El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-13

/ should have already buried over 5000
And what has been the actual loss? %
1T was only 19."
Have you any yellow fever now2'
NO, we have had no cases since
1906. I think that we may safely say
that we have wiped il out of the 18TH
mus as an epidemic for all time to
come"
How about malaria?"
when we first came here we had on
the average 500 cases in every 1000
of our employees. This has been re-
duced until now there are only about
l75 per 1000 who are sent to the hos
pital during the year. I doubt whether
the health of any working force all
the world over is much better than
ours"
Tropics as the World of the Future.
Have you not proved that the white
man can live and work in the tropics
quite as well as in the temperate
zone?"
Yes" replied Col. Gorgas. That has
been absolutely demonstrated, and I
believe ii will have a great effect as
to the world of the future. 1t would
seem that the first man must have
lived in the tropics, and that that
was his natural habitation. He was
born an animal without clothes and
at the start ne must have had warm
zeal diseases drove him away that he
left that most beautiful part of old
Mother Earth. Now that these dis
eases can be controlled he will come
Dack ana within few centuries in all
prODa blllty the most civilized parts of
the world will be the tropical zones.
with given amount of labor man can
pfoduce far more there than in the
colder regions. He can live better
ana nave more days to work. AS it is
af.ar- .av-A .F
ton of the cold lands is idle for six
months of the year. Its inhabitants
spend their time in fighting the cold"
But Will it not cost too much to
make the tight against the diseases.
ian the ordinary man afford to live
IN mosquito-proof dwellings?"
think 1t would be very much
cheaper than to heat his home in the
cold lands of the far north" replied
Col. Gorgas. 'All that you need here
IS screen of woven wire about the
OUTSIDE of your house. You do not
heeq a heating plant or fur or wool
clothing. Indeed the difference of the
cost IS altogether in FAVOR of the trop-
les and as the sanitation of the tropics
IS improved the disease will be
SO eliminated that the cost Of fighting
them viii grow less and less.
Y GU must also remember" continued
Col. Gorgas, that the great undevel-
oped lands of the future are those
IL
country is as large as the United States
and has a vast deal more cultivable
land. The whole northern part of
south America will eventually be the
nome OF great people, and we may
yet nave the kongo valley as the cen
Ter Of a race of white men. Moreover
the habitable parts of the colder lands
are already crowded and the world
must have room. I believe that the
white mans emigration to what is the
socaIled torrid zone is only a question
Of time"
Sanitation in Brazil.
But how about the tropical peoples
OF today. Col GOrgas? Do they realize
the possibilities that might come to
tnem by improved sanitation? Have
they learned any lessons from Pan
Most of the people of the tropics.
ana by this I mean the civilized ma
lions, have been watching with great
interest the government work here at
Panama, and many of them are taking
advantage of the discoveries made in
recent years as to malarial and yellow
IeVer mosquitoes. They have adopted
the methods of eliminating these pests
which we introduced at Havana and
have found TO work so well here As
a result yellow fever has been almost
from Rio Janeiro and San
tos, which. for generations have been
the pest holes of the world. 1t has
peen practically wiped out Of Mexico