Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-11-17

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well persons. Strong men, with no
predisposition that way, get it. Why,
one of the worst places to contract
consumption is in postoffice corridor.
A consumptive coming in spits on the
floor. He spreads the germs of his dis
ease to be inhaled by others who enter.
There should be cuspidors in postofiices,
in market-houses and in all other pub
lie places. Splitting by consumptives
upon sidewalks is not SO dangerous,
as the open air disseminates the germs
more widely than in a building"
"Do you think that consumption is
increasing, or decreasing?'
probably decreasing, on account of
better methods used in treating it.
The newspapers can do great good by
calling attention to the great dangers
Of consumption and noting the neces-
sity for greater care in guarding against
the disease. People are too careless.
No doubt isolation would be of benefit
to patients, and do good, but it could
not be enforced"
DIR. w. X. Amick, who resigned his
professorship in the Cincinnati College
of Medicine and Surgery, held for II
years, to devote himself to curing con-
sumption, said:
Il am, of course, opposed to isolation,
because my theory is that consumption
is not directly produced by any outside
cause. l hold that the bacillus microbe
is the effect, or product, and not the
cause of the disease, so it is very EVIL
dent, in my opinion, that isolation
would accomplish no good"
"You mean to say, then, that the in
haling of the dried-up sputa, contain
ing these microbes, is not harmful"
"On the contrary" DIR. Amick re-
piled, "any dust or eXtraneous matter
would produce mechanical irritation
of the parts and be likely 20 occasion
lung trouble-as the inhalation of the
dried sputa of consumptive. Just as
a speclk of dust irritates the eye, the
inhalation of any foreign matter irri-
tates the air passages.
Continuing, DIR. Amick said: "You
may state as my opinion that the nat
ural secretion of the healthy mucous
membrane either destroys the gel ms SO
inhaled or renders them of no effect, so
far as any intrinsic power to produce
the disease is concerned If consump-
ton was either contagious or infec-
tious, l would have had it long since,
as l am daily closeted with the worst
possible cases, and during the investi-
cation leading to my discovery of the
cause and cure of the disease, sought
out the worst forms of it and made mi
croscopic examination of diseased sputa
marked feature of my professional
work and research. Notwithstanding
all this, and although predisposed to
consumption, / have inhaled the dis
eased breath and germs of tuberculous
patients almost continually without i'll
effect"
ION what grounds, doctor, have all
these appeals for the isolation of con-
sumptives been made ?"
"On the theory of some bacteriolo-
gists that the disease is communicated
by microbes expectorated by the con-
sumptive."
Asked as to how many of the medical
profession agreed with his theory to
the contrary, DR.. Amick said: From
all can learn perhaps one-half and a
majority of the other half freely ex-
press their surprise that, considering
my treatment is not based on the bac-
iii theory, it proves so efficacious. A
year or two was practically alone in
advocating my theory, but today the
progressive physicians agreeing with
ME are numbered by thousands, and l
prophesy that in few years very few
will contend that the microbe causes
the disease. i make no attempt to de
stroy the bacilli in my treatment, for
they disappear of themselves as the
disease is conquered, and this is OBJ
served IN using the microscope by ply
sicians prescribing my medicines. l
consider this the strongest possible
proof that microbes are not the cause
of the disease, and that they cannot
exist under normal healthy conditions.
1t does not require a scientist to I'M
derstand that inasmuch as the bacilli
are not found until the eXpectoration
becomes purulent that they could not
produce this purulent condition. No,
unlike smallpox. the disease does not
announce itself in any aggressive man
ner, but begins with gradually increas-
ing weakness, loss of strength and
appetite, and is firmly seated before
the bacilli are produced, thus showing
that tile disease precedes these germs.
Suppose you yourself" said DIR. Amick
to The Post man, caught cold; sup
pose that cold ran into catarrhal pneu-
monia, which, in turn, resulted in con-
sumption. / do not think anyone
could make you believe it was a mi
crobe instead of a draught or exposure
which occasioned your catching cold,
and yet you admit the cold produced
the disease. No, / firmly contend, !"
concluded DIR. Amick, "that the isola-
ton and separation of these poor sick
consumptives from the only ones who
for affections sake would care for
them, is not only inhuman but unnec-
essary, and not only unnecessary
but impracticable. Please remem-
Der that they are numbered not
by hundreds or thousands, but by hun
dreds of thousands, and that nearly
every one who reads The Post has near
and dear relatives in consumption who,
properly administered to, can be re-
stored to health, but whom isolation
might place beyond all hope. 1t will
require no argument to convince you
that the relatives of these sick ones
will vigorously protest against any
such enactment, and the good citizens
of this country will help them prevent
the carrying out of the proposed
cruel imposition"
DIR. Drumming said: Consumption
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