLY ENFORCED.
No fever developed in epidemic form in New
Orleans for several years. and two years ago
the officials began to let up on the enforcement
Of rbe law The Tribune correspondent learns
ov undoubted authority that fruit ship en-
tering New-Orleans this year carried a physi-
clan or furnished a register Of temperatures as
reo1ired bv law The time Of fruit ship from
Belize is less than four and half days, and. in
,,iaw of the law. the Tribune correspondents
search of the records OF the time spent at quar-
antine is most interesting.
Take for instance, the hrst five ships which
cam UP in May:
Steamer Alps United Fruit Company. % minutes m
Sesmer UIstne Bluehelds Company
steamer Venus Fruit Company 70
Fills Fruit Company 0O 4iiues