The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-11-12
TROPICAL zones WILL Be
Settled BY WHITE PEOPLE.
Suigeon-General Gorgas Says Mod
ern Medicine Has Made Them
Habitable.
GREAT AREAS CAN Feed woRLI
Amazon and Congo Valleys Present
Vast Fertile Regions for Mod
crn ent-Co,nprehensive
Drainage Plan Needed in South.


In discussing the malaria situation
generally, and the methods nc had used
TO combat its spread in the ;'anamn
Canal Zone and In Rhodesia,' South AZ
RIGA, Surgcon-Gcnerai w. &. GorEaS, of
the United States Army, said yester-
day afternoon that the most import
ant point TO him at present was the
fact that the tropical countries arc on
the eve OF great change III popula-
ton.
We are on the eve.' he said. "of
seeing the tropical zones settled by
the white people of tho Saxon race as
" have it in the United States, because
we know that the white man can go
there now. The great valleys of the
Amazon and the Congo will probably
produce all the food needed by the
world IF they arc settled by white peo-
pie. The European WAR will further
change social and economic conditions.
and will result in vast emigration
into the tropical countries.
WHITE RACE ONCE
LIVED IN TROPICS
1T is probable that our race must
once have lived i'm the tropics before
they learned tho use of clothing ana
discovered fire. and that It could not
nave lived In Virginia and the Dakotas
as those states arc to-day, without
the use of fire and clothing They
i''' hS' OIL tAt tennerIt0
zone. moving northwarG in the warm
| season, though probably thousands OF
those ancient people were frozen to
death when they We're caught by tile
wihtry seasan, ana without having
learned the use of clothing and fire.
They must have looked on Virginia.
" the! came 80 far north, much as
thlrtE years ago We looked mon tho
Pnnam!t Zone, AS being so unhealthy
that the Write man could not 1.-Two
II. =.
became a tremendous advantage to
ihosc early people. as prophylaxis has
now became an advantage to us.
fhe knowledge OF protection has
spread rapidly in the twolvc years that
have been away from the United
states. Now every State in tho Union
Is doing more or less in prophylaxis
anu IN FEW years malaria will he
much less widespread than it is now
COLONEL GORGAS TELLS
oT MALARIA PREVENTION
Colonel Gorgas said that malaria was
thc most important disease to be com
hattcd in the sanitation OF the tronics
and the southern portions of Tho ION.
pcrltc zones
My experience" he said, has been
IN dealing with the disease with gen
cral measures ana think that the
Simple measure which Is successful In
seven tenths of the cases is moro In
DC desired than tho elaborate method
(which is successful in nine -terths of
me cases. AS Il general thing my
a oi."ugh.s ana experience havo been
along the line OF advice TO tho indi
viuuai. believe that the Individual
farmer, WITH little experience. can
protect himsAlf if he will clean nwaw
,nc prnSh and underground around his
, mousse, Drain the land for a distance
OF 1oo yards, protect his house with
wire screens aud take prophyiactic
! quinine until unsanitary conditions orc
removed. My advice to tic RhoIcsIn,,
government when ! was In South AZ
~, do VS. III general way the rule
ADOPTED IN the Panama Zone"
the section on medicine was ,,,.,n
up Yesterday afternoon with uauers
'"u uiscusslon on malaria. the eenern |
opini"h being that prophyIaxis. sec
I on"e" by education OF the rural peo-
Pre- Pre- was me best method OF climinat-
ing the disease from the southern
country, in which il is Dnrtic,,Ihr,,.
widespread
thitF SOURCE Of INFECTION
is IN MALARIA CARRIERS
Dr. Z. G. Eass. OF New Orleans. La.
said mat the chief source of Infection
lies IN people who have clinical m,
iaria, ana that the greatest spreaders
OF disease We're those who haa I'm their
| VEINS sexual parasites. as diffcrcnti
;,cd from aseNual parasites. He said
that ~ was important not only to cur.
ana discntcct the patient, but that IL
was eqnaRy necessary Ia 30 further
anu advise others in the PATIENTS
household 10 lie treated
l.. -. Howard, al the Bureau OF En-
tomolosy, Washington, -. c., repre-.
sented by ID. l.. Van Dine. outlined "a
,, plan for Campaign Against Mala-
RIA lie said that it was essential
TO study the geographical and topo-
graphical features of ;hc country nnl
the regional 1iSn,Sitin,
toes, Mosquitoes, lie said. are essen
tialiy rural, and malaria il essential
| ~ rural disease. Moro serious than
the loss OF life from malaria he CON
sidrrcd 70 hc the loss in property re-
turns, due To the presccnc OF disease
and the inability OF the sufferers mon
eriS To work their farms.
CIVILIZATION HAS AIDED
SPREAD OF DISEASE
! Or. Howard said that the advance OF
civilization had increased, rather than
decreased the spread OF the disease.
because Of the construction OF PONDS
ana stone qu;trrics, In the still water
OF which the mosquito found IL favor
able breeding ground. j., lie thought
that tic present propllylactic measures
were too general to he standa rtlized.
AS showing that,,;he disease is more
widespread In the South than any
where else III the country, he. said that
'hcIc were i9,opo,uuo acres or swamp
/ land IN the country, of which $4,000
600 were in the Southern States. In
addition to this vast territory OF
swamp acreage, he said that there
We're 10000 900 acres that needed
drainage.
DIR. II, +. Carter, OF the United States
Public Health Service. discussed "The
Effects OF lmpounded Water I'm Pro-
ducton OF Malaria: Il Preliminary
Note" and showed that the great in
crease In impounded water in the
South had resulted-'in corresponding
increase OF mosquitoes. which. how
ever, could be avoided IL the ponds