Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-01-17

| allowed 10 bc myeuhed W inpeHsct accounts
u his "comns bacillus" should now be dis.
tinctly and cmph1tealiy assured On The subject
by the definite statement u those who have
studied koch'' report, and are qualified to
Judge Of !, by having themselves purued the
investigation n bacteria.
For my own part. thcn. do nol hesitate to
say ~ that Kpohs comma bacillus is NOT
comma shaped ~ that it is net bacillus but
q spidllum, 81 that although il does some
times tbut no, alwaysl occur abundantly in the
intcslines NJ cholcn patients, there Is not q
title II evidence to show that Il causes cholera,
no experimental attempt to produce cholera
by IT, agency having succeeded. These con.
| illusions are derived from Dt. Koch's own
statements, While Dr Koch is, ~ was 10 be
expected, perfectly candid and convincing in
! the account which hr gives u his obscValions
/ The extraordinary feature In his report is the
dogmatic declaration that this organism, which
9 not in any way proved to posses, disease.
producing powers, nevertheless must aud shall
be hcnecfouh regarded ~ the cause n cholera
| We have, moreover, some additional news
~ 10 kocht bacillus since the publication Just
referred to. Dr. Timothy Louis, Of the Army
Medical School, who for many long years
studied microscopioaly the inlesiincs and
excavations " cholera patients In Calcutta
has demonstrated since the publication u
Koch'a report that the 20 called comma.shaped
bacillus Is identical in form with ono occurring
commonly in the mouths of healthy persons
! This Is no rash assertion on Dr. Lewis part
| lie has longer and more minute experience
u The different forms u bacteria, bacilli, vibho,
and spirillum than has Or. Robert Koch.
The latter says in his report that he has never
seen q micro organism which could he con.
founded with his tKoch'sj "comma bacillus 3"
! Lewis according to an official memorandum
Of the Army Medical Department, August,
1880 goes to Mamcilcs, obtains from cholera
subjects fresh specimens Of kochs "comma
bacillus" places them under the microscope
side by side with common curved spirllum
found in healthy persons mouths, and dcfcs
competent observer, to distinguish ono from tho
other The competent observers, so dcfed,
confess they arc unable to distinguish them.
We must accept Koch's statement that he has
never seen an organism capable Of being con.
founded with his comma bacillus, and there.
fore VIC must suppose that he has not seen all
the forms Of micro.organsms which occur In
healthy human bodies, as it would have been
well for him to do before observing and rca.
soning about those which occur in disease.
The final amp dc gyarr will have been given to
koch's rash assumptions concerning his comma
bacillus II ii should be true, rs stated recently,
that pure civilizations Of il have been swallowed
by cSperimentors in India with IMMUNITY.
Such being the facts with regard to the
much.vauntcd discovery of the cholera germ
by Dr. Robert Koch, VIC may note one or two
features connected with the history Of this dis
crcdi,abe business -
1. The study Of the relation Of bacteria
tbacilli, etc.) to disease ought 10 be more
generally undertaken by the state authoritic,
Of civilized countries than it is. I, should no,
be possible for the whole OF Europe to be S,ul
tilted As it has been during this summer by
Dr. Koch's comma bacillus.
2. We may congratulate ourselves that the
Indian Government is at this moment employ
ing, AT the recommendation Of the executive Of
the Royal Society Of London, thoroughly
impartial and competcn, observer. DR.. Klein,
to make an investigation at Calcutta into the
relation Of heterogeneous to cholera. We
canno, but rcgre, that, while such an investi
CATION naturally requires years. DIR. Klein's so
journ in India is limited to few months.
). The history OF the comma bacillus will
II is to be hoped, serve as warning, not only
to the general public, but especially TO states
men and government officials, as to the foil,
of accepting with open mouth and closed eye,
the sensational results obtained when tn,
healthy march Of science is forced by spasmo
die pressure and international Jealousy.
DIR. Koch was distinctly put forward by the
German Imperial Government as a rival to tn,
French Investigator Pastcur. The prcssur,
upon him urging him to announce a definite
result was irresistible. He has formulated
such result on the most amsy grounds; hi
government has rewarded him, and for som,
time official science in Germany will not dar,
to expose the worthessness of his theory
Meanwhile land this is the most serious anc
alarming feature in the whole affair." the Ger
man Imperial Government has not only sen
{ Koch to Toulon and Marseiles that he ma,
c dogmatize to the benighted Frenchmen upor
I the treatment and prevention OF cholera cpl
, denies, as though his comma bacillus wer
I really proved to be the cause OF cholera iwhi
. no one knew better than he that il was not 5,
proved, but actually the German Government
{ Is anxious to dictate to Europe about tn
quarantine of the Suer Canal, pretending Il
, superior knowledge on the subject in conse
t quence of being able to claim for its initiativ
S the discovery OF the comma bacillus.
Whatever may be the ultimate conclusion a
to Koch's comma bacillus il is an outrage o.
common sense to advocate measures agains
cholera epidemics based on the assumption tina
this organism causes them. 1t is possible tina
/ !, may be properly demonstrated before lon
y that this particular organism of all those oh
e served in the human body is the cause {
b cholera, but DIR. Koch has not proved it to h
. so, nor even rendered il highly probable tina
II is So
, some Dollar Bm,tsr."
: EDITOR SATURDAY PREss-,SU; tax
i pleasure in sending YOU the accomanyinp art