Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-23

might, 1t IL true, cause disaster pos
the officers Of the Oregon report only
one vessel Of that description. and it Is
manifestly illogical to attribute the
enormous damage to so trivial aud In
sufficient . cause.
The dynamite theory Is also untena-
bic. Some plausibility was a. hrs'
given to 1t by the well-known propen'
sites Of O'Donovan Rosa in connec-
ton with the suspicious closeness be.
tween the date of the occurrence ana
that of st. Patrick's day. A slight
defect in the mechanism OF an Internal
machine or an error in setting the dial
might easily have precipitated matters
and touched off on the l4th firework
that was intended to celebrate the 18th.
But even if the testimony Of the fire.
man who examined the edges Of the
fracture and found them inclined in.
ward be not sufficient disproof, we have
the denial Of 0'Donavan Rosa himself.
His assurance settles the question be-
yopd doubt or cavil. 1t was certainly
not dynamite at all.
The earthquake theory is still more
vulnerable and preposterous. We can
imagine no seismic disturbance suiii-
GENTLY small TO have undertaken this
particular job without accomplishing
enough more to make itself unmistaka-
bly, manifest and place its claim beyond
dispute. If any self-respecting earth
quake should have taken it into its
head to 60 in pursuit of Oregons
it would infallibly have bagged
the State, not the steamer. Nor can
ANYTHING favorable be said for any
other of the numerous theories yet
offered by the able and intelligent COM
munity Of land-lubbers. The Oregon
was not sunk by touching the wreck of
the IIylton Castle, nor by gas explo-
sion in her coal-bunkers, nor by sunken
torpedoeS, nor by shots from the dyna-
mite gun, nor by any outward, inward,
and untoward act of violence whatever.
Its mishap was purely and entirely due
to the ravages of hitherto unknown
microbe, the Borozoa SteGmertana, or
steamer bacillus.
1t is a well-known fact that the ordi-
nary wooden ship has long been the
prey OF bacilli, respectively known to
science as the Teredo narails and the
Limnoria tereJrdnS. These destruc-
tive parasites gradually consume the tim
bers and eventually cause the destruc-
ton of the vessel. 1t has also been es-
tablished by the savants Of the Koch
and Pasteur school that the germ prin-
ciple is little short Of universal in its
application, and that whenever new
variety of plant or animal is pro-
duced, there invariably appears a
microbe to prey upon and destroy
it. The evolution of the iron steam
ship out Of the old wooden craft has
hitherto been regarded as step toward
safety and immunity from the ravages
Of bacilli, but the experience of the
Oregon blasts this hope forever. Of
the habits Of the Bor0zoa Stedmeridaa
nothing is yet known, but, Judging
from it's operation in the Oregon case,
it seems to belong rather to the class of
the foudroyGm Or eight-hour cholera
family than to that of the lingering
or consumptiye germ. Its presence
was not suspected until the por-
tons attached had given way
With a suddenness resembling that
which might have been caused by
powerful blow or shock. The atten-
ton Of the scientific world Will d9uht-
less pe Immediately turned to this new
and destructive enemy, and If 1t be
identified as belonging to the same
genus that is believed to be the latent
cause of railway collisions and boiler
explosions instant measures should be
taken for the most thorough investiga-
ton, and, if possible, for the establish
ment at Sing SiDg or some equally con-
venient point of an institution for treat
ment by incubation.