New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-30
PANAMA'S REDEMPTION.
Ho1o Yellozc Fercr Was Drcen
from the Isthmus.

OF the practical elimination Of that disease from
region which has been ignorantly or malo-
iously described as hopeless plague spot For
there is moro yellow fever on the isshrnus
There has been none for weeks, and there 10 1T
tie no cause for apprehending any moro of IT,
beyond possibly occasional solitary casa
stopped at a quarantine station. For some
weeks Colonel Gorgas has, with Governor Ma
goon's sanction. been publicly and conspicuousiy
advertising reward Of $50 In gold TO any ons
not connected with the Health Department who
shall report case OF the fever In the canal some
or In this cities Of Panama and Colon-or which
advertised offer friend sends copy with
the shrewd suggestion "New-Orleans papers
please copyP Nobody has yet claimed the re-
ward and there seems little prospect that any
body WILL The offer Is not. of course. made IN
any spirit Of bravado or vafnglory. II II tn
tended to serve two exceedingly irnportan. and
practical purposes. One Is to reassure tho minds
of all non-immuncs and put final quietus upon
the decentralization that recently existed. The
other Is to inspire the utmost vigilance among
all people. to transform every member Of the
population into amateur sanitary detective
and thus to secure for the health officers the
earliest possible information OF any suspicious
case Of illness, for that yellow fever Is act
ualy suppressed every sanitarian will appreci-
ate the supreme necessity Of guarding against
radio case that may occur.
1t was almost exactly a year ago tina. the
fever made its appearance on the isthmus When
Secretary Taft made his memorable visit 70
Panama in November last he was greeted on his
arrival with the fearsome whisper that a case
or two had just occurred. No public proclana-
ton was made of the fact for fear OF creating
panic, but the fact was perfectly well known IN
many of the visitors, and was variously re-
garded Some were frightened. while others
pooh-poohed and scorned the idea that yellow
fever could make any serious headway under
American administration. But 1t did make
Roadway. Week by week new cases occrrrad
steadily increasing in numbers The RAINY sea-
son came on making almost every square foot .
OF the Wretched cobblestone pavements breed
ing ground for the stegomyia. To make the sit
uation worse, many of the streets were torn 11p
Tor the laying Of sewers and waterrnains and
under the torrential tropic rains vera trans
formed into sluggish rivers of mud Meantime
generalization grew apace in the minds Of the
american colony. Among many fear and fright
developed into absolute panic AS for those
who had formerly scoffed. they assumed & cvni-
cal bravado and fatalsm. The refrain ~ their
daily song was the old
One cup for the dead already
And hurrah for the that diesi
ihey professed contempt for the mosquito the
ory and ostentatiously tore holes In the nett1ngs
that had been placed over the windows of tbe
canal building, or removed them altogether and
disregarded all the sanitary precautions and rag
uIations that had been prescribed by the health
officers.
Inc state OF affairs in May last, when Gov
ernor Magoon arrived upon the scene NAV he
summed up in three words-pantc iethargv
braVado: and the three together meant democrat
ization. In that month there were thirtv-eiebt
cases of fever on the ishhmus with threat of
large increase in June. Governor Magoon
arrived on May 20. and it did not take him long
TO perceive two things. One was that the
nrst' supreme and necessitous duty Of the ad-
hnlstratlon was TO get rid of yellow fever.
whether single spadefu1 of earth was dug on
the canal or not The other was that the first
step toward getting rid of the fever must he TO
restore the public mind-that Of the non-in-
mune Americans especially-to sanity HA
began by frankly and publicly declaring that
lie, personally, was afraid of the fever and thar
IN MS opinion all non-immunes who professed
not to be afraid were talking rotr Then he
ordered all the window screens to be repaired
and replaced and kept in place and announced
that If any man was caught leaving them OMEN
or tearing holes in them. something uncommon
iy pleasant would happen to him. Now. when
a man Of Judge Magoon's mental and physical
is fool TO say he isn't and when a man of
Judge Magoon's resolution gives an order and
prescribes penalty for its violation that order
is very likely TO be obeyed. In this case II was
and there was an end to the cheap bravado
that had proved so costly
The next STEP promptly taken, was destruc-
ton of all mosquitoes possible by fumigation
They began with the canal building in Panama
1t was thoroughly fumigated on the first Sun
day after the Governors arrival and every
second Sunday thereafter until a month or SO
back, when the interval was increased TO three
weeks But that not enough. There were
probably many infected mosquitoes In other
buildings throughout the CITY, which must be
destroyed. In Havana Colonel Gorgas had
followed the rule of disinfeeting three houses
for every case of fever to wit the house in
which it had occurred and the house each
side of It. That practice was effective there.
But Havana is a thousand miles further north
than Panama, and has winter climate which
is fatal to the delicate stegomyia- No such aid
from nature was possible on the isthmus.
wherefore artifice must be more energetic the
heroic plan was therefore. conceived Of funi-
eating and disinfecting every building In the
city of Panama. II at first hoped 70 40
this enormous work within twelve days. tue
period of yellow fever's incubation In the
stegomyia. but this found TO be imposslole'
and the time actually required was more tnah
thirty days. but it seems probable that 1ho
work was just as effective as though II had
been accomplished in the shorter time. AS an
illustration OF the energy and expedition Win
which isthmian affairs now administered. II
may be recalled that Governor Magoon had 10
send to Washington for material and appliances
for the work He did so by telegraph. ana
Stn ftNrr n