The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-09-22

II It saould pass rs harmlessly by. But
'oe days of miracles have passed, with
superstition ana ignorance, and we must
the situation from the stand
point of reason and intelligence. But
what is the cholera? Let me tell you
that on the border land between the ami
mai and vegetable kingdoms are minute
organisms so enthusiastically small that
the human eye can only see them by the
ald OF powerful microscope; so minute
indeed are they that it has been computed
that 1t requires about l5, 000, 900 of them to
weigh a single grain; but so rapid is their
that, could favoring cir
cuLnstances surround them for five days
ana nall, every ocean on the face of the
earth would be literally filled with them.
ct these lnconceivably small organ
isfns, when taken into the human sys-
tenn, cause the deadly scourge which is
threatening us. But fortunately for man
KIND these germs cannot be taken into
the system by means of the respiratory
organs. as can measles, whooping cough,
smallpox, dlphtheria, scarlatina and sew
eral other acute infectious diseases, other
wise IL Is probable the human family
would long ago have been swept from
the face of the earth. We now know
they must be swallowed, and must run
Inc gantlet OF the stomach and reach the
lntestlneS before they can find a medium
favorable to their multiplication, and be-
lore they can undergo the changes neces-
sary Tor the development of their charac
terlst1c effects. Acids being rapidly
destructive of them, and the normal re-
ACTON OF healthy stomach being acid, 1t
follows that they cannot there maintain
an active existence for any considerable
length of time. But they thrive well in
an alkaline medium. ana the normal re-
action of the alimentary canal below the
stomach being alkaline, they there find a
SOIL which favors their rapid multiplied
ton.
Two most important lessons are there
lore learned from these observations:
First-Do not swallow the germs of
cholera and you will not have the disease.
Second-Let your stomachS be main
tanned IN their normal condition of acid
reaction and the germs will very likely
be dIgested, even should you unavoidaOly
swallow them.
But there are thousands of US who
Will swallow the germs, and other thou
sands whose stomachs are diseased lrom
natural causes, and still other thousands
rendered receptive because OF over
indulgence in food, riotous living
and the excessive use of alcoholic
and malt liquors, in whom cholera
germs would find a soil rich in
material suitable for their growth,
and who would fall victims to its ravages
as rapidly as in Russia or in Germany.
And the poor we have always with us,
and they being poorly clad, poorly
housed, surrounded by all sorts OF filth,
and living upon unwholeSome food,
would of necessity be severely scourged.
But of what benefit is it to recite such
well-known facts; the enemy has been
knocking at our doors and has gained
fc1,pl Il i
ify its effects? The answer to this ques-
ton is easy, although most difficult Of
practical execution. Cleanliness, abso-
lutte cleanliness, would soon starve out
the germs, for filth, dirt, constitutes their
principal food. Ills true they are rapidly
propagated in water, especially dirty
water; but as will be seen hereafter, that
source of danger can be easily taken
care of.
I'm this city, which is perhaps the
most inviting field for the rapid develop
ment of cholera germs on the Pacific
Coast, there are unconScionable amounts
Of privy and cesspool filth, the kind
above all others in which the germs
multiply most rapidly outside of the
human system. And in every town, city
and village in California there is likewise
an enormous amount of such stuff. Let
it be removed at once, or as rap
idly as possible. Do not wait until
the first case of cholera is an
nounced, for il will. then be too late
and its removal would but add thousand
fold to the danger OF propagation. Crema-
tories should be constructed at once for the
destruction Of all refuse, no matter what
its source. There is still time in which
to do this, if set about promptly and en-
ergetically, and the cost will not be one
tenth Of one per cent. of the actual money
expenditure If left undone, let alone the
incalculable value of the human lives
saved thereby.
but l have alluded to the question of
maintaining your stomach in healthy
condition OF acid reaction. which can be
done by avoiding excessive indulgence
in all things, by the thorough mastication
of all solid foods, whereby the glands in
the mouth will be enabled to secrete their
fluids in abundance, and by the use of a
due proportion of the ordinary acids in
domestic use. But still better by taking
into the stomach from one to three times
daily ten drops of aromatic sulphuric acid
(elexir of vitrioD well diluted and sweet
ened, and to which may be added an
equal number of drops of ether and half
as many drops of laudanum, provided
there be any gastric irritability.
"When possible, the eXcreta and vomit
should be cremated never thrown
into the privyl, but whore this
cannot be done should be re-
ceived in a vessel containing about
four ounces of a one to forty solution of
carbolic acid, or one to 500 solution of
corrosive sublimate, and after being thor
oughly disinfected thereby the whole
should be buried at least twelve inches
beneath the surface Of the soil. Two or
more vessels should always be kept in
readiness for each patient, and not less
than a gallon of the disinfecting fluid
should at all times be ready for use. The
floors, halls and closets should be well
covered with sawdust which has been
slightly moistened with the same solu-
ton The bed linen and night garments
of patients i'll of cholera should be re-
moved as often as possible, and should
be Immediately immersed in a boiling
solution of the carbolic acid for at least
six hours, and should then be washed in
hot water and dried by artificial heat at a
temperature just below that which would
injure it. The hands and faces of attend
ants should likewise be frequently
washed in similar solutions, and the
greatest care observed to avoid swallow
ing any OF the germs.
''As an additional precaution nurses
and attendants should wear long white