The Irish standard., 1906-09-08

all waste and to sterlizc all clothing
so That none of the germs of lcDrosy
may survive.
While there have always been CATH
one priests and sisters willing to min
lister to the lcpers, even at the risk
"i their lives. the change IN the atti-
tl'ie of the public in Louisiana to-
ward the home and toward lcproSy in
general is the result of careful study
"i the discnS" in Louisiana durinr the
laSt half dozen years, This has nc
c"lnplishcd Il great medical vic orv
IL has shown that there is no danger
of the transmission of the disease with
proper precautions that it can be held
IN check and tinallythis discovery has
hecn made within the ycar--tha- It
can be entirely cured, except in its
last stages.
The world received this last an
nonilc"lnent with some hesitation Il.
first, ana even the Berlin congress oe
leprologists was uncertain and await
ct further developments. These laye
'"lIy confirmed all that was prnnist.l
and the Indications are that lcpr,,sv
which has existed in Louisiana for 13o
years. having been brought there .;,,n
Acndic tnow New Rrunswick) by tile
exilcd Acadians. will be completely cx-
'iilct in a comparatively few ycn-s.
number of cured lepers have nI-
ready been dismissed from the home.
others are practically cured, bu. IL
mas been deemed safest to let them re-
main in the home IL year or Il year and
Il half after all traces of the disease
have disappeared. There are only two
inmates who are beyond cure. These
VIII soon die. and with them will p;,ss
away lcprosy in Louisiana.
All this has been accomplished in a
comparatively few years, and with
many difficulties in the way on ac-
count OF the popular prejudice ana the
Ignorance that prevailed in regard ia
the disease. Ten years ago such in
cidents as recently disgraccd Mary
land and West Virginia in regard to
the Syrian lcper might have occurred
here and indeed did occur.
The leper home was originally in
New Orleans, ANA although thoroughly
isolated there was Il strong prejudice
against it which finally resulted in its
removal. The old Indian Camp plan
thtion i'm Ibervillc parish was then
leased TOR the lepcrs. 1t was Il Sc
cludcd place on the Missi ssippi River.
II deserted sugar plantation,
The site. however, is inconyenicnt
because 1t is difficult to reach from
New Orleans ana 1T was from New
Orleans that the principal medical ad-
vice was to come, DR.. IsidOre DYER.
the advising physician ana one of the
greatest living leprologists, being a
resident of that city. TIL. board in
charge of the lcpcrs accordingly bought
secretly a home for the iepers just
above the city limits in Jefferson par.
ish.
AS soon as the news leaked out there
was wild excitement in Jefferson and
mob marched to the plantation house
IN which it was proposed 20 settle the
lepcrs and burned it down. There was
Il similar movement in Ibervile to GUST
the lepcrs from the Indian Camp place.
but fortunately better counsel prevail
ed and today the prejudice has almost
entirely disappeared.
There has long been periodical scares
on the subject. About ten years before
the organization of the board there
was such a scare in and around st
Martinsville, one of the Oldest towns
in the State, "the City of Evangeline,"
the Paris of Acadia," as II has been
called. A physician ran across a case
Of leprosy there. The facts were ex-
aggerated, and soon reports spread
| through the neighboring country that
st. Martinsville was full Of leprosy.
The parish Of st. Martin ouarantined
| against the town of st. Martinsville,
the seat of Justice, and armed men
patrolled the roads to prevent any re-
fugees from escaping from the town
and spreading the disease. 1t became
| necessary for the State Board of