The  most  unexpected  evil  which  affected  the  industrial
workers  of  the  state  in  cutting  down  their  ranks  and  halting
their  production,  and  also  seriously  menaced  men  and  wom-
en in  every  class,  was  the  epidemic  of  so-called  Spanish  In-
fluenza which  swept  over  the  state  in  the  fall  of  1918  and
which  has  continued  in  a  lessened  degree  through  the  month
of  January,  1919.
Fortunately  it  came  too  late  to  greatly  cripple  the  war
work  of  the  great  army  that  stayed  at  home.  Had  it  come
three  months  earlier  it  would  not  only  have  periled  the  suc-
cess of  the  American  army  but  also  have  hampered  the  Al-
lies from  winning  through  our  help.  Its  cause  and  charac-
ter have  not  yet  been  scientifically  determined.  However,
this  can  be  frankly  stated  and  should  be  stated  with  empha-
sis: It  found  existing  health  regulations  easily  conquered.
Its  spread  and  effects  were  in  no  small  part  attributable  to
carelessness,  over-confidence  and  under  estimation  of  its
danger  at  the  critical  period  when  a  masterly  grasp  would
have  checked  its  advance.
Three  hundred  thousand  people  of  the  conservative  esti-
mate of  one  million  and  a  quarter  in  this  state  were  victims
in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Over  6,000  died.
Proper  power  delegated  to  boards  of  health,  proper  equip-
ment and  promptness  on  the  part  of  boards  of  health,  proper
enforcement  of  health  regulations  would  have  resulted  in
the  saving  of  lives  of  thousands  some  of  whom  would  have
been  of  great  benefit  to  the  state.
