Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-09-26

On July my friend. Surgeon
General Rucker, was amazed 10
learn that the dread scourge, orien-
tai plague, had been found in New
Orleans. 1t is almost two years
since an instance of this acutely
malignant malady was found IN the
United States.
On August Surgeon-1eherai
Rucker made the terrifying an
nouncement that with his perfectly
modern machinery of sanitation ana
the full cooperation of the Louisl-
ana health department in the
slaughter of rats, gophers, sources
f1eas and other creatures which mar
Dor the black death bacilli, thirteen
human instances of plague had peen
found and twelve rats were caught
infected with 1t.
orders have been sent to every At
lantic. Pacific and gulf port, from Sc
attic to New Orleans, to be on Inc
lookout for all sorts of animals re-
lated to rats and squirrels. to destroy
and examine them and their fieas for
the plague bacteria, to fumigate every
wharf. dock and inbound vessel.
AS fast as cargoes are disembarked
ALI rats will be destroyed and vessels
will be prevented from docking, es-
necially at New Orleans. Even pas
sengers must be certified by quaran-
tine officers.
Congress has appropriated 100000,
but will be called upon by the pup
lie health department to increase THIS
| in order to eradicate this fatai dis-
temper of man and rodents. UNDER
ground squirrels, rats. gophers ana
field mice will carry the disease even
into outlying rural neighporhooos;
| NJ. \, i,tthnnfn nlQRlIa the
ultra ebony bridge across the Styx.
the oriental scourage, are names that
have been applied to this Asiatic
pest. 1t is a voe-making, contag-
| ious ailment caused by a tiny microbe
| called bacillus of pests or bacillus
pests. Thousands OF millions of man
kind are in their graves due to It's
ravages. yet the germ has only been
known since the French pupil of Pas
teilr. Yersin, and the great Japanese
bacteriologist, Kitasato, discovered 1t
only a little over a score of years ago.
Epidemic always in the dirty, senti-
mental, Observation-Disclosures far East
bubonic plague is always ready to
| dash at the Occident and sweep hti-
manity off the earth. The odd name
"bubonic" is given 1t because In the
neck in the groin, under the arms anc
elsewhere there appears swollen
/ GLANDS, huge shot-like blind boils
called "buboes."
If a flea with a plague bacillus hops
on you. bites you and thus gives you
this death-dealing contagion, In three
to five or seven days afterward, cnilis
fever. headache, nausea and vomiting
make you stagger or throw you into
bed. Two periods of fever occur
within a few days. Death occurs
quickly or the fever falls and yot
live. as Boccacio did. to tell OF 1t.
Drugs are of no avail. Vaccines ant
anti-toxic serum are vastly more en-
fective as preventives while the cpl
demic RACES than as cures. Yersin'i
anti bubonic plague serum, made b,
vaccinating healthy horses with ma
lipnant plague bacilli and then tap
ming blood from the animals Jugulai
vein, has anti-germ substances In i
to destroy the first ones 1t meets. In
iected into men exposed to plague 4
has saved many lives.
Haffkines plague vaccine Is mucf
the same as the anti-typhoid vaccine
which every sane person now take
to prevent typhoid fever. The, onl,
difference is the use of inert, 'deas
plague germs in lieu of typhoit
bacilli.
Bubonic plague was accurately de
scribed more than 10000 years ago II
ancient Babylonia bricks and Egyp
tian prehieroglyphics. Rufus Ephesus
who lived before the Bible was writ
ten. described 1t with scientific pre-
cision.