Epidemic Closes Public Places in City and State

From The Indianapolis Star, Monday, October 7: As a preventative measure, the city board of health yesterday afternoon ordered all Indianapolis schools, churches, theaters, and motion picture houses closed for an indefinite time in order to control the influenza epidemic. Public gatherings, except for small committee meetings, are also banned. There are 200 reported cases of influenza in the city and four reported deaths from the disease. Dr. Herman G. Morgan, secretary of the board of health, said, “There may be many unreported cases where the diagnosis is not clear cut.” Influenza among soldiers at Ft. Harrison, with 1,653 cases and 41 deaths, and at Training Detachment No. 2 stationed at the Deaf School, with 900 cases and 13 deaths, is epidemic. While factories and business houses remain open, employees with colds should not be permitted to work.

“Epidemic Closes Public Places in City and State,” The Indianapolis Star, 7 October 1918, p. 1:4