KILLED BY "THE CON"?

I am reading NOCTURNE MILITAIRE by Elliott W. Springs. In one of the chapters it mentions two sisters that died of "the con". Is this a short slang for "consumption" (T.B.)?

Thanks,
Steve

Steve D.,
It could be referring to the Great Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1917 - 1918!
Regards,
Jim

Steve, An "informed speculation" as follows: In his 1926 book, "War Birds" Elliott White Springs refers to the "flu" as having killed friends (last chapter). It would stand to reason tht "con" is a contraction of consumption, which was a prolific killer in those early days of this century. The flu epidemic lasted into 1919 (last chapter of War Birds) and killed so many people in Europe and the U. S. that burials were taking place around the clock. Our local oldest cemetery has a large section devoted to deaths in 1919 and 1920. While TB was largely eradicated in the U.S. by the 1950's, it has recently been re-introduced by immigrants from SE Asia and is again a major health threat.

Thanks guys and I'm glad to see you are still around John.

Steve

Is it a good book? I was thinking of getting it.

It's about the pilots and their love life. Some interesting situations, but not much planes and flying.

Steve

During 1951, Elliott White Springs wrote a series of ads that appeared in Life magazine. He was a textile millionaire, and his product was Springmaid sheets. If you ever come across these vintage ads, one contains the entire text of the poem about the Roman Senator that was abbreviated in "War Birds."
He funded a hospital in South Carolina, The Elliott White Springs Memorial Hospital. The lobby display shows him in flying gear.
He never gave up flying, as many ex-war pilots did.