Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-09-25

from pollution, usually have q death
rate from intestinal diseases Of all
kinds less than half as great as that
in cities which have no fresh pro-
tected supply. European cities are far
and away ahead Of the American cit
les in this respect. and 1t has almost
reached that point where man who
takes typhoid fever has a case against
the municipality for not protecting
him. There is not even one exception
to the rule that has obtained all over
the world that pure milk and pure wa
ter have added much to the health of
the community which has secured
them.
Bubonic Plague.
An interesting picture Of how
threatened epidemics Of diseases are
throttled is to be had from the present
fight which the United States is maxi
ing against the threatened outbreak
of bubonic plague through the ports
of the United States. In the first place.
no ship is allowed to come to any port
which has not used every precaution
to prevent infected rats from getting
aboard at ports under the ban Of
quarantine. these precautions con-
sisting Of the use Of rat guards, which
are funnel-like affairs put on hawsers.
the large part toward the dock Ships
must also be fumigated to insure
death to rats, and no trouble Is too
great to insure their being rat-free.
The plague is conveyed by fleas which
first bite sick rat and then a human
being. just as yellow fever Is trans
lo,
a person who had yellow fever.
When fighting the plague in Cali
fornia the public health authorities rid
numerous cities and towns Of rats and
carried on a wholesale killing and
poisoning Of ground squirrels, which
so frequently had the plague. and the
plague infected fieas which were
transmitted to the rats and in turn to
people. Hundreds OF thousands of
squirrels and rats have been killed,
and large squirrel-free zones are still
maintained around San Francisco and
Oakland The Nevada mountain passes
are as closely guarded as though a
hostile army were threatening to come
through them, to prevent an invasion
of the Mississippi valley by plague
infected squirrels. Every squirrel
killed is cut open for examination, and
the marks of the disease are so plain
that in 80 cases out of 100 the laymen
can recognize ii. Those cases about
which there is doubt are referred to
the surgeons.
Although vaccination against small
pox has wiped from the list OF terri
BILE epidemics one of the worst dis
eases in history, although anti-typhoid
vaccination has cut the death rate
among vaccinated soldiers down to
one-nfteenth of that among their un-
vaccinated comrades. although diph-
iberia anti-toxin has reduced the
number Of fatalities to only a small
fraction of what they were before its
day. there are still those who would
convince the public that there is moth
ing in these remedies and preventive
measures. In a United States trans
port there we're hundreds OF passen-
gers. Three were unvaccinated. A
child took smallpox and died. All
three unvaccinated passengers took
the disease. None among the hun
dreds Of vaccinated passengers and
crew members took II. Gloucester,
England, did not believe In compulsory
vaccination. and an epidemic Of 1000
cases broke out. Within four months
thereafter $4,000 people were vacci-
mated and the epidemic was ended. In
Philadelphia, during a four-year cpl
demic Of smallpox, $500 cases were
ADMITTED to the hospital. Not a case
was that OF person who had been
vaccinated within five years Not a
doctor. nurse, or student visitor took
the disease. Two unvaccinated at
tendants did.
Tomorrow-Hygiene and Sanitation.
XIII. State and Municipal Health
Work.