The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-10-30
THE LEPROSARIUM

As aforesaid, Joe Earman's story
Of the conference at Washington be-
tween Surgeon General Blue and the
Florida delegation in Congress, the
chairman and state officer of the Flor
ida Board of Health, the governor
and others was as funny as though
clark Twain had written it, and as
impartial as any report is likely to be.
Nevertheless, the only two points
worth considering brought out against
the leper colony are the following:
First: "Azakiah brought out one
point worth while, wherein he stated
that Cedar Key was the second larg-
est oyster producing section of Flor
ida. That an oyster could not travel
around and was compelled to eat the
food that bumped up against its shell.
His good point was that excreta from
this leper colony would permeate the
oyster beds in the Cedar Key section
and that industry would therefore be
ruined"
1t does not seem to US likely the
government physicians had overlook
ed this point. 1t is not to be suppos-
ell they will allow such refuse to be
dumped in the water. We had sup
posed and have been informed by
physicians who have visited such
places that everything is cremated.
For that matter all the oysters in
the vicinity of Cedar Keys are expos
ed to that sort of infection. some of
it certain to carry the germs of ty-
phoid or some other disease. We had
not thought of this CHASTITY possibility
before, but leprosarium or no lepro-
sarium we will not advise people to
eat any oysters unless they are taken
from bars remote from the dwelling
places of man.
Second: "The mosquito was been
brought into the argument. The pro-
posed islands being three miles or
| less from the mainland, and the fur
Their fact that it has been known that
mosquitoes have been blown fifty
miles by the wind, if mosquitoes on
these particular islands would bite a
lcper and then fly over to the main
land and do the same to the clean per-
son would there be an element of
chance? DIR. Mccoy sidestepped this
by stating these keys did not have
mosquitoes on them, to which the
Florida delegation informed him that
il there was an island or key in Flor
ida that did not have mosquitoes in
certain seasons, they wanted to take
a look at it, same being an unheard OF
proposition"
If these keys are cleared off and
mosquitoes driven from them, as they
can be, there will be no more on them
unless they are brought there. They
might be blown over from the main.
land, but it is to be supposed they
would be screened out. A mosquito
can't live very long without eating
; and if he has blown over to the isl
. ands (where of course he would al
ways be watched for) unless he coulc
eat and be blown right back, and ther
sensitive place, he would not bC
likely to do any harm. We are rather
: dubious about those fifty-mile trip!
5 OF the mosquitoes. A mosquito is &
very fragile insect and cannot fly any
: great distance. If he is caught by
: wind he can fly with, he will go down
iii a few miles from weakness. If HI
; is picked up by strong wind, it vii
soon thrash the life out of him. It il
, less than forty miles from Ocala tt
/ the gulf, and most of our wind blow.
/ from the gulf, but we have no coas
: mosquitoes. Mosquitoes gather in tn,
holds of ships and are carried to dis
tant islands; mosquitoes also entel
passenger coaches at the ports ant
7 are carried a few miles inland, bu
they do not live long nor propagate.
7 Also the learned gentlemen SHOULD
remember that the people of oul
state are exposed to the danger O.
: contamination far more by the leper