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Show Influenza Rapidly Spreading Over United States WASHINGTON. Oct. 7. Mobilization Mobiliza-tion of tho full forces of the American Ameri-can Red Cross to combat the epidemic of Spanish inlluenza which rapidly is spreading over the country was determined deter-mined upon today and instructions sent to all chapters. In co-operation with the public health service and the stato board of health, the Hod Cross will enroll nurses nurs-es and will freely use Its accumulated hospital supplies to fight tho epidemic. A Call also will he made for volunteers to fio into tho homes where mothers and housekeepers are ill and assume the management of the household. Schools to Close. In a further effort to curb the spread of the disease Surgeon General Blue of the public health service today suggested sug-gested to all state health officers that schools and places of amusement be closed and public meetings discontin ued in all places where the malady becomes be-comes prevalent. Importance of" reporting re-porting cases also was urged bv Dr. Blue. Reports today to the public hca-'j service showed both that, thp disease is spreading and that tho number ofi cases reported where it had been prevalent prev-alent heretofore is increasing. This. J however, was not the situation in army! camps, the number of new cases reported re-ported during the forty-eight hours ending at noon today showing a slight decrease. Pneumonia in the camps continued to increase with 4532 new cases and 1388 deaths reported since Saturday. 167,000 Cases in Camps. Influenza cases reported from all camps since the disease became epidemic epi-demic September 13, now total 167,-000; 167,-000; pneumonia cases 17.102, and deaths 4910. Camp Dodge, Iowa, reported re-ported the largest number of new influenza in-fluenza cases during the forty-eight hours period to noon today with 3092 cases, Camp Funston, Kan., the next largest, 2072. While influenza shows abatement at Camp Meade, Md., and Lee. Va., pneumonia pneu-monia cases at the former numbered S 14 with 115 deaths and at the latter 375 with 74 deaths. Camps Grant, 111., and Sherman, Ohio, also reported increased in-creased number of pneumonia cases. nn |