Pneumonia and Flu in City Take Toll of 57 in 12 Days

From The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday, February 14, 1923: City health board statistics show a record fifty-seven deaths from pneumonia and influenza in Indianapolis in the last twelve days. Dr. Herman Morgan, board secretary, estimates 70,000 persons are suffering from respiratory infections and while the highest percentage of illness is among school age children, persons of middle age and older lead in deaths. Physicians and nurses are overworked in their efforts to care for the large number of patients, and there is no indication of an immediate easing of the respiratory infection epidemic. According to Dr. Morgan, much of the illness may be traced to clouds of smoke that hang daily over the city. “Indianapolis should adopt drastic measures to eliminate the smoke nuisance. Citizens should not be compelled to go through another winter breathing the smoke-laden air,” said Dr. Morgan.

“Pneumonia and Flu in City Take Toll of 57 in 12 Days,” The Indianapolis Star, 14 February 1923, p. 22:3