The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1910-12-25

Nhile men the world over are
talking of things that make history
German tariff reprisals and Chinese boy
colts, crises in the Near East and riots
in Mexico, wars of yesterday and ru-
mors Of wars tomorrow-they have all
but overlooked the insidious advance
of a different sort of an assailant. slow
~ girdling the earth in an historic prog
ress. This is the bubopic plague, the
"Black Death, . by long odds the worst
enemy, in point of fatalities, that the
human family has ever faced.
It is not strange that the progress of
the plague should be overlooked for the
moment. The disease started from
China to girdle the world in 1S94-be-
fore the Russo-Japanese war. So slow
are its inyasions that fourteen years
were required for its advance from
China to Italy.
Widespread Range.
Lately, though, the reports have
forced themselves more and more into
notice. Glance at the latest of these
reports for instance
On August 20 last a few lines sent
from Guayaquil, Ecuador, told of ten
new eases reported in that country
during the first two weeks of that
month Early in September the plague
appeared in Suffolk, England, with
four deaths in one household within a
few days About ten days ago a report
from Lisbon told of nine cases there,
which forced the officers of the United
States warship Des Moines to stop the
shore leave of the crew.
Side by side with this report was an
other telling of extraordinary precau-
tions against the plague in San Fran
cisco, where outbreaks had already
been suppressed in 1900 and 1907 Last
week report from England told of
the whole country being alarmed over
the situation in Suffolk and another
from Caracas. Venezuela, described an
outbreak there of greater virulence
than ever of twelve eases and six
deaths in a single house and of heroic
preventive measures like those being
War is Child's Play.
In all of these reports the number
of fatalities is small. you say9 Therein
lies the point of the story. War seems
like child s play beside the invasions
Of the "Black Death - in the past. The
s'Black Death once killed 10000 per
sons in London in a single week. Dur
ing this invasion one person in every
five in Europe became a victim. Com
pare the inroads of the plague and
earthquake disasters: In the historical
Lisbon earthquake of 1881 10000 per
sons were killed; in another upheaval
at the same place in 1855 $4,000 persons
were engulfed by the sea: but 10000
persons died of bubonic plague in China
IN 1894 and 1,022,000 succumbed in
Tnaia in 1904
Flea and Rat.
Modern science got grip on the
"Black Death when it learned the
life stories Of a flea and rat. It was
only few years ago that the doctors
learned that these vermin caused and
spread the plague The new pretenta-
tive is to destroy them.
The way the plague is fought nova
saughts on small animals in Suffolk.
Offeial notices are posted warning
every one not to eat hares or rabbits
killed in the district. Landowners are
burving all these animals, shot on their
estates Pheasants, partridges, and
grouse are refused even as gifts by a
pane stricken countryside The official
notices call on the public to assist in
S%r Of o1H bat he
bodies must not be touched with the
naked hand.
A small armv of professional rat
catchers from all parts of England has
been engaged to kill the rodents Vii
layers and farmers are exterminating
the rats with guns. traps, and poison.
Every day hundreds are found dead,
and thousands are being killed, the
record being 10000 exterminated with
in week. The work Will not be ended
until there is rot a rat left in Suffolk.
Secret Newly Learned
In this story of the "Blacl Death -
the novelty of the scientific discoveries
regarding the plague take precedence
in point of interest. It is only within
the last few wears that the scientists
nave identified the bubonIc bacillus,
traced II 10 us source. ana Sd1egHarueu
mankind against it.
The bacillus was found by Yersin of
me Pasteur Institute during a plague
epidemic in Hongkong in 1904. It was
not until five years ago in an investi-
gaton by the Indian Plague Commits
sion that the secret of ''Black Death -
epidemic was learned
The discoveries may be summarized
thus: "Rlack Death Is primarily a
disease among rats Mankind is the
secondary victim. This disease is
spread by feas. with which rats are
usually infested. The bacillus of the
bubonic plague Is a very perishable
vegetable orranism. depending for its
life on lodgment i'm living animal tissue
It is 50 small TINT 5000 bacill can
crowd into the qizzard Of flea.
The scientists learned that there is
an average ot from twenty-five To
thirty faa~ in the fur Of evorv healthy
rat and eichtv-fye ON an ailing one.
This mear~ that eve~v rat can carry
from 125 o11 to 425no0 plague bacili