St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-10
DEVELOPMENT OF The MICROS-
COPE


The Drebells, Jansens, and others who are
credited with the invention of a practical
microscope, little knew to what valuable uses
their discovery would bring about in the
nineteenth century. The instrument has
been of value long before this century was
unrolled from the score of time; but its
browning efforts appear to have been reserved
for the last quarter of this wonderful cen
fury. What it has brought out
of the minute world, it would be
tedious to enumerate; it would be easier to
particularize what it has not discovered. Suf
fee it that this marvellous instrument has
added thousands of worlds where it was once
believed nothing existed, and to each of these
worlds it has given number of inhabitants
compared to which all the people who now
exist on this globe added tosali who have eX-
listed, are as the point OF a pin compared to
the dimensions of all the planets.
These reflections are elected by the infor
nation contained in the startling cablegram
from Marselles, on Thursday, which was TO
the effect that microscopic examination of
the drinking water of Marseilles, AK, Aries,
and other points, where cholera prevails, re-
veals the fact that it is filled with millions of
bacilli. or cholera germs. The statement
does not say how much of the water is re-
CURED to contain millions of these organisms,
whether bucket-full teaspoon-full or the
entire water supply. Bnt it is sufficient to
know that the water is thus infected, for it is
well understood that single bacillus once
within the system of human being, will,
in an hour, or a minute, it may be, increase
itself a thousand, OF even a million of times.
1t makes, then, little or no difference
whether the millions in the drinking water
applies to a glass-full or the entire reservoirs
of the afflicted towns.
This discovery of the invaluable micro
scope leads to the suggestion that there
should now be inangurated revolution in
the management of germ-produced disease.
The use or direction of the microscope,
must be reversed. Hitherto Messrs. Koch,
Pasteur and others have confined their mi
croscopcal examinations to the parasite af
ter the mischief has been done. So to speak,
they have been dredging among excremen-
tital accumulatons; below the dam instead
of above It, The revolution suggested is
that the microscope should be brought into
play, for the benefit of mankind before
rather than after Ccrisis whose issue in
yolve human life. Let the
microscope place itself at points whence
danger may be expected to enter, and not
on the lines Of retreat after the damage has
been committed.
This new method will apply the microscope
to everything before it is eaten. There
should be in every municipality a micro
scopic bureau, which should be in alliance
with the board of health, and the two should
constitute joint sanitary management The
use of the microscope should form
part of the common-school
course of instruction so that it should be as
familiar as knife and fork When the
head of the family goes after meat, she
should bring her microscope to bear on the
tenderloin, the porter-house and the roast,
in search of the germ of lumpy jaw, pleuro-
pneumonia, or foot and mouth disease, OF
or trichinosis in the juicy pork chops. \
search for microbes should be instituted in
the dinner water pitcher, and hunt for
bacteria in the milk. The microscope should
become household utensil as COM
mon as dishclout. In other words
the omnipotent instrument should become
available as a preventative, and not confne
its utility to the detection of causes after the
injury has been effected. What a humilia-
ton would fall on the wicked butcher as the
character of his parasitic meats should be
shown up under his very eyes! Fancy the
CONSERVATION of the milkman rs he should
be permitted to see the bounding bacillus
cavorting through the realms of cerulean
milk.
The world is on the point of being able to
protect itself against the swindles and adul-
teratious of men, aud the insiduOus opera
lions of nature. \ quarantine win be estab-
lished before the mouth, that important port
of entry to the stomach, that great and i'm
portant depot of the human system; and the
microscope will be put on guard. And thus
will the doctors be evoluted out of existence,
and life win be held impervious against the
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