Influenza, the flu, is a contagious virus
that usually occurs through around January and February. Every year people get
sick with the flu, but not every year does a flu pandemic occur. Several factors cause a pandemic to be a lot
more catastrophic than a normal flu season. The biggest factor is the form of
the actual virus. Often, it is a new strand, which means people have very
little built up immunity to this new form of the virus. This makes it very
challenging to fight off, and it also allows for a large number of deaths,
especially because doctors are not prepared to fight it in these situations.[1]
This was especially the case in the pandemic of what is called the Spanish flu
from 1918 to 1919.
One of affected places by this pandemic
was Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Ft. Wayne is located at the northeast part of the
state, and at the time it was the second largest city in Indiana with a
population of 86,549, but this was not even close to the population of the much
bigger city in Indiana, which was Indianapolis with 314,194 people at the time.[2]
Ft. Wayne had a specific culture in the time of the pandemic, which made it
unique to elsewhere. In 1917, a man by the name of W. Sherman Cutshall was
elected mayor.[3]
He won by a landslide against Maurice Niezer, but this massive victory was not
surprising in any way. Cutshall was a republican, and so was every other
candidate that won in this local election, except for one council seat.[4]
Part of the likely reason for the
Republican Party affiliation could relate to the religiosity in the city. Ft.
Wayne has always been known as the City of Churches, which relates to the high
number of churches in the city, as well as the high percent of the population
that attends church.
Another interesting fact for the city is that
since 1846 it has been home to Concordia Theological Seminary, which is a
Lutheran Seminary for future pastors and deacons.[5] This is especially interesting pertaining to
the election because of the fact that Christians, and even more so especially
Lutherans, tend to be seen as voting conservative.
Another possible reason for the large
amount of republicans elected could be the result of what was occurring at the
national level. The democratic Woodrow Wilson was president, and just earlier
in the year of 1917 he had declared war on the Germans. This was the beginning
of the US involvement in the war.[6]
The election of this many republicans could represent a lack of approval with
the war, but what ever it was this election would play an important role later
on when the flu pandemic hit.
Another significant event prior to the
pandemic was the purchase of the Tokiem Tank and Pump Company by a group of Ft.
Wayne investors. This purchase was made in 1918, which was the same year as the
peak of the pandemic. The company previously located in Iowa was then relocated
to the City of Ft. Wayne, where the business prospered through the Great
Depression and both World Wars.[7]
This provided a new big business to the area, which ultimately was crucial when
dealing with the pandemic later on.
In the span of the 20th
century three pandemics occurred, but the most devastating pandemic to date
occurred between the years of 1918 and 1919. This pandemic was caused by a flu
virus that was referred to as the Spanish flu, and part of the issue that made
it so disastrous was the fact that people could go from being fine early on in
the day to dying later on with in the same day. Another major issue related to
it was the age group that was impacted, usually people in what is classified as
the prime time in the life span.[8]
It is important to note that this strand
of flu was not an epidemic, which implies it solely impacted a community, but
rather it was a pandemic (pan being the Greek root for all) making it be more worldwide.
This alone reveals the disastrous impact it left, but it is crucial to note
that it did not impact everyone the same. Small cities, like Ft. Wayne,
Indiana, were impacted to a much different extent than places like the nations
capitol in Washington D.C., which was much larger, and more important in the
role of the country as a whole. The
biggest difference between these dealt with the capability for the city to shut
down, and for the local government to control the ways in which the city shut
down.
The peak of the flu pandemic in Indiana
was the month of October in 1918, and relative to elsewhere the flu was not as
severe.[9]
This is due to specific measures that were taken, and even more direct
measurements that were taken by local governments. These measures not only
likely saved lives, but it also helped remove the threat of the pandemic
quicker than elsewhere.
One of the primary actions taken in
Indiana that likely saved a large amount of people related to the Board of
Health. On October 6th, 1918 public meetings were restricted. This
policy didn’t last long, however, because the board decided that while the
restriction was related to an order from U.S. Public Health Services, the actual
restriction could not be enforced by the national government. Yet, this policy
was reinstated on October 9th, and it likely was crucial to
preventing some of the spreading of the flu. Some forms of gatherings that were
banned were shocking because they included school, funerals, and even church
services.[10]
While this ban of public gathering was
taken on a state level, Ft. Wayne also took some very crucial actions on a
local level that likely saved many lives. At the time of the pandemic the
Health Commissioner was Dr. E. A. Crull. On October 14th, 1918 he called
a crucial meeting with heads of businesses and the mayor.[11]
This meeting likely did a great deal in an effort to prevent some of the
possible contamination that comes with the flu. At the meeting he had men sworn
in from the different businesses as health officers. Their job was to ensure
that the rules laid out in the meeting were followed as well as they could
communicate and report incidents to the Health Department.
Yet, the biggest and most crucial rule
laid out was that if workers were coughing or showing any other possible
symptoms of the flu then they had to be sent home. [12]
This was especially important because for businesses to be able to make the
most possible amount of money they needed all the laborers present. It was a
big deal for these businesses to send workers home because ultimately it meant
a decrease in production and therefore a decrease in the amount of money made.
Another rule had a similar effect on
production at this time was the increased monitoring and stronger laws on the
hours in which these businesses could be open.[13]
These changes in the rules prevented some of the spreading because it helped
prevent sick people from coming to work, and it also helped provide people with
an essential amount of rest needed in keeping the immune system healthy. This
rule also likely contributed to helping end the pandemic.
While these rules ultimately had a
negative impact on businesses, it is also interesting that they were put into
place. The Republican Party is known for the role that they play in helping and
pushing for big businesses, yet here they seemed to impact them negatively.
This reveals the necessary drastic measures that had to be taken during this
pandemic to cause it to end. Another interesting note is how accepting the big
businesses were of these changes. They didn’t seem to argue with them, but
rather they accepted them and made the necessary changes to help prevent as
much of the further spreading as they could, even though it likely negatively
impacted their bottom line.
Fighting the flu was not an easy battle
clearly, especially due to the number of places that had to be shut down, but
another way to see the difficulty is through the responses of the hospitals. On
October 22nd, 1918, the hospitals in Fort Wayne stated that they
would no longer take patients with the flu, unless it was an emergency or they
had no one else who could take care of them.[14]
This shows the fact that there were a high number of cases at the time, and
hospitals just simply could not care for everyone.
Yet, the Red Cross did step in some and
help during this pandemic. It was challenging for them to help everywhere
because of how widespread the flu was, but they were able to help teach
individuals how to make a gauze mask to cover their face to prevent breathing
in the flu viruses. They also even provided these masks to people free of cost
if they did not have the funds to pay for them.[15]
While, often Ft. Wayne was considered to
have some of the better conditions in terms of the flu they remained under the same
ban as the rest of the State through the month of October and into November.
Finally, on November 15th, 1918 it was announced that the flu ban
would be lifted and churches, schools, and other public gathering places would
be reopened due to the bettering conditions.[16]
This was a big deal because the city had been shut down for so long, and it
showed that the worst part of the virus pandemic was coming to an end. Granted
the schools were shut down for over a month, and then would have to extend
their school year further into the summer. However, the ban did not have to be
reinstated in Ft. Wayne and school was not cancelled again once the ban was
lifted, as happened elsewhere, such as Indianapolis.[17]
While the worst was over, the flu still
made a comeback in early December. It did not force the same type of shutdown
that was seen earlier, but people were required once again to wear facemasks in
public. Interestingly enough public places in Allen County outside of Ft. Wayne
were shut down again, but not the city itself.[18]
This is especially interesting because one might think that is should be the
opposite due to the fact that often people are closer together within a city.
Gradually, the number of flu cases began
to decrease into the New Year. It also became a lot less prevalent topic in
newspapers, and by April of 1919 the word flu was scarce besides a few minor
advertisements claiming different medicines could cure the flu. It is
interesting to notice all the different claims of various “cures” to the flu, but
yet, if this were the case then the result of the pandemic would have been a
lot less drastic. Yet, this was not the case, and as medicine has shown us now,
there really is no cure.
It is crucial then to note all the key
steps that many took even during the pandemic to show the idea that there is no
cure. Such as wearing the masks, and shutting down the city in an effort to
prevent further spreading.
While there is no accurate number to how
many people died from the flu pandemic, the number can be estimated to be a
lot. World wide the number is estimated to be between 30 and 50 million, but in
America it is only estimated to be somewhere below 700,000. [19]
However, this doesn’t even begin to determine the damage due to the fact that
the number of deaths does not determine the number of cases. Beyond even being
sick, the damage done to the school systems and the economy cannot be measured,
but what is known is the lasting impact this pandemic had not only in small
cities like Fort Wayne, but rather world wide. These changes can even be seen
today, especially in the advertising for flu shots as flu season begins.
Clearly, pandemics like these can still occur, as was seen with H1N1, but the
severity depends on the strand of the virus, and the measures taken once the
pandemic occurs.
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