Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-10-18
BRAVE NEW CASTLE
HARD HIT BY FLU
BUT FIGHTS GR|MLY
Two Emergency Hospitals, Devoted
Doctors and Towns Best People
Take Care of 500 Cases.
FINE SPIRIT Is SHOWN

Wilmington has had it's bitter dose
of influenza. goodness only knows. but
cnmnnrod with New Castle its draught
has been as the contents OF wine-glass
to those of a schooner. New Castle
has only ) 800 inhabitants to Wilmington
possibly I25,OO0. but New Castle has
had pretty nearly third oi ITS popu-
lation down with the disease which
js something yer to happen to WI
mington
And the end is not yet New Castle
only wishes Il was -ior the town has
its hands full and new cases are con-
tinuing 10 make their appearance every
dav There have been at least i.hp
eases of the disease Wlth a mor'ahtY
up 10 date Of about ten per cent "hieh
is likely to increase as the epidemic mas
abon, reached the singularly remark
able death stage which has character
lied il wherevc- 1t has fastened IT'S gnp,,
These figures really arc only reached
by sort of rule OF thumb calculation
like the sailors dead reckoning. The
reason heng that the authorities have
been too busy caring for the sick living
Ia count up the dead and gone Mter
the cpidemic has worn itself out, OF has
been STAMPED out its pretty hart
Ia say Just which will be the case
there viii be an official count for the pur-
pose of making return to the Stat"
Board of Health Bnt Just now nobody
spends any time dong cash register
work on cases and deaths.
NEW CASTLES SPLENDID sPIRIT
The big. outstanding feature Of the
whole grim business is the splendid
sp,rlt of help and self-sacrihce the cit
IL orad n
alike. have shown in fighting the plague
It's a fine and red-blooded story, Whch
hasn't Vet been told
To understand il one must reatize
that New Castle has always had us
solid. steady. substantial backbone Of
good old families IL whom the plaCc
meant everything .n the world ami no
city can have finer thing than tins.
lust before the outbreak 81 the war
in E,uropc a sort nI business renaissance
winch took an industrial form. set IN
Tor the place With the war itself came
added manufacturing energies -munltlon
works chicfiv-and snce that time there
has been very considerable hooIn IN
population. business, everything 50 great
indeed that the town has been greatly
nut to il to find housc-room Tor the
workers who have Surged IN But they
never disturbed the aforementioned
so!id. steady. substantial backbone oi
good old families, who welcomed them
for the towns sake and proceeded -
make them Us much a home as possible,
while the merchants and business men
ii the plarc welcomed them Tor their
money and the churches welcomed them
foI their souls.
just when thngs we're really NJ their
best along came influences. For instance.
great things were planned for hc Fourth
Liberty Loan drive New Castle was
keen 10 make Il big record and greatly
over-subScTlbc IT. quota and a campaign
was laid out which was expected 10 see
the limit and 60 Il one hundred Ier cent
better. And then the hrst cases OF
disease manifested themselves. taking
IN The front line 81 victims Andrew
Bryson. one oi the leading men OF the
town and the chairman ot the men
Liberty Loan forces.
rHE NEVER SAY DIE SPIRIT.
'Wel. whatl We do fight iniiuenza
or raise money for the loan was the
first thought. after Mr. Bryson fell
/ Then the solid, steady, substantial Gle
ment gritted its teeth and sand We II
do both because this ls New Castle.
And that 5 what they We been dong.
OF course, the first thing was the shut
ting-up of all the schools. churches movies,
dance halls. billiard rooms, etc, which
latter doesn't include saloons because the
town hasn't had any for some months.
/ No sooner had the word arrived from the
Delaware State Board of Health, through
special Health Commissioner Wells, than
the Secretary Of the local board circulated
il and in . trice everything was closed
Meantime the towns three medical
men. DR.. julius Dodd DIR. Lewis Booker
and DIR. Jones. the former the president
of the local board Of health, and found
Continued on mage Is