The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-10-02
SPANISH FLU"
MAY Be SPREAD
BY GERMAN SPIES
DISEASE BREAKS OUT SINFUL
TANEOUSLY IN MANY PLACES
MANY DEATHS DUT TO 1T.

Hubert M. Engemann, one of It he
editors of this paper, who has been
stationed at Glen Burnie rifle range
for some months past and more re-
Gently placed in the United States Ma
val hospital at Annapolis, Md, arriv-
ed home Unexpectedly on the evening
train up from Grand Rapids Friday
night. When asked why he had not
sent advance information about his
coming. "Hub" said that he could not
do it owing to the fact that he had
practically no advance information of
the matter himself until the hospital
authorities told him to clear out for
home.
Hub" says that he had been in the
hospital for the past month and was
getting along nicely when the Spanish
influenza got to work among the ca
dets at the naval academy at Annapo-
lis, Md. When the first few cadets
who were taken with the disease came
down and were brought to the hos
pital, he was placed at doing some
light work, such as carrying bedding,
etc, for making the sufferers comfort
able. More kept on coming and fin
ally the hospital authorities had him
setting up tents to take care of the
patients who by this time were more
numerous than the hospital could take
care of for lack of room.
There are about 2, 100 cadets at the
Annapolis academy and the ambu-
lance brought over 65 of these the day
before Hub left there for home. Hub
said that the physicians at the hos
pital fearing that he would get the
disease, and not wishing him to run
the risk which he would have to in
case he should contract it, ordered
him out of the hospital for q period
of IA days and that he was thus given
ten day sick leave with four days
travel time. He left the hospital in
a hurry, leaving by basement door
so that he would not come in contact
with the influenza stricken cadets
who were being brought in by the
regular entrances.
Hub said that there was some talk
that the disease was spread by Ger
man agents or spies. but was rather
inclined to discredit this himself, al
though he said that there was nothing
that the enemy would not stoop>to do.
He was of the opinion that the recent
cold snap which swept over practical
ly all sections of the country, caught
the people really unprepared for 1t
and that it is in fact very hard cases
of grippe, which when not attended
to at the proper time, rapidly devel-
ops into pneumonia and it is in this
way, according to his ideas, that the
death rate has been as high as it has
been among the fellows who have been
taken sick with the disease.
Hub arrived home on Friday even
ing and on Sunday morning he be-
came sick with the disease himself
and is now confined to his bed at the
home Of his mother, Mrs. Lena Enge-
mann, GA James street. He is In
hopes of being able to get up and
enjoy part of the sick leave which
he has got visiting with friends and
relatives around the city. Hub is
stationed at Glen Burnie, Md. when
well and able to attend to duty and
this is the same place where his
brother Martin and Robert Reeves
are located. Arthur Dehn, another
local boy, is stationed at Annapolis,
Md, and when Hub left there for
home all of the boys were feeling
fine and he did not think that they
would get caught in the "flu" epi-
demic.