“We are exceedingly glad to affirm in the honour of truth and justice, that the news given by us on the seventh instant under the title ‘Painful Scenes,’ and ‘Naked Dead,’ is absolutely absurd, false and unreasonable.

“We have investigated the truth of the said notice, and can affirm to our readers that it is entirely inaccurate, as in the courtyard of the said hospital the naked dead that we have spoken of are not now exposed, nor have they ever been so exposed.

“The truth is above all things, and to rectify a baseless piece of news should not be a doubtful action on the part of the person who gave the news, but rather something in his favour that the public should appreciate it at its full value.

“To conclude, we must record our gratitude to the Secretary of the Interior, the Hon. Dean C. Worcester, for the investigations made in the premises with the purpose of ascertaining the truth of the alleged facts, and for the courteous way in which he received us this morning when interviewed by one of our reporters.”

In the provinces the results of the campaign against cholera were far less satisfactory than in Manila as was to be anticipated, owing to lack of adequate personnel, but the cases, which numbered 34,238 and deaths which numbered 22,938, were far fewer than during the previous epidemic.

I shall not attempt here to trace the course of the subsequent epidemics which have occurred from time to time, but shall content myself with giving the deaths by years.  In 1908, they numbered 18,811; in 1909, 7306; in 1910, 6940; in 1911, 203.  In 1912, there were none, and thus far in 1913 there have been none. [503]

The superstitious practices which were formerly employed by the Filipinos to combat this scourge have given way to simple and inexpensive hygienic measures, and we can safely count on sufficient cooeperation from the people to make an effective campaign possible when it next appears.

Never shall I forget the strain of the early days of the first epidemic.  Two of my best men, Dr. Meacham and Mr. Mudge, literally worked themselves to death, remaining on duty when they knew that they were in imminent danger, and in the end laying down their lives willingly for an alien and hostile people.  Such things make one proud of being an American.

At times the situation was not devoid of amusing features.  I had occasion to visit one of the northern provinces, where the epidemic was especially severe, in an effort to calm the panic-stricken populace.  I stayed with the governor, a very intelligent Filipino.  For obvious reasons I investigated his domestic arrangements, finding that he was boiling drinking water, thoroughly cooking all food, and taking all usual and necessary precautions to prevent infection.

On returning to his house the first evening, after a short absence, I found the grounds decorated with lighted Japanese lanterns.  Supposing that the proverbial Filipino hospitality had risen above even such untoward circumstances as those which then existed, I asked the governor what the entertainment was to be.  In evident perplexity he replied that he had not planned to have any entertainment, and on my inquiring what the lanterns were for, said he had heard that they were good to keep away cholera germs!