Evening star., 1941-01-09
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory. Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.
A United States Public Health Service
mission has conquered effectively q foe
that was stabbing China in the back
aided effectively by some globe-trotting
minnows.
The story is told by DR.. L. L. williams,
jr., malaria expert Of the National 1nsti-
tute of Health, who headed the mission.
The famed Burma road, now essen
TALLY China's only supply route from the
the Burma border through the Yunnan
province over high mountain passes and
through deep valleys with some Of the
richest soil on earth. It is far from q
good road, but represents one of the
greatest engineering feats in history be-
cause a great deal of it was built en-
tirely with human hands. Coolies, says
DR.. Williams, literally removed the dirt
for deep cuts in handfuls, having no
other tools. They brought stones for
paving in their hands and pounded them
in with other stones.
The trafic is heavy and the road is
narrow. Trucks can pass each other only
at widely separated places. The hand
built highway is subject to frequent
washouts, especially during the rainy
season. At least a tenth of it has been
torn up so badly by traffic that the
surface must practically be rebuilt for
each 100 trucks that pass.
The government expected to attend to
this with large bodybuilding gangs
camped at frequent intervals, ready to
be rushed to the spot as soon as any
part Of the road became impossible.
Last year mysterious disease broke
out among the laborers. 1t was highly
fatal. Frightened survivors fed to the
mountains. 1t was then that an appeal
was made to the Public Health Service,
which is authorized to investigate q
malady anywhere because Of the danger
that 1t might spread to the United States.
DR.. Williams and his associates found
a curious situation. The disease, as they
expected, was malaria. 1t was almost
universal, tests showed, in the population
along the road in Southwest China below
1000 feet elevation. These people were
the Shans exceptionally large indi-
viduals. For countless generations they
had been subjected to malaria and, Dr.
Williams says, had learned to live with
1t but not work with it,"
Their endurance was almost nil in the
face Of any physical exertion. Fortu-
nately they are perhaps the one people
on earth that can live without work. The
soil Of the deep valleys Is 50 rich that
the fields provide food in abundance for
the population If titled only once in
three years. They do not have to work
in spite Of the fact that the local ruler
an exceptionally tolerant and generous
man for that part Of the world-takes
so per cent of everything produced as
taxes.
The Shans can afford to indulge In
malaria, but they were obviously worse
than useless for emergency road repair
work. So the Chinese government re-
cruited bands Of Lolos, mountaineers who
spend malarial summers high in the
mountains where there are no mosuui.
toes. They own farms in the valleys on
vhich-so rich Is the land-they can
raise crop sufficient to support them
far }Ie d~x> - -
spring they plant summer crop and
then desert en- masse for the mountains.
Once in while they are able to harvest
a little Of the summer crop when they
return in the fall Anything they can
save out Of 1t is clear profit above the
costs Of living.
The Lolos, DR.. Williams said, were
strong, energetic men and good workers,
until the malaria hit them. They had
no resistance against it. Work on the
road was practically at q standstill.
The first job of the American mission
was to advise the establishment of labor
camps in mosquito-free areas where the
men would be safe except when actually
at work on q lowland stretch Of road.
They tracked down the particular
mosquito which carried the infection and
found that 1t bred only in stagnant water
in sunlight. They supervised the in
stallation Of drainage systems in rice
fields and urged the planting Of bushes
over slow-flowing stretches of streams,
since the mosquito cannot breed in the
shade
They had one bit of exceptional luck.
The local minnows were not mosquito
eaters. A few years ago, however. some
American top minnows were taken to
Spain and released in streams. They
have now spread across Southern Europe
and India into the Chinese mountains,
where Dr. Williams and his colleagues
found them. They promise to be one
of the most valuable allies OF embattled
China.
Recalls Portions Of 1885 Speech
BY President Roosevelt.
TO the Editor Of The Star: