Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-30
DEATH OF PAsTEUR.

DEATH OF PASTETR.
He VIII BE Buried by the French
Government.
Professor Pasteur died at Garcies, near
ST. Cloud, France, Saturday.
He had suffered from paralysis for a
considerable period of time. About eight
days ago he sustained violent paralytic
stroke and Saturday suffered still another
severe attack. He grew worse rapidly
and remained III a comatose condition dur
ing his last hours.
The government decided to hold a state
funeral for Professor Pasteur. The gov
eminent desired to inter the remains of
the distinguished savant in the Pantheon,
but it was the family's wish that he should
be buried at the Pasteur Institute. The
obsequies will be held at the Cathedral
of Notre Dame p, obably Thursday.
The fame of Louis Pasteur as a bacte-
biologist was world wide. His germ theory
of disease has revolutionized the study and
treatment Of human ailments. In 1874
the national assembly accorded to M. Pas
tiers Of fermentation, a life annuity of
12,OOO francs. He was raised to the rank
OF grand officer of the Legion Of Honour
October "a, 1878. His reception into the
OF late years NJ. Pasteur had devoted
himself to the study of incubation of dis
eases other than smallpox and had
achieved some very remarkable results in
the prevention of hydrophobia, patients
from all parts of Europe and America
travelling to Paris to put themselves under
his care
The cholera epidemic of 1892 led M. Pas
teur to institute experiments in anti-chol-
eric vaccinations, which proved successful
in the case of animals
Last May considerable comment was
caused by M. Pasteur refusing a decora-
he arpn.
peror.
The Study of Diseases.
When still an obscure physician his first
studies were the chemical processes of
fermentation, and these studies led him
to investigate the phenomena of disease
in living bodies resembling fermentatiors.
The silk-worm industry in France was
threatened with destruction; Pasteur was
called in, examined the mysterious dis
ease that was killing the worms, and sug-
gested the remedy. The wine growers Of
France ard Italy complained of their wines
being slow to mature and prone to turn
sour; Pastcurs investigations on the yeast
germs taught the grower how these evils
could be cured, and the process of Pasteur-
izing wine is universally recognized. No
more fatal disease than anthrax, or char
bon, attacks sheep and cattle; PasteurS
discovery of the bacillus anthrax, the mi
crobe which propagates the disease, Sug-
gested the means Of guarding against it.
These discoveries represent gain to the
community of tens of millions of dollars;
and if Pasteur could have SO far forgotten
the obligations of science as to take out
patents, according to commercial princi-
pies, he would have been, to quote DR..
Lankeste-, 1.-The richest man in the world"
TO assign a money value to the inquiry
that has of late years occupied his at
tention would be simply IMPOSSIBLE; for
the subject was hydrophobia and how to
prevent this dread disease running its fear
full course. He commenced by careful ex-
periments on animals in 1850, and ne show
ed that rabies was the result of specific
poison, not a mere form of tetanus, still
less a crea ture of the Imagination.
Pnstcur's Theory.
Pasteur's conclusions were experimental
demonstrations publicly announced to the
scientific world, and verified by a govern
ment commission. These experiments were
made on dogs rabbits, guinea pigs and
monkeys. 1t was his theory that animals
inoculated with hydrophobia virus would
not go mad. and he demonstrated this by
this method: He inoculated dogs with a
very weak virus from a rabbit; that is, a
virus having a long period of incubation,
and that at the same time he inoculated a
rabbit. When this rabbit went mad and
died, the dogs were again fnoculated from
it, as well as a third rabbit. The process
vas repeated with the dogs and a fourth
rabbit, and so on, till the virus had greatly
Increased in activity. The first weak inocu-
lation protected them from the second, the
second from the third, and SO on, till they
could stand the strongest virus. The gov
eminent commission reported that of nine
teen dogs not treated by Pasteur. seventeen
COX rabies, while of twenty-three dogs,
which he had treated by his NEGOTIATIONS,
not one took the disease.
The critical point was the application to
human beings. The first to be treated was
child-Joseph Meister-who had been
bitten in fourteen places by a mad dog.
paS on IA
by inoculating the child with weak virus
that would not produce rabies in a rabbit;
he increased the strength Of the virus
daily, and on the 10th inoculated with
large dog in eight days. The child is, ac-
oording to all reports, in perfect health.
Some notifications in details have been
made, but the process remains, on the
Who'll, as described. Between July 6, 1855,
and June II, 1886. Pasteur treated ,335 pa
tents; of these 40 cases were of persons
bitten by dogs well ascertained to be mad.
The usual estimate Of deaths by hydro
hobia Is that 10 per cent of those bitten
/ by mad dogs die. According to this. lis of
Pasteur's patients ought to have died.
There died only four.
Wolf Bites Treated.
Pasteur also applied his treatment to
elf bites. Wounds inflicted by wolves are
Of greater depth and extent than those
inflicted by dog bites, and are usually in
such dangerous places as the face or
throat. The usual percentage of death
from rabfd wolves is 66.5 per cent. OF 4S
cases treated by Pasteur, only seven died;
that is. he reduced the percentage to II
Fer cent.
What the World Owes to Pastcur.
The f. owing tribute to Pasteur Is by
Prof Percy FARMLAND, F. R. S., professor
of chemistry in Mason College, Birming-
ham:
"It may be said without exaggeratfon
that there is no scientific name which is so
universally known, and in SO many differ
emit connections, as that of Pasteur. The
chemist, physicist, biologist and medical
man each view Louis Pasteur the
founder of some of the most important,
novel and fruitful departures in their sew
eraI branches of knowledge, while in the
worlds of industry and agriculture his in
fuence has also been deeply felt and CRATE
fully acknowledged.
THE widespread influence which Pasteur
exercised upon the progress of science dur
ing the latter half Of the present century,
wrought IN so many different departments
of science, must be attributed in the first
instance to the possession of a singularly
active, clear and original mind, matured
under the strict discipline of an early train
ing in mathematics and the exact sciences,
which enabled him to submit biological
phenomena to a rigid, logical and uncom-