Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1910-08-10
DRIVING OUT DISEASE.
Victories Of Peace or, 1.-THE Results Of
Sanitary Science.


The thunder of artillery, the
battle clouds, the CHASTITY wounds,
the cfimsoned sod, and the cries
and shrieks of agony make a pic
ture that focuses and holds the at
tention paralyzed with horror.
On the other hand, the quiet, un.
observed laboratory worker, as he
wrestles day in and night out
with the forces of Nature for the
knowledge that is power, attracts
no uncommon attention, until
the general educational effect of
tins brings the masses abreast of
the advanced position long since
occupied by their, then. unknown
leader.
The leader with battle back.
ground creates a profound I'M
preston; the leader with scien"
tifc acumen passes unnotlced. but
leaves an impression as lasting as
the truth of which his life became
a part. Napoleon is an example
of the first. Pasteur Of the second.
In 1905 q well.known Paris news
paper made a poll of the French
people and Pasteur was voted the
greatest Frenchman that ever
lived. Such was not the popular
estimate of Pasteur during his
lifetime or immediately after his
death.
We have all heard of Hobson,
but how few know of the less os.
tentatious but greater heroism of
Lazear and Carroll. Fully real
izing what only a few could then
realize. and without the plaudits
of the public, they exposed them
selves to a greater danger than al
exploding magazine in order &c
test the mosquito origin Of yellow
fever. They gave their lives in
the experiment., but, as a result,
1000 lives are saved annually in
Cuba and Mexico alone, the Pan
anna Canal is being dug, and yell
low fever is no longer a disease
that strikes terror to the heart.
It is estimated that the at,
tempt OF the French to dig the
Panama Canal cost them so, 900
lives, m Jst of them destroyed by
yellow fever and malaria. In
1887, the death rate in the Canal
Zo1fse-aamounted to the loss of l
person out of t., CT 100 out of ev-
cry 1000. per annum. The hos
pitfalls were o~vercrowded, and it is
stated On good authority that the
high d .ath rate was the principle
reason the French abandoned the
undertaking. In 1905, when the
United States began work OH the
canal. the death rath rate per an
mum was IS per 1000 of the popu-
lation. In four years Colonel
Goreag, the distinguished SAM
tartan in charge of health condi-
tions there, has reduced the death
rate to 25 per annum per 1000
of the population. It will be
seer. that 40 lives are saved in
every 1000 of the population, and
as Their are 1870, 1000 people in the
Canal Zone, this means a saving
of 1890 Ives annually.
Yellow fever, as has been said
already, is a conquered disease.
From 1850 to 1900 the city of Ia.
vana alone averaged $50 deaths q
year from this disease. Since the
discovery of Lazear and Carroll
and the application Of this dis
covery there has been an average
of net over 4 deaths per year from
this disease ID Havana. Vera
Cruz Province, Mexico, that bad
never ben free Of the disease IN
fifty years. has not had a single
case of the disease in the last four
years. And, as in Havana and in
Vera G. az, &c everywhere else that
the ver7 simple remedy fol the
prevention of this disease has been
applied, it has disappeared.
Malaria is another disease that
has yielded to man just in proper
ton to the educational effort d.
rected against this disease. In
Italy, Il of the most malarious
countries in the world, with a
very general educational campaign
against malaria, there has been in
the last s years Is per cent re.
duction in the malaria death
rate. The average annual death
rate from malaria before this
campaign was 16, 1000; it is now