The Mankato free press., 1907-01-25
Disease Among Children in
Chicago.
SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED
Evanston and Oak Park Pupils Are
Barred From Educational Insti.
tutions; An Investigation.

Chicago, Jan. l9.-With G,000 chill
dren sick and 10000 other pupils
either barred by the authorities OF
kept from school by their parents.
the scarlet fever and diphtheria
epidemic raging in Chicago, Evanston
Oak Park and other suburbs spread yes
terday and caused consideration OF plans
by health department officials to close
all the schools of Chicago, public and
parochial. 1t was also planned to advise
parents to keep the 425,O00 pupils at
home and off the streets until the crisis
of the situation is passed.
Commissioner of Health Whalen and
his assistants worked like Trojans all
day, placing quarantines about homes
where the contagious diseases had brok-
en- out.
Reports of new cases flooded into the
health department office with increasing
rapidity. Seventy-siX new cases of scar
let fever and thirty cases of diphtheria
were reported within the city limits in
three hours.
Commissioner Whalen declared his Of
flee was swamped because of lack of in
spectors and proper hospital in which
to treat the deadly diseases.
In Evanston and Oak Park more cases
were also reported. These prompted the
authorities to close the public schools.
The Evanston health department notified
both the police department and school
authorities that all the schools of the
township should be closed until danger
of general epidemic was over.
The Oak Park schools were closed at
noon. The Austin schools were also
closed
In all, lis cases of contagious diseases
were reported to the Chicago health de-
partment during the day, including cases
fscarlet fever and diphtheria, against
l07 reported the previous day.
DR.. Herman Spalding, the city's conta-
gious disease expert, declared there were
about 5000 cases of scarlet fever in the
city at present and 1000 cases of diph
iberia. In Evanston and Oak Park there
were probably 1000 additional cases.
In Evanston 1850 pupils were barred
from school by order of Dr.. William R.
Parkes of the Evanston board of health. |
In Oak Park and Austin 5000 more chill
dren were barred.
1t is estimated that more than $4,000 !
pupils were kept home from schools in
Chicago during the day by the parents.
DR.. Parkes declared one case OF con-
tagious disease had been called to his !,
attention since the milk supply from
Genoa junction had been discontinued. |
The physician said the fact that more
than one case had developed in families
at one time was an indication that the |
disease had been either caused or aggra-
waited by food of some kind. A carload
of milk was received from Genoa juno
tion in the morning, but the dealer was
obliged to send it back. Later another
car arrived and the dealer was forced to
make affidavit that the milk had not
been sent from Genoa Junction. The
latter milk was allowed to be distrib-
uted.
The cause of the epidemic has been
traced by the Evanston authorities to
the milk supply that reaches that town
from Genoa Junction, Wis. This infor-
nation has been communicated to the
other north shore towns and to Oak
Park and Chicago, and today the health
authorities of each place intercepted all
milk coming from Genoa Junction and
traced it to the homes of the users.