The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-17
DIR. CYRUS EDISON.

tails or tuberculosis stopped Its effective
ness. It was because Of these previous
failures Of various remedies to prove prao-
tically useful that DIR. Edison decided to
keep all his experiments secret until he
had-and until others had-carried them
through TO a point where nothing would
be left uncertain.
All his work was based on the well
known curative qualities Of carbolio acid.
Stadler, Merck, Brieger, Salkowski and
other great chemists had years before de-
clared that carbolic acid or phenol was a
normal constituent of the blood Of man,
the horse and the cow DIR. Edison argued
that as 1t is really n part OF the blood there
must DO some way of using it so that 1t
would not be harmful in It's effect on the
health, and so hat IL would still retain Its
recognized properties as n germ killer.
This Is really all that DR.. Edison has done.
He has found a safe way of introducing
carbolic acid into the human body.
In other words, no has devised a way of
flushing tho human system with a disin-
fectant, Just as the sewers of New York
city might be flushed with water contain
ing carbolic acid. Into every artery and
every vein DIR. Edison sends his preparation,
which he calls aseptolin, and wherever 1t
ends a germ it kills 1t. Here Is an OK.
tract from DIR. Edson's report in The Med
zeal Record:
During a study OF phenol, made In the
early part Of 1895, / was very much struck
by the observations of Stadler, Merck,
Brieger, Salkowski and others. These In
vostigators declared phenol could DO found
in the secretion of man, the horse and the
ccw.
According TO Merck, healthy secretion
from a mixed diet contains 0.004 grams
of phenol per litre, and, according to Sal
kowski, under pathological conditions the
amount may rise as high as 1.5575 grams.
In other words, during health phenol Is n
normal constituent OF the secretion. and
during disease tho per cent present Is
enormously increased.
IL has long been my personal belief that
many pathological phenomena observed
In diseases which are not usually credited
TO germ infection are but tho manifesto
tions OF the absorption of poisonous bac-
terinl products. For example, the high
temperature of fever may arise from tho
poisoning Of the nerve ccnters by such
products. II this DO true, then the in.
creased secretion OF phenol by the system
during disease is, In fact, one OF natures
many devices 10 cure the underlying con-
dition, 10 destroy the germ infection.
The increase OF phenol elaborated by the
system during pathological conditions is,
In the light of the knowledge we have Of
bacteriology and OF phenol, extremely sig
ntioant. This reasoning naturally led me
90 think phcnol was selected by nature for
the cure OF some, at least, II not all, Of the
SO called germ diseases. OF course the
conclusion was obvious, but the corollary
of that conclusion, which assumed great
Importance In my mind, was this:
II nature herself provided phonol during
disease, then 10 oanDo be possible she will
not tolerate the administration Of the
agent I'm effective dosage. Yet this fact
stared mo IN the facc-tbot an Injection Of
my known sDfrtion OF phenol In rfturtfve
dosage was believed 90 cause poisonous
symptoms. This was equivalent 20 saying
there must be some form In which phenol
could be injected In effective dosage which
would aid nature IN her efforts 20 effect n
cure, and which would be tolerated by the
human syst0m. Moreover. u was appar.
ems 10 me that phonol, boing the only
known s0tisuptic agent, except SIS homo.
sontLorn republics believes tlat tDs pcece
81 the lower continent viii Measured whom
cnoe these governments rotify treaties for
tbe submission Of their Differences 10 arbi.