The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-02-08
FRANK C. CARPENTER.

WIN SOiLiSSt SuAlo WIN SiiC
Amazon.
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.
GuayaQuil. Ecuador.
n UAYAQUIL II the New York of
IL Ecuador 1t is the chief port of
the country. 1t has an export
and import trade of more than s20.-
100000 year, and this will be quad
rupled II the place can be made heal
thy. 1t is important to US that It
should be so. for 1t Is the first port
south of Panama. 1t is not as ia,
from Panama as Is New York from Chi.
cago, and when the canal Is completed
it will be nearer Boston than from
Boston to Liverpool. The town lies
about sixty miles from the ocean. 1t
is on the wide and deep Guayas hvor.
up which boats can go during the rainy
season for 200 or 500 miles. The town
lies almost on the equator. 1t Is under
the shadow of the snowy peaks OF
Chmborazo and Cotopaxi. but 1t is
surrounded by jungle. Just now 1t is
afflicted with bubonic plague and yell
low fever and these conditions Will
lave TO be wiped out before Ecuador
can he allowed the free use of the
Panama Canal
The Ecuadorians have come to realize
the seriousness of their situation. They
know that their ports must be made
clean or they Will block the country's
development. The government has been
discussing the question for several
years. and foreign experts have been
called in to make plans for the clean
ing of Guayaquil. DR.. Gorgas has been
here and given suggestions, and schema
after scheme has been proposed to
remedy the evil. Just now oontrac,
with j. q. White d Co, of New York
and London is under
has had Its engineers on the ground.
and il is ready 70 enter into a contract
for series of public improvements
that will cost sl0.o00OO0. This sum
Will be enough to do tho things I'M
mediately necessary. 1t will pave tho
streets. put in sewers, increase tho
water supply and inaugurate n sys-
tematic upbulding and renovation that
Will make the port safe for the traveller
and trader.
At present Guayaquil Is SO danger
Gus that no one stops here who can
help it. The new cases of bubonic
plague now number ten or moro every
day, and there have been seventy
cases Of yellow fever reported within
the past two weeks. The officials have
begun to vaccinate for the plague, and
the moment the traveller lands he Is
grabbed by the doctor and the plague
serum is injected into his arm. He
then gets a certificate proving that
he has been vaccinatcd and he has to
show this before he is allowed to go
into the interior. There are two kinds
OF vaccination given for the plague
The one used here Is the Hankine pro-
cess. 1t consists In injecting the dead
cultures of the plague bacili. The
needle hurts AS 1t goes into your arm.
and you have at the end a little pouch
OF Juice containing millions n
bacilli under the skin. The arm is
pore short while. but the vaccine does
not make you sick. This is supposed
to render one immune from the plague
for several months The other form
OF vaccination Is by the Yersin anti.
toxin. 1t Is given only to those who
have caught the plague. and Is sup
posed 10 neutralize tho poison In the
system
During my stay at Panama l had
long chat with DR. r c. Perry, the
chief health officer. who is in charge
OF the sanitary conditions at the 18TH
mus with regard to the ports along the
west coast. He has visited every port
from Callao to Panama, and has spent
much time in studying the situation
at Guayaquil. He tells me that the
only way in which this city can he
cleaned is by practically rebuilding IT,
hc neas from which carry the
p.aguc the .most of fits houses stand
close 10 the ground, and many of them
nave wooden floors, under which the
rats burrow. The walls have
wooden posts, upon which are nailed
laths of split bamboo. This frame
work is covered with stucco on the
outside, and plaster or boards on the
inside 1t makes beautiful wall
10 look at but the rats can crawl In
side the wall and walk up the lath-
ing
Many OF the poorer houses arc built
right on the ground. DR.. Perry says
that they should be lacked up and
placed on posts so high that the rats
could not jump to the first floor. He
says that the floors OF the better class
louscs should be of cement and that
Al! houses should have cement founda-
tIons, as the rats will burrow under
any ordinary floor.
AS II is now. according to DR.. Perry
Guayaquil has rats everywhere. and all
OF its rats have neas The bubonic
plague Is transmitted by these feas bit
ing such rats as have the plague, and
then going from them to men. women
or children and biting them. a flea
that has bitten a sick rat will carry
the plague In its system for ten or
twelve days. and If IT bites you during
that time the plague bacill will go
into your blood. They will multiply
rapidly. and within five or six days
the chances are that you will die In
horrible pain.
asked DR.. Perry what Kind of ra is
carry the plague. He replied: Almost
any kind. but there are three which are
especially dangerous. One Is the big
ray Norway rat another is the gray