St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-28
REGARDING DIsINFECTANTs
People Advised Not to Worry Too
Much About Cholera Microbes.

People Advised Not to Worry Too
Much About Cholera Microbes.
A recent note in the st. James Ga
zette about the disinfection of coins in
view of cholera suggests to me, says a
writer it that paper, that some observa-
tions on the subject, derived from
somewhat extensive experience of anti
cholera precautions, may be of interest
and possibly of use Just now. 1t is
touching to see the hold which the new
superstition about germs and their de-
struction has obtained over the public
mind during the last fifteen or twenty
years. Every day somebody points to
new form of danger, hidden
under some familiar guise, and asks
anXiously how it is to be met Every
day fresh horror is added to existence
by the announcement of some alarming
discovery purporting to bear the hall
mark of science. All the actions of daily
life, our down-sitting and uprising,
our clothes, our dwellings, the news
papers, the train, the cab. the theater,
our every bite and sup, our work and
our play, all are fraught with the most
hideous periIs. We have no business to
exist at all: we ought to be dead, and,
in fact, properly speaking, we are dead,
or next door to it. Our doom has been
spoken, and only one thing can save us,
and that is to jump into a bath of
carbolic acid and stop there. For deadly
germs lie in ambush OIL every hand, and
we all know that they yield to no power
but dislnfectantS. Had not science said
so? Even the most illiterate know that.
Last autumn gang of coalieS at Hull
refused to discharge cargo of Goals
until they had been 'disinfected." This
incident may stand for the high water
mark of enlightenment. The truly sci
entific attitude of the Yorkshire coal
strenuous advocates of the late lament
ed "antiseptic surgery" to whom we
owe the glorious reign of King Carbolic.
Have l Overstated the case? If so,
some allowance must be made for a
man who has been dISinfected by
doctor with "A is tongue i'll his cheek so
often as myself. To me the dSintec-
ton superstition seems in every respect
analogous to the medieval belief in
sacred charms for averting the wrath of
heaven. Germs exist, and so does the
wrath of heaven Tor, for those who pre-
fer it. the consequences of wrong do
ing), and an amulet has just about as
much effect on the latter as disinfect
ants on the former In the one case
the real prophylactic is a whole con-
body. Moreover, the priesthood
is in both cases well aware of
the truth. Is it not time that medical
men began to say openly what most of
them think In their hearts. namely,
that for practical purposes chemical
disinfectants are all rubbish? To be
real use they must be applied in i'm
possible quantities impossible eithe
from expense or from destructiveness
For instance, one of the most religious
ly observed practices of the day is to
''dsinfect' drains, but does any one
know what would be the cost of really
diSinfecting our sewers? | think
the public will be rather star
tied to learn the truth. The
calculation has been made by the
in the north of England. He reckoned
that in order to do it for his own town
with corrosive sublimate. which is gen.
orally accepted now as the best disin-
fectant in use, it would cost 100000 a
day. With a less powerful substance it
would probably be impossible. l am
not concerned to defend the accuracy of
the estimate. II was made by gentle
man who knows quite as much about
the subject as anybody else, and a great
deal more than most.
do not mean to imply that there is
no such thing as dislnfection: | have
been speaking of chemicals. Heat Is
different thing. When properly applied
it is believed, on good evidence, to be
thoroughly efficient disinfector; but OBJ
viously its application is extremely lin
tied. And even heat, when applied to
vi
dence among medical men. AS pre-
caution against cholera, for instance,
the business of the public stood in
marked contrast this year to the indiffer-
ence of the doctors who were in the
thick of it. Several people, L remember,
not content with boiling water and
milk, wanted to know if something ought
not to be done to butter. And apropOs
to that, let me relate a little incident.
In Hamburg directions were issued for
cooking butter in some way or other,
and one day they brought it In for
breakfast at the hotel where happened
to be staying at the heighth of the cpl
denies. 1t was reduced to the color and
consistency of dripping, and had dis
agreeable taste. | tried it out of curl
osity, and sent it away. We saw no
more of it. However, remembered it,
anu Oilo udy WITCH was iuilCuluS dt
the doctors mess at the Eppendorf hos
your butter" They all laughed
and said: sob, we are dread
fully behindhand here with our
precautions; we have onIy just begun !
TO boil our milk" They did not believe |,
it mattered 21ad whether the milk was /
boiled or not. And here is another in
stance of Indifference to germs and pre-
cautions displayed by one of the most |
favorite authorities on them, even DIR. |
Koch himself When he made his first |
visit to the Hamburg hospitals every
thing was prepared in the most correct |
style uSQue ad unguem, and on his fin !
ishing with the first ward he was in |
vited in the usual manner to wash his |
hands with the most scientific soaps,
disinfectants, etc. He declined OBJ |
serving .nonchalantly: "rhere will be !
plenty of time for that presently"
The moral of all this is that the pub.
lie will do we'll not to fuss too much |
about disinfection. AS Prof. Won |
Pettenkofer says: Human intercourse |
can never be made germ tight" Very i
likely coins are perfect mass of germs. !
How on earth is it to be prevented? !
Best go your way and not worry your
head about it. If you want disin- |
fectant try beefsteak and bottle of /
wine. They are more likely to keep off |
cholera than all the stuff in chemists |
shop.
The deed is done-upbraid her not;
Twas mailed before she knew it.
She wrote the letter and forgot
To add a postscript to it,
New York Press.