The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-29

p4$eu, were EA3A&asEU 60uynrSs xAHr1Ca-f :,
 1t was during this pertod when held as reserve and permitted to <en- ter civil employment, that he, was ss9Dloysa a K sgsTa s,sls en !, the 2, s2uah B. n ed in 6ar& 0 ATis 'LeperS special" ]"
 When asked for some facts regard ing the condition and care of Jepers insIndia, MT. Mclaughlin said:
 Contagious or Hereditary?&
 The leper problem is one that the Inpian government gives a great deal oEattenAdHn. and the recent improve nAnts in the methods of handling lepers. and the wonderful progress in the medical treatment of the disease give hope of it's possible ultimate era dication.
 sWhen I was in India the govern ment had established large hospitals a.I over the Empire and there were As leper missions, conducted by re- lig1ous- hucfetteSp Ss
 < ''rhsre is great difference of lopinior santengs scientific men about the contaei6nv and hereditary char acteF of leprosy, , In Berlin,s in 1897, the jlepers conference said leprosy wSs contagious but not hereditary.
 MT. w Css HaileY secretary of the Eociety for Lepers to India and the East, givesfit as his opinion that lep- rosy is contagious, though not infec- tions. The National Leprosy Fund, under the Prince of Wales, says: No authentic congenital case is known, nor was one ever seen, in India
 Mir. Bailey has for many years been making efforts to save, the chill dren of leper parents. He believes that if these children can be separat- ed from their parents early in life majority of them can be saved.
 NThe percentage of children the re- suit of leper marriages who become lepers iS too small to warrant the be- lief in the hereditary transmission of the disease-only or per cent.
 -In Almora, in the Himalaya Mountains, is an asylum where the xlepers learn trades or support them- selves sbyts agfs1cu1ti1fe. They inter- marry and have offsprings, and these, even in constant lassociation with their parents and pre1atives, rarely show the disease until they are 30 or 40 years. of age. 2 s.Ons thek other hand, Dr. EugeneA BlumacherE America consul in Vene- zuela, made an exhaustive report to4 the State Department at Washington, wherein he adirns that leprosy is not contagious, But is here ditary to de- gree not reached in any other dis ease. and 1t was through his efforts that tau-tua plant, now used in treat tries wAfsH Kavs s isprosy: s,.iy : '''
 on the Leper Train.
 District No. P of the ough & Rohilkla,nd a.<R Railway inclpded branches from Lucknow to Dorahan- pur. 240 miles; Bareilly to Aligarah, 113 miles. via Chpndousie: Marada- bad to Delhi s12O miles, and Laksar to Dhera-pun, 50 miles. ~ s,s
 within this district persons suf- fering with leprosy are taken by the auth0rities representing the towns and cities within that territory and placed, in the 3aontagious wards of the hospitals nearest their residence When loo OF more are collected a train is made up, and the lepers are marched tos the nearest railway sta ton. There they embark in the '.Lepers' Special for the hospital at Dhera-Dun. .s~. l
 Word is sent along the line that this train is onAthe way and the sta- ton is cleared, and all approaches to At sl''' sSo .f~oAA tdtIO POIlCSlueH ssdtS Std- tiorfed all around it to prevent the natives from approaching the train to :, meet unfortunate relatives or
 When arriving at station the lepers are permitted to disembark for To- minutes and are allowed to buyI refreshments from the few peddlers permitted to sell to- them l
 Bent, decrepid and diseased, with haggard, paip-worn faces and cloth ed in rags. some crawling on hands and knees, assisted by more able companions, some staggering on crutches which they are hardly able to hold, they surge from out the stucy cars
 "One has to conquer repulsion to min9le with them, for they are still more forbidden on nearer sight. The rnaimed hands and feet, the fostering sores, the scarred. decayed faces and blinded eyes-the weight of human suffering and human misery presses upon ones soul as he realizes the ter ribfe condition of the lkpers.
 Never Afraid of Coptagton.
 with the fatalistic ideas of the doctrine af transmigration. the Him. dus regard the leper as suffering the results of their sins, either in this life. or in some previous existence, and so no hand 1t outstretched to help them. If the government or the re- ligfous societies did not help them they would be outcasts, wandering beggars without friend or shelter.
 aThe .Lepers' Special is made up Of several troop carriages. The win dows are barred, and the doors kept locked. flie cars are painted a light brown. and . flag designating the