Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-02-10
THE BACTERIA FAD.
Science Como HAD I'm tho Hands OF Enthu-
Bll6tS.

slIstS.
These doctors are a wearisomc lot,
observes the Milwaukee Sentinel. If
the world wcrc foolish enough to at
tempt to follow all their su3Gcstions
and to avoid all that hygienic cranks
declare to be dangerous, living would
be impossible except under conditions
that would make living intolcrablc.
The latest fad, next to the disposition
of surgeons to c2itirpatc ell the impor-
tant organs of the body. il to find
bacteria everywhere, anl to warn
people against doing, for fear of bac-
tcria, what it is necessary to do IN order
to get along at all. 4 Buffalo doc
tor has found nothing better to oc-
cupy his time or no better way to ad-
vcrtiSc himself than to examine under
the microscope the straps in the sSrcct
cars by which unhappy wrctchcs main
tain an upright position when the cars
arc crowded. lilo finds these straps
fairly ,reclling with bacteria" This
is strange use of the word reck. We
might as well speak of the atmosphere
Us rocking with birds. Reclzing means
stcaming or smoking. bacteria have
just as much right to be everywhere as
birds and butterflies have to fly in tho
air, and they arc for the most part as
harmless. The idea the doctors seek to
convey is that where there il micro
scopic life there is danger to health If
there is space On earth whcrc micro
scopic life does not exist, man can not
exist on that spot. The air we brcatac,
the water we drink, is full of harmless
animalculae, and would not be lifc-sus-
tanning otherwise. -
We arc warned against sncczing, CO.
ccpt into bactcrium receiver, for fear
OF letting loose into the air destructive
bacteria to attack the nasal membranes
of other folks. We are warned against
receiving moncy-hard money or paper
moncY-withouG'1 first putting it tlrouTh
disiafccting process. We arc tod to
GO through the world, with 4 straiaer
over tho nojc and the mouth, with car
bolized gloves, ahi SO on. In short, if
we arc to sta1l any show Of living to
reasonable agcwc arc to Shut ourselves
up in gluze saturated with disinf2ctiug
pre- apar1tiols, drin,I di3Sillci wIto-, alb
stain from every thing We like. and have
no other concern IN the world than tho
care of health.
There arc certain reasonable sanitary
rules blscd on q few facts of OBSERVE
ton that arc worthy of serious a9tcn-
ton. They are not attended to ordi-
narily, bccau5o hy.yic1ic crla ks urge SO
many ridiculous and impossible rules
and so conotantly shock the common
sense of mankind To ask q rational
being torefrain from grasping u friends
hand for fear of bacteria, to deny him
self the pleasure OF osculation, and al
that, is too much. II. these doctors per-
sist in pointing out microscopic life
wherever tl6y find it the thing is to rec
oGni;c the fact that microscopic life is
edible and wholcsomc-raw, fried,
stcwcd, baked or in any other form.
We arc ra9de up-aH of US and in every
part of u5-of microscopic organisms.
man Is simply Il collection Of such or
gani3rn3, every minute particle of his
boing having ~ independent life. There
is nothing TO b. fri sltcncd ut. bacteria
have been in the world good while
and enough people have managed tc
live to mako it % pretty active world.