The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1907-11-09
NEW TO-DAY.


EDITOR SENTINEL: An article pub
lished in the Ely Mining Record of
November 2 regarding the recent sick.
ness at Hamilton contains statements in
reference to myself. professionally. that
are wholly untrue. The portion of the
article to which l refer contains the fol.
lowing extract:
"a doctor from Eureka was sent for.
and arrived several hours after her
death. He told the people that her
death was not caused by diphtheria,
but by 'sinternal blood poison" This
disarmed the fear of citizens of the
community in regard to the contagious
character of the disease, and the I'M
fortunate woman was given a public
burial, which was largely attended"
II is true / was summoned from Eu-
reka to Hamilton to attend Mrs. @. 5.
Alden, the person referred to above,
and did not arrive at the latter place
until several hours after the woman had
died.
That l told the people of Hamilton
that her death was not caused by diph-
liberia is absolutely untrue. L tolo
them that diphtheria might have beef
the cause of death, but of that l had
my doubts. However, that the diseast
appeared to be a virulent blood poison
ing from the fact that decomposition
manifested itself Immediately after if
not before death.
On my arrival at Hamilton l began
the work of ascertaining the history OF
the disease, and stated at the beginning
Of my investigation that | did not know
whether the sickness was diphtheria Oh
not. / had been informed, however,
by parties in Hamilton that the cases
had been diagnosed as either diphther o
OF quinsy. l doubted this statement,
and gave as a reason the fact that nc
quarantine had been established. the
people of the town visiting their neigh
bors as had been their usual custom and
friends calling on the patients at theii
rooms, and also that children, with the
exception of one case, had not con-
tracted tie disease that in the present
cases adults were more susceptible than
children.
From the investigation as we'll as OF
servation made during my visit l be-
came convinced that whatever the
malady might be it was both contagious
4, aud probably infectious. | made this
statement personally to @. S. Alden,
the Matson family and also to R. A.
, Dean, a school teacher, who was stop
; ping at the hotel where Mrs. Alden
died.
/ also advised against persons who
had been exposed to the disease ming
ling generally with the people of the
town; and urgently requested the peo-
pie not to visit rooms where the conta.
gious cases were or had been. Further
more, l advised Mr.. Dean. the teacher,
) not to reopen his school for at least two
weeks from the time of my visit.
AS an additional p%recaution against
the spread of the disease l advised that
: all bed clothing used by the Infected
patients should be boiled, and articles
of wearing apparel or any other ar
; ticles, including carpets, that could not
be so treated. to be destroyed by burn.
ing.
, On my return to Eureka forwarded
: a supply of formaldehyde to Hamilton,
having previously informed members
of the Matson family how to use it.
suggested to the people of Hamilton,
: should other cases of the disease ap'
pear, to immediately notify the health
r board at Ely and request that it send O
physician to Hamilton to attend the
stricken patients and enforce and
maintain a rigid quarantine.
particularly warned the people there
against the funerals being made public
of persons dying of the disease, and ad'
vised the people to the best of my judg'
ment how to protect themselves and
aid in stamping out the disease until
5 the Ely board of health took charge.
In conclusion, l am charitable enough
to believe that the editor OF the Ely
Mining Record in publishing the state
| ments referred to above erred more
through ignorance Of the true facts Of
the case rather than a desire to iDjure
me professionally, but it must be OBJ
vious to all that before an editor would
: publish such damaging statements he
should at least be certain that he IL
giving the public the facts.
w. f. BURNETT. NJ. ID.
Eureka, Nevada, Nov. 8. 1907.