The San Francisco call. [volume], September 01, 1907, Page 3, Image 3

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
The San Francisco fixmda^ Oafl.
STOPPING ORIENTAL PLAGUES
AT THE
GOLDEN
GATE
Lindsay Campbell
L^TKK every, great seaport San Fran- '\u25a0
Cisco Is the meeting place of road*
from . all parts of the world. Its
cosmopolitan" population la one ~<st
the result* of. being a way station: t*> ;
and from the ; ends of the earth;, of .
being situated * on a harbor that leads
out to the seven seas. In common with
ether ' great seaports the native ; t roiay
"foreign parts" Is no novel sight and
the products of foreign Industry are
In evidence on all sides. In ' nearly
•very • household you will find articles
that r-.ave been manufactured or grown
la 6one far land from which they, have
been brought by sailing vessel or
steamer directly to this > port* and here
distributed locally and to the rest ,-el *<
the world. -
Father, brother, or some other Bens-.
ber of the "privileged" sex. sits back
from a dinner, table en which there
have passed fn procession before him
products of many lands. The tea. from
•which' his fragrant- beverage wW
brewed came from India, or China, or,
perhaps, he drank coffee from Central
America. Hb meat was flavored; with
chutney from the orient. ; The Jelly In
that crystal dish came from the Ha
waiian Islands, as did the bananas and
that alligator pear that formed the
base of the salad. The finger bowls
came from China. Those . cigarettes
from Egypt. Ths girls have been chop
ping all day and were tired, *•-»\u25a0* »Jt»
dinner one of them retired tocher
and changed the outward trappings of
fashion for a loose fitting kimono, from.
Japan.* Another, dressed for the the
ater, came from her room with a gor-.
eeouj mandarin coat from China thrown
over her , shoulders by way of opera*
cloak, and as ehe peeped into the
dining room there was rising, above
the table a cloud of smoke from burn
leg tobacco— cigars and cigarettes from
Egypt, Havana and : Manila.'.,. Three
Chinese and ", a , band of Japs . pass . the
house as she . crosses , the ' sidewalk to
etep Into - her ' carriage. : and standing ;
leader the electric light across -; tho
street she* sees the tall figure of a
turbaned Elkh. ,
AH of these articles come from lands
notorious for periods of plague and
pestilence. At times In India, the cassis
of bubonic plague outnumber the cases ,
of tea, and cifolera has been more
plentiful In Manila than cigars.. Cholera,
plague, smallpox, yellow fever and 1 ty
phus are the five most feared of trop
ical diseases. Some of these , scourges
are ever present *ln somo parts of most
tropical lands and ; frequently ' In ! epl- ,
demic form.. We read; In the cabled ..
dispatches of plague raging in India,"
but who ever thinks, ol associating
t, four line dispatch .telling of ." 8,000
deaths a day In faraway India or. China
or Japan with a cup of tea or that
new silk petticoat? Who ever refused,
a Manila cigar because, his morning
paper told him that cholera was raging
In the Philippines or declined,! a .big, '
fat. greasy havana because Cuba -was :
having trouble with* a yellow fever
outbreak?
. The Public Sentinel
We don't worry because tre know in
a.vagne sort of way, if we think of at;
at all, that "somebody" -looks out "for
that sort of thing. Just who .. that
•"somebody" is, or how, or • when, r or
where he "looks out" is a matter that
does not interest. The foreign markets
supply our demand for variety, in lux-_
ury and we accept what , the gods " send i
without thinking very much.- about
either where they come from or. why,
if they come from lands of pestilence,
they leave the scourge behind them./
The war with Spain made the people
of this country .. acquainted wlta-Tthe
United States army and navy.. but how
many people have anything but an In-",
distinct Idea of what. the * marine ?hos-. :
Pltal service Is and of; the- work; lt'r *s t
doing? I asked a man who In other
matters Is well Informed what he knew/
about the marine hospital service, and:
he replied: "Oh, it runs the * govern
ment hospitals f or sailors.'.' \u25a0 - - --\u25a0 l x ''" '\u25a0 ''-
The United States marine hospital*
and public health service Is ..probably
the ' most • Important, ,^ most . powerful,
taost beneficial and least generally un
derstood and • appreciated armVof .the
covernment machinery. In yellow, fever
states they know something; about. the
service, but they know.it only, as some-'
thing ', that comes to life during ' times
of \u25a0 pestilence. We know It ' here - best :\u25a0
asthe Quarantine service, and in that
capacity, regard It largely as a nui
sance. The ship owner looks upon ' the
quarantine officials as men armed, with"
authority to keep htm" from unloading
his ships. Travelers regard -the Yquar-r
antlhe Inspection as an -.'. invasion Vof',
their rights and friends r ashore waiting^
for some steamer "to pass quarantine V
consider the time spent in cooling thelf
Jiftels on some wharf as an unwilling
*nit ctinspulsory oCering on 'the;altarf
of red tape.
Ever to outline all the work carried •
on by this branch of the federal service "-;
wo uid occupy more space • than is. here f
available, so this aracle will, confine*
itself to one branch of the,work~to tbV?
branch ct most importance , to V the
greatest number of people— to an - at-"i
tempt to show bow Uncle Sam, through
tbijpWteie hospital service, stands ! con- N
\u25a0\u25a0' «^St guard; against th«V lnvasIon-Jof ?
this country by_ the plagues of, the^ far
lands that supply «o ; many - of our
necessities rand luxuries.
r^Of the'shlps that have : brought \u25a0\u25a0 cargo >
or. passengers Into this port ? durJngl the =
2ast 12 ', months "a large? percentage
. either hailed from or called: at what-
are* known :' In \u25a0 quarantine - language " as \u25a0:.
Infected :; : ports. - So " perfect ";> Is * Uncle ?'
Sam's sdentlnc bulwark that during --
that period '- only, five cases \u25a0' of any of '
what , are known .- as ? the quarantinable
diseases * reached these chores, and \u25a0 four
of them^were caugnt Inthe mesh in
. ... " ". • - \u25a0. > „ ' \u25a0 \u25a0•-\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 : \u25a0 ' -\u25a0'\u25a0'\u25a0,'\u25a0\u25a0>\u25a0- \u25a0
this harbor anfi never cot - past Angel
Island. >y_ .- .v '-'. . _: v <•\u25a0:.;" -..^' " ' . K[
The supervls! on of the federal quar
antine service beginslwherei thai cargo
originates. Officers o f the mar In e '<\u25a0 hos
pital service are statione'd at i Calcutta,
Hongkon?, Shanghai,- Manila, Kobe,
i Nagasaki, Yokohama X and 'I Honolulu.
practically/covers! every thine • that
comes here f romithejfar^eaet. r : There
are officers at 'AnconM.Guayaquil ttnd
Callao. also at Genoa and Naples, and
thesel constitute the lines of defense
from .the plagues of Europe" and South
America^ j
,Th©7 marine hospital^, surgeon "'.at the
.foreign' port ipersonallyjsupervlses;the
loading of all "cargoVfor- this? country.
He keeps la i touch . with : health \condi
tions In the Interior, ; and;it ishis duty
to see that ) nothing^ passes 'I him i that
might- In any way^ carry 'Infection to
the port of destination."! Experience has
' shown : that' certain * articles^; are .; likely
to : carry chblera whenVoriginatingr- in i a
district whfere that-, scourge : preratls.
The shipmeiit of these 'articles; is I pro
hibited except underz-'condltlons^whlch
\u25a0 Insure the£»" freedom from contamina
tion. If fumigation ia deemed advls
. able' the. work is; done ; under the fed -
erarofficers supervision, and;after]dis
vlnfection lje sees ; to;it;that-the "cleansed
freight runs no chance^of further,con
tamination beforoibelngiplaced' aboard
th« ship. I WhenlthaTship'sailsIitiCar
ries.'qrith/Jt the federal ;doctor;sfcertl
ficate-setting forth ,the, precautions the
lias. taken and his reasons for so doing.
,Take as an example ?of iUncle ''\u25a0 Sam's
campaign of prevention ;th»5case of*a
passengftr liner J carrying- freight- over
th«r reguJ tr route - f rom-r Hongkong. 1 ; to
.this port and see ho*r Uncle Sam looks
'out^forfhis own. ' -'\u25a0\u25a0':[, '.- x ; ;X.,';./v:.
. Twlc^ a ; year ; , - at . least ': on ,, general
principles the>TrhoIet ship, , holds ~ and
cabins, (is thoroughly j disinfected. Be
fore ;.th(9 steerage passengers 'are*: al
lowed to board ;? the ; ; Asiatic? crew k is
taken ;«ishore with * their effects.-.'.Thelr
quarters on; shipboard' are < disinfected.
While aehore the .Asiatics- are: carefully
examined, bathed and alFcldthlrigt and
efitecUl thoroughly idlsiafected.v ; Thus
*4.scleftitlflcally^clean'-' : crew« returns^to
the .germ f rd« ship.'^All>steerag«;pas
sengera before being allowed on board,
and; their Impedimenta -of ,tra.vel,
undergo a cleansing process Bimilar to
that through ?,whlch t the /Asiatic ; crew
passes.'.; The '\u25a0 cab In passengers ; are fes>
amincd, butiexcepti.whereitheidangor
of carrying infection 1b peculiarly great
they are sparedithe'rigorsof thesteer
age treatmenti < -.
No iUnjustipiscnmmation ;
Th!j discrimination is not .'the defer
ence 'of .offlclaldom*to 'social? standing,
as is aorae times charged ? by - Europeans,
; who . from ; necessity; V or^ '.; motives *of
economy take steerage across
ith« Pacific and aroitreated-la^thelm^t
.ter' op 7 quarantine like other steerage
T>as«eMgers be' they], white,* yellow.iblick
or brown. ;Th«t average '^cabin I passen
ger ' vrhehT ashore 7; : llves'> : under,: mor«
'nearly/perfect hygienic. conditions [than
•does': the : man who "travels steerage"
and is less;llkely;to;have^come;in;con
tact with the pestilence which Is ever
; present i : in ? the • poorer^ quarter s ; of \u25a0 the
oriental "city. V ] He"* doesn't^ sleep 3 near
the .floor, where buboniciaseds. rats f can
walk', over hlm.^ His : .-"« food J has .been
prepared J with *; (more! h and s r^ his
clothes " are * likely ; to \u25a0 be cleaner.". Under
certain :cbriditlons,ijin5times|fofrgep!^
demlc, for Instance, ; all \ classes i of pas
sengers are put through the full court*
of sprouts. . . ~-^~ ! -. - .''i. , ."
,The liner; at ; " Hoiigkongilles; out^ln
the open'; bay, which, insures: It i against
Invasion j by, the> plague ' infested % rats
pjpfflgqjgfc - ' - .-\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0 - \u25a0/^^^SSSg^SS^m
•from.- the x Hongkong sewers. \u25a0> F.ats - 4 In
time of; stress iwltl* swim* from [ ship i to.
•. shore, but} the] records] hold fno-* account
\u25a0 of. rats ' leaving; *he~:land andf nrlmralng .
" out ; to T an s anchored ] ship.\E ver yj tampan
iloadf of : freight i Is > examined;byithe i tna-:
:' rlrie * hospital '.y-rlt V 1 among the
freight ' is r anything \u25a0 on i the Vf orbidden"
list • : this ; • I s ; \u25a0\u25a0 carefully, . examined/ i It
there: ia r any"<iuestio^ about,u^eiSUS
pected * shipment ; Is I fumigated. \ - : VLl the
- quarantine officer, decides . that \ the , shlp^
?. tntnV Is ~saf e'^ Ke allows Jit \to b« placed
on b"oard/*-5HJbatever action. he 'takes he
. 'certlfles ' tenjonTtJieVboat , note? , that Tac-^
'c6mpanl«a * each .' sampan .'load.' .. These
boat } notes £ are '-!> brought "-", here - ; and
' i turned j oy er i to i the ) quarantine * official s
'i at this r p6rt' to" show4them ; that f; air due
\ precaution was taken ' at j, the "> t orelffn
. port T against ; stowaway 1,'germs. :'
An OiuicefoffPrtyention
* , At , Shanghalr the:' niext- port 'of call,
''• the i liner * ancho'rs \ iri»the .; stream l asjjlt
does at 'Nagasaki,! Kobe! and
'All': the" precautions Vi taken at % Hong-:
'kong.ar^repeatediin.thecase of \u25a0freight
and ! passengers f received I at jthese ; ports."
At:' each i port |therepsfa£quarantinel in T ;
; cpection ' of all : passerigers; i whJch .makes
"almost'-" certain f.the detectionlof J any
di eease ; that f might i have jbeen j lni an \u25a0, in-;
Thcr'voyage^from^Japan^to :
"takes. longer4than?.theTperIod;of|incu^
bation . of ; anyjf of |theTf five2 great I pesti- ;:
fences iand;if!the*ciuarantine]inspection:
? at '• Honolulu! reveals = no ] sign 5 of : trouble
it bay^beUakenlforV granted ".that^the
£ li ner k Has h brought |n o' germs j; from % the
orient, •* so f ar| at rate j-jas % passen- ,
Igers/andf cxvw^ are {concerned. V. ; v- . r
i- Rata are" the of [infection', most
< feared.'and: to|preventfratS;leavlng v ! an
i infected forrBUspected Jslilp.^orlto^keep
>\u25a0 rats from nboarding?aJcleanSship, 4 s>tin
> guards, are; placed r ; oriT all «1 ihes '; leading
ntolthelwh'arf.^To]klHlall,ttheVrats;onfa
* loaded 'bylfurriigatiohils^practi-,
t callyi i mpoasible.lHT he; rats % hajeW nu£
- "merous ?; f ume * proof A'placesjt of gref uge
and * seem \u25a0; toj be"" able £ tolj'escape^ from'
\u25a0 holds f, andXcabini S' in Ji spite % of l all I the
[closed' doors i^diisjealed>hatches.*TosWll
the } rat : that i[ niayj Haye| come ' jf rom^a
.plague ;portlis^considered*a"Jriecessary ;
precaution^! so this fdeath"?is|assured|ln
: this i way : i| FirstA the I holds \ of i the|sus^
. pected s shlp^arelf umlBated.^5J'hef ship
*: is '• tben^ taken \ to^V, wharf | from .which! it
\ is % t ended ? off * nlki i eet * and g secured-lby,
tarred ' lines. -y^On' these ,-lihes* are} placed
jthe'.tin'rat 7 Buardslwitb^ttielfunnel-ljke
\u25a0i openings ||the| shlp.V^The \''' ; rat
, xnayj brave ) the ; tar and | reach ; t fie guard,
.but^can \u25a0goinbffaTfcherJthari" into Uhe
r funnel j to: where i th* ; tin "• circles) the i'r ope
Isnugly^r.WhenlthelcargoXhas^beeQTciisjj
V charged I th« femptylshlp 1 is J again^f \xmV- :
?gated.^ThISstImelhblds;and cabins are
?\u25a0 treated fBlmultaheouslyjahdltheJratithat'
i canioutlive^this ? *".'third f degree"/* is Sen3
•titled'<t6|liye>&iTheIbodie8»;of!all»dead:
< rats | r ar e Is* car ef ully^i'cr en»ated^ ; When ;
I danger; threatens ; ai ship] f romtsliofelthej
| rat ) guards (areireyersed,^with| theifon^
r nel t. opening | toward Hhe ? wharf-^^i^
\u25a0 X; One j of the;b*«t 5 Illustrations^ of/ the^
\u25a0 effectiveness r i of 1 the S marine^ hospital'
found £ in";
Is the! arnvitransport^s«rvice.l4Thej-eTare"!
? 12 1 officers lof |thefl serviced stationed | in •
.. the! PhilipptKes. i £The i regular, departure;
'(ott. troops f frqm|thej islands E with jjregij
fments]) that fhave | performed ' their . tour
* of J foreign 5 service % has fineyerj been sin"- 1
i ter f erefl : wl th. \ although 'at • frequent'.; J n - .;
| tery«Jsf chbler»/§ hasfragedl in| epidemic i
I f ormf |6^ thelvery »< provinces ? wherel t&e i
returnlng.isoldlersihavelbee'nlonTduty^
S^Thei bagjrige £ and £ of I am sol-^
«aiflrB:n«meWi^|boundjare]sent ; flrstao!
-i tft*-; quarantine / station k at '• . Marivales,
where .they? aroT; carefully 'fumigated. 1
:•' The .'-\u25a0? soldiers .* j are ;.- bathed y,\ and - their:
?i clothes ; disinfected I and- they 1 are 3 held
r ; at? th« : quarantine ! station,f ori five f_
;? embarking* on -*the £ r .* transport. 1 *
fFiv.e ? days * Is 'the -, period 4 of J Incubation y
i f for, cholera; i : and lit \u25a0' at ;the? end Z of ~ that '
time Vno Jcase j has appeared \u25a0 It 5 Is 5 prac£?
g. tlcally/certain|that Uher el lsj ho I cholera
r among, that 'crowd ; of ; soldiers.'*: If ; a* casV^ :
> appears i It Us at , orice ' Isolated, \ there Us \u25a0'
.>more disinfection andahother^flve'days'} 1
>;n'alt.* : %'Diirtngy the j' periods Vof 1 cholera -
-; epi^aemlc^ several ; cases -ft developed - "\u2666 at
;\u25a0_ '.Merl\'ales,^but! not Un ' a ;8lngle^lnstance|
<^has 1 there Jbeent an outbreak S onTa > vessel I
; certified : "cleans byithe : marlnei hospital I
'dutyjtherer? Each'of 1 the ; casei ?
;rdlscovered,^but! for t ; thlsTsyatem i of / s'cl v-'
suryelllance,\would ;% have jem- "
';\u25a0\u25a0 barked ?\u25a0 on \ a ,. troopship ; and ; the « horron •"•'
of - a "cholera ft Tepidemlc Sfat • sea* would »'
likely'^ have > followed.*; 7^V : £. ' -C v- \ *
1 In : the ; event* of (aTcase "\\ot ' \u25a0 any of. the
> five quarantluable diseases b'eing dis
covered* upon ; theTar rival f of | a ship . at %,
% th Is J port, the^ federal f officers / are^al-'i
I ways ? prepared s tojdeal I wi th *,thel trou^'
| ble ; in \u25a0 such" a';wayj as I to prevent \t\x&- In-"/
tfectlon* frdmibelnglcarrledfashqre,'^^;;,
:'- , If "aVcasefoflsmallpXHttiivbroughtfto^
r*portfand|the"?shlp's]surgeon^haslr«co5-i:
I: nized f the d iseaso J'ahd* prope rly^ isolated"
;:thejpatierit/vaiwholesalo|.vacclnatlon1isj
; j deemed .j a'" sufficient'^ precautiorLi'^TtMif
!: patient,'?of * course,, ; is *>. removed 'j to;' the*
jj quarantine g station"; and?? the
fiwhlchi he |waa|ciua'rtered i on • shipboard ';
r is \u25a0:dlslnfected.'vi If rt th'e 1^ ship's i'sur^eonl
[i fall ed I to 5 recognize \ or J neg-"^
? precautions^Tbjily..-':; those showing:' good %
t marks of « less I than \ a \u25a0 yea.r,J
j old |are released. "''/{ All 'others 1 are lyacci^
5. na.ted |and heldi „\u25a0 in -"quarantinsi^or^t'v^o *
\u25a0iweeks.; - The^shlp ' is released: af ter \u25a0 <Tts-^
pi ri f ec tion.* W^i0iSi^^/BSSftKBBS^^" jr '' ' '
R^Whehfafcasei ; ofrplaguVfl3"sb'rought|ln ; f
§throughl|thelGolden^sateltheTquarahY*
asV,to:vihis^
j'courso :;of f ; prbcedure^^; The of
J I the \ is |atxonce ."i Isolated \ in : - the .
Jplaguejcbmpouri*d|ahd fall \ hands,^from":
A captain \ to"| firemen's *!messb*oy,r|from» the \u25a0
: t5ulte|lto^the;
|^coblie]in!thefAsla.ttc"steerage, t Tare;takeri <
Jaihoref andjjnitiateds into Hhe? game^of \.
strictest.' \ '\u25a0
>^:Th6 ; 'shlp'^is3;furnig:ated;v every^ part
|8lmultaVebuslj\^|sulphur,^pbts"^5being^
gplacVdiihraHHhe.lrboms>^whllQ^ powerful f
\u25a0\ pumps ? y flH % the V holdslwlth ''the Vdeadly^
vfuraes. v After ithe: ; first .fumisation T^a
'& six* foot flayefj Is 5 taken Jjoff itheTcargo".v
|Th'e Sf relghtf thuaibrokenV out < is placed '
>iqn v lightefsl and % the * hold S is\f umlgated >
*"again:S/An9ther3slx ; fobtviayer" is ;re->
|mbyedjC and Hagaln^thel* sulphvfr >1 f limes %
|thejsh ipl isjempty .^"A.f ter J t he } las t i f umi %
ir . vessel 1 , awayj If .he^ will ,scrid> aTnew; creVr
>. 'Meanwhlle,VtheYpass*en 8era a n a ,'crew.
lendfallgtheirlclothingriandSeffectsJare'f
3beins^sclenttficalljr|[cleaned^ Clothing^
I and eetsj are! subjected \ toTgreat * heat **
|eitheri*dry.|or| steam, 1 ? and ithe Jf umes fof |
!s formaldehyde. VJS The 7-* passen gers !£ are :;
"bathed Land f^ pro vided^with^sterlllzedl;
?ralrnent1;to- wear^untii: their 'ownfgar- 1
: raentajiiavajlbjiengthrough :-a^proce3jif
I whicha no f serm if br^bug | can fsurvtve. 1^
I EaehfVlay^everybbdy;s^ temperature Is %
5 taken-^ and^lf *at T 4the3 end* of '%£% wepk |.
|p?7j^^go^^^^gjgp^^^r^
iare^lmilaT^tolthoBeltakerigforJstamp^
|lhg : |^oatnhe(pI^gue|gem3 t 1except1that > S
the 3; period 5 of A detention^ Is ronlyW five '
\day 8,^*1 .Thfif f ood f supply 5 oh "i tliel shlplls «
pguallyjjbuxnjafe