The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1918-11-20
ELEVEN
VICTIMS
ON F ARM
Mother Dies Fighting VAL
iently to Save the Lives of
Husband and Nine Chill
dren, Dreadfully Ill With
Pneumonia.

South of Hammond in a little farm
house on the Griffith road late yester-
day a mother died OF influenza. leaving
in the same room the husband and nine
children all terribly i'll of the disease.
The woman. Mrs. Render Van TIL.
fought death TO the very last TO walt on
her sick babies. The world will never
know the heroic struggle she put up to
save the lives Of others. losing her own.
The influenza epidemic was never
stamped out in Lake county. health au-
thorities stated today Twenty-Five new
cases have been reported at the Wallace
school and seven at the Riverside school
in Hammond. And in many instances
the new cases are in families where the
disease has been transmitted from one
member TO another over period of sew
eral weeks.
Six Hammond physicians reported this
morning the number of new cases in
their care as follows: Oberlin. 35:
Miller. II; Groman, -; Campbell. g.:
Gibson 8; Ostrowski. 9.
Closing of churches. schools. theaters,
etc. is not expected to be ordered. how
ever. by the Hammond board of health.
but daily fumigation of schools and the
aters may be instigated at once. Thea
ter managers are expected to enforce
prohibition Of splitting. sneezing and
coughing by having offenders leave the
house. and to provide proper vekila-
ton.
The Hammond city council az a meet
Ing last evening declined g sug gestiop
by Councilman Patrick Reilley that the
aters be closed for a month and recon-
J y
, houses instead. The action followed
Buchanan. secretary Of the board of
health
The health department reports for the
period of october l to November Is:
Births. us; deaths. 227.
Deaths from influenza and its COM
plications. 1907 Total deaths during the
preceding like period. &C.
Sanitary inspections. calls to houses
for relief and other calls for inspectors
department, $50. Cost of department as
1916.
While all doctors did not report their
influenza cases available data makes me
believe there were about 1000 cases in
Hammond since October 1. ranging In all
grades OF severity. The most dangerous
complications were pneumonia and in
Movements Of the heart. Many lives
were no doubt sacrificed because the pa
tients refused to go to bed early enough
1 in the disease and to follow doctors in
| structions to remain quiet. Cases treat
ed with serum have not seemed to pro-
gress more favorably than those with
out 1t.
I'm my opinion we are too lax in our
segregation of influenza patients Pub
lie opinion is very hard to mould when
/ it involves their dollars or infringes
upon their usual habits. The general
public has not fully realized the viru-
lence and great danger of influenza.
| Great suffering followed in many cases
from poor housing conditions and from
too free use Of alcoholics. We appre-
ciate more fully the lack OF hospital
facilities In Hammond Our municipal
activities in regard to the care of our
population have lain dormant No in
terest has heretofore been taken. Had
any developed it was Immediately over
whelmed by obstructionists and false
economists. until a great epidemic
caught us absolutely unprepared as
were the allied armies in 1914
Respectfully,
| DIR w. A. BUCHANAN"