New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-17
ONE MORE DEATH
FROM CHOLERA HERE
Woman Patient SuCCumbs at
SWinburne Island - Four
New Suspected Cases.
DR.. OOTY DENIES CHARGES
Declares Commissioner Bulger's
Interview Is Calculated to
Alarm Public" and Many
Statements Are Untrue.


era at Swinburne Island yesterday and
four additional cases developed among
passengers Of the steamship Moltke, on
! Hoffman Island, showing suspicious
symptoms Of the disease. The patients
were transferred to the Svinburne ISL
and Hospital.
The Perugia, Of the Anchor Line, FROM
Naples. is still in quarantine. The three
pa ticnts that we're transferred on Sat-
urday from the vessel to the Swinburna
| Island Hospital were reported GONZALES
/ cent. and the condition OF the other pas
sengers and crew at an inspection yes-
terdsy by Or. Alvah II. Doty, Health
Officer OF the Port, was said 10 be sat-
! isfactory.
DR.. John r. Sprague, district sanitary
superintendent of the Board OF Health.
and Dr. Francis De Revere, of his de-
partment, Yesterday again took cultures
OF the blood of the eleven members or
the Cushing and Mills families, now
quarantined in the double house at No.
II Fingerboard Road, Clifton, Staten
| Island.
the reporters at 3 o'clock that he would
issue a statement In reply to an Inter-
view with Charles y. Bulger, the Gov
ernor's commissioner. that appeared In
a New York newspaper yesterday and
was highly critical OF Or. Doty's admin
istration.' At 6 o'clock it was said that
DR.. Doty was still at work on the docu-
I Z, ha
o'clock.
| The Health officer declined, through
George S. Scofed, his personal counsel.
to see the newspaper men. He was said
to be unusually busy also by reason OF
visits from his deputy physicians. VINO
consulted about the cholera situation.
simultaneously with DR.. Doty's reply
| to Commissioner Bulgers published crit
icism. Charles Dushknd, counsel for the
compla ming immigrants, forwarded a
letter to Judge BuIger suggesting that
| the public health required that the
quarantine station he at once placed In
charge Of a competent sanitarian who
would conquer that dread disease in
stead of giving out interviews about
| "CnOlera carriers.
Calculated to Alarm Public"
DR.. Doty's statement follows:
The comments in a New York newspaper
| This morning Of Charles y Bulger APP
| pointed by Governor Dix commissioner
for the purpose of conducting an inyestga-
ton OF the Health officers department are
so calculated to alarm the public In the
very midst of a threatened invasion OF
cholera that | feel justified in making
reply Although Commissioner Bulser as
sured me at the beginning Of the inyestlka-
ton that II would be conducted fairly, ne
has given the interview TO newspaper
before allowing me to oher word Oh tes-
timony as 10 the real facts
What can DR.. Doty Health O1cer CT
the port, mean when hc allows nVe mon
who have been in daily contact win per-
Sons suffering from Asiatic cholera to
come To this city i'm the same clothes they
wore when among the cholera victims and
touch elbows with every one they meet
is the question propounded by judge bui-
ger I'm the interview.
The facts Of this particular matter sre
these The five men referred To were csiSI .
as witnesses by the people I'm charge OF mo
investigation, and were permitted BY me
10 be absent from duty AT norman lsland
| for this purpose. Cholera IL not trans
mitted by clothing or by the air. but by
actual contact through the mouth Will
discharges from the Intestinal tract ot the
cholera victim. There is. therefore, no
danger whatever from contact with per-
son who has been I'm the presence of the
disease. Moreover the men to whom COM
missioner Buger referred were not i'm con-
tact with cholera patients, as these are NOT
kept at Hoffman Island. but were removed
to swinburne Island when conditions indi-
Gated tine first possible approach of Tho
| disease Hoffman Island being a place
where passengers are kept for Observation, ,,,E,
| TO quarantinable diseases.
There is not the slightest truth In ths
| statement Of Commissioner Bulger that 'on
| Hoffman Island We find persons suffering
| from SmallnOX yellow fever and cholera
herded together, mingng at will. with only
| a rope separating them There are no
| cases of these diseases kept at Hoffman
| Island; they are all removed from incom-
ing vessels 10 Swinburne Island for care
| and treatment, and only those persons are
! transferred 10 Hoffman Island who have
| been exposed 10 infectious disease. More
over. yellow fever Is transmitted only bv a
| variety OF the mosquito which does not
| exist in this section of the country. Tho
| rope that is referred to i'm Commissioner
| Bulger's further comment on this subject
| is not used for the purpose of separating
| those who have been exposed 10 the vari-
| Gus diseases. but merely 10 separate the
| sexes, particularly as measure OF protec-
tion to young girls.
| II is very unusual for groups Of passen-
gers to be transferred TO Hoffman Island
| from more than two vessels at the same
| time. The important condition To meet.
| however In dealing with this situation fs
that they shall be kept under constant
medical observation, night and day. in
| order that the early symptoms may be de-
| tectCd, rather tnan th2t they should he
! placed i'm groups, according 10 their re-
moval from steamships. These are recog-
nized principles In modern sanitation. For
| this purpose medical officers now on duty
on Hoffman Island visit the apartments %
these persons nearly every hour. night and
aaV.
Commissioner Bulger refers 10 a man
named Cushing temporarily employed az
a watchman by this department at Hoff-
! man Island. He left the service before any
cases Of cholera recently developed az
] fore
apparent reason for his detention Even
under these conditions. a matter OF ex-
treme precaution, such persons are kept
under some form OF observation by this de-
pariment. II was in this manner that
Cushing was found AT St Vincent's Hos.
pital. and I ordered his transfer TO Swim.
hurne Island before the character OF his
disease was determined.
Calls II Serious Outbreak.
At the present time We are dealing with
n very serious outbreak OF cholera In ItaIy
and other sections OF the Mediterranean
which has increased I'm yirulence since last
year. and ma jorty OF vessels which nav,
u recently come from Italy have either
brought actual cases of this disease or have
. furnished evidence OF eases having occurre,
I'm transit. II Is with great difficulty that the
latter condition Is established and il Is only
through the most exhaustive bacterlologicsl
| examination that | am able to secure these
facts. The leQple who are now held nj
Hoffman Island were removed from a yessei
on which there had occurred in transit a
number of somewhat suspicious cases The
cases were mild, and | could secure ne
definite meteorological evidence concerninl
this. However because the ship came frolr
a cholera infected district I'm Europe I re.
lieyed that they were cholera cases, aud
therefore, Kept the crew on board the yes.
I cel and removed al steerage passengers ,c
yJnfu,an Isla nd for observation since tho.