The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-03-30

Just 697 more people in Minnesota
died of consumption during the year
of 1904 than from all other infectious
diseases combined, according to DR.. R
3. Leach.
Dr. Leach spoke on the white plague
al Woodman's hall, West Ninth street,
near Exchange. before a large audi
ence last night on the cause, progress
and treatment of consumption, and
strongly recommended a state sani-
tarium for persons afflicted with the
disease. 1t was the opinion of DR..
Leach that consumption was one of
the graveSt dangers that menaced the
people of the world at the present
time, and that but slight measures had
been taken to check it. DR.. Leach
said:
ton in its different forms throughout the
world during the past year than from any
other disease, and yet the disease is al
lowed to spread. When smallpox is dis
covered in community no time is lost
in hustling the afflicted person or persons
to the detention hospital Houses, and
sometimes whole districts. are quarantin-
ed and no stone is left unturned TO wipe
out all traces of the disease. 1t is the
same with scarlet fever and all other in
fectious diseases. and yet no steps have
been taken to check a disease which
statistics prove to be five times as fatal
as any other infectious disease.
In the state of Minnesota during 1904
1873 deaths were due to consumption.
331 to typhoid fever, $50 to diphtheria.
225 to bronchitis. and of these many were
really consumption, 166 to scarlet fever,
50 resulted from whooping cough, 81 from
Group % from meaSelS SIS We're due to
cerebro spinal meningitis and 10 to small
pOX. Still in the face of these statistics
consumption is allowed to spread I'M
checked.
On July of the past year over 500 per-
sons died as the result of accidents due
to the use of explosives. The high death
rate caused great comment and the pro-
day has been widely urged. Still on that
same July 4 410 people died from con-
sumption and nothing was said.
Sympathy Comes Too Late
There are not the proper safeguards
against the white plague. Measures should
be taken to insure the protection of a
man from the disease and for his cure if
infected instead of sympathiZing with the
widow afterwards and recounting numer-
Gus other cases where people have died
from the same disease.
Consumption should be isolated lust
as well as smallpox patients and those
suffering with yellow fever are. Instead
they are allowed to frequent all public
places, thus exposing hundreds of per-
sons to the disease, for it is a well known
fact that consumption is one of the most
infectious diseases known to medical
science. Many states, including Mime
sofa. spare no expense or care to cure
consumptive criminals, and their efforts
have met with great success. No steps
have been taken, however, to cure an
honest but poor consumptive, and it
would seem from this that the only
course left open to a poor man suffering
from the disease is to commit a felony
and go over the road
No race can say that they are immune
from consumption. and a persons age
does not make the slightest difference
me open air cure is known to be the
best germicide in existence, and yet as
general rule the friends and relatives of
a consumptiye do their best to keep the
patent shut out from all fresh air and
sunlight.
Silent Death March
one reason perhaps that consumption
had made such Roadway unnoticed is that