THE EPIDEMIC.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 November 1918, Page 8

THE EPIDEMIC.

.■>;'!»- .the:mnglew.oqd/]>isteict. - 1 ! A/representative of 'the Daily Jfcwa' 'yesterday afternoon made a visit'along ' the Junction lioad to Liglewood and returned via hepperton and Waitara.. Everywhere the epidemic is more or iess.prevalent, but in both towns there are strong organised efforts to combat it. At Lower Maugorci the staff of the factory lias been seriously depleted, the manager and butter-maker being both laid up, and the factory is being rim by two men at present. There are said to. ■be not many cases among the settlors, but some are rather serious. Mr. Henry King, who has just returned from visiting his son, wlao was seriously ill, is himself now ill. There were several cases on the Mangorei Road. It is stated that the staff at the New .Plymouth electric power station lias so far escaped. At Egmont Village -it is said that in■duenza is very prevalent. In one house Mere are no less than five down, but. nono arc serious. Some serious eases have been brought to New Plymouth. Messrs Morton and Marsh are "organising here, whilst Mr. R. Burrows is lending invaluable, aid in taking temperatures. All that is possible is being done for tllie settlers by their neighborsand others, but the milking is thedifficulty. In many, cases sufferers have to get out of bed morning and evenin" to milk their cows, going straight to' bed afterwards. This naturally militates against quick recovery. If matters become worse the cows will be unable to receive attention. Some difficulty is be'ing experienced in obtaining medicine. It is said that there is slight improvement at Kaimiro, thouglit mailers there are still very bad. and it is thought that one case will have to be brought to the hospital. At Inglewood, tho town sias suffered severely, but the organisation, w'h.ich is splendid, now appears to have the epidemic well in hand. It is stated that very few new cases were reported. Some nine serious cases, mostly from the surrounding country, were taken into the hospital at New Plymouth yesterday. A strong executive has been appointed, consisting of Messrs J. B. Winiield (chairman), D. J. Kvans (secretary), I l '. K. Brown, A. Coldwcll, li Crossaian, Rev. llarvic, and Mrs. D. J. TCvans, and a bureau itww been opened in the electric light office. Here a record is kept of all cases and assistance is given, and beef tea, jellies, eggs, etc.. are despatched to sufferers. Messrs A. Kennedy, W. H. Humphrey, R. Buckley, C. O'Carroll, Mrs. Gow, and others are all doing good work. The Boy Scouts are also proving invaluable as messengers. An inhalation chamber has .been established, and 'l6O went through it yesterday, in addition to 250 wllio had previously passed through. Mrs. Bennett has thrown open her old nursing home, and, with the assistance of volunteer nurses, some nine patients, mostly men, are- scouring attention. Mrs. Bennett herself has just recovered from an attack.

*Mr. O'Carroll and Mrs. Govv have done very useful work in taking temperatures, saving Dr. Nutting, who has a largo district to attend to, considerable unnecessary work. Of thirteen urgent calls on one occasion tibey visited and found only two requiring the doctor. Up till yesterday there had been three burials from the effects of the epidemic, namely, Mrs. 11. Peterson, E. Lawson (aged 7), and Paul Butler (aged 19). Tho first is a particularly sad case, as the husband and seven of the eight children are down with the complaint. The committee are grateful for the donations of food, soups, lemons, etc. The ready response is very gratifying, and it is hoped will 'continue to be so. Men are urgently needed to help fhe country people with tho milking. The committee have, sent out what men could be obtained. At noon each day the committee rings up the hospital and publishes a bulletin of tine condition of the Inglewood patients. This is a splendid idea, as .it saves considerable individual inquiry of the hospital by anxious relatives. The Inglewood Committee greatly appreciates the help given by the New l'lymouth Committee and the Hospital /Board, and. is particularly grateful to Mr. Sykes for the supply of medicine. "Tlfley would not see us stuck," remarked a committee man. The position at Inglewood in this respect was very serious, as the chemist ran out of stock and had to go to "Wellington to endeavor to replenish it. He was expected back lust night. Several of the shops were open for the supply of necessaries. One fruit shop was dimt, and bore the significant notice, "No oranges; no lemons." Among the inmates of the New Plymouth hospital are the Mayor (Mr. Geo. Young) and Mr. Coldwell, a borough councillor. The latter was taken to the Ihospital yesterday.

Durham Road district has suffered severely, a number from there being now inmates of the New Plymouth hospital. Kaiinata, it is said, is now in better 'condition, and so is Kaimiro.

Things are pretty bad at Tarikl and Ratapiko. l}r. Valintine lias offered to send a medical student to assist, and the committee Las wired accepting the offer. At Purangi it is stated tiliat three Natives have "dir-d. No deaths of Maoris, arc reported from Tarata. Mr. M.. J. Stnndish lias teii'sraphod Cor a thermometer, however, the, committee was unable to :-end. At Waitiii it is st.ilod i;'.:at one Maori has died. T'».e Inglewood committee reports "that no urgent calls havobeca received from that district.

IN THE WAITABA DISTRICT. At Lepperlon it is .Mated that there are a few mild case- in the township, the factory staff, so far, not being affected. At Sentry Bill and Waitara Koad the position also is fair. Jt is • stated Mat there have been deaths of Maoris at Huiningi, To Arei, and Malioetahi.

At Waitara. it is understood, the position is good. There have been about 100 cases, but all are progressing favorably. Tho condition of Mr. Chas. Johnstone, the proprietor of tho Awakino man coaches, caused 'his friends grave uneasiness, but he is now said to be doing veil. There has been one death in Wari- ■ tara, a resident who had vilted Wellington, where lio caught tho complaint, which the train journey probably aggravated. . . The organisation in •Waiter-a is good, and apparently the position there is well in hand. An inhalation chamber has been established, and is controlled by Messrs T. Buchanan, T. Fowler, Lea 'Sampson, E. Huffin, and W. Proctor Yesterday between 700 and 800 passed through Mie chamber, making a total of over 2000 since it was opened on Saturday night. Quite a number of Maoris have gone through the chamber. OJa . town is' b e »S2 w°rk e .d on the.

block system, the committee working well, Tine Mayor and Mr. T. Buchanan are prominent among the organisers. The chief nurses who attend "on the patients and take comforts to them are Mesdames Anderson, Marlowe, J oil, Lund, Stockman, Misses Marlowe and E. .Purdie, and the four Sister.; from the Convent. Messrs Marlowe, Beckbessinger, CI. Sampson, and T. Hoskin, of Sentry Hill, have lent valuable assistance with their cars. Mesdames Marlowe and Joll and Miss Marlowe, supported by Messrs 11. H. Pepperill and Paris Taylor, liiave done great work among the 'Maoris, not only in the borough, but also in the Taraj-aki and Clifton 'counties.