Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1896-03-20
K RAYS WORK CURES.
Or. MOUNT eLeYER DISCOVERS WON
osRFUL PHYSICAL EFFECTS.

markAble Cures In Tubsroular Diseases.
An Instance Of RheumatIsrn.
While the whole electrical world is
studying the effects and behavior OF 4
lays and the medical profession Is test
ing their value for the purposes Of dag
noses, it has remained for Dr. J. Mount
bleyer Of New York 10 direct attention
TO the possibilities Of these and other
light rays in the field Of therapeutics.
Dr. Bleyer, who is an +. r. A. M. s.,
member Of the French Electro -Thera-
peutical society Of Paris and . professor
in the National School Of Electro -Thera-
peutics, has an article in the last num-
Der of the New York Medical Journal,
entitled "Crookes' x and Other Lisht
Rays-A Problem Yet to Be Solved In
Therapeutics, Etc. +"
. 1t is fair to presume, ;" he says, "that
the rays have subtler power than this
one of penetration. Ordinary light is
one Of the main factors in the develop
ment and growth Of animal life We
have studied the effects in this direc-
tion, and know that sunlight is essen
tial for the growth and development Of
both animal and vegetable tissue What
effect may these different light rays
have on pathological conditions? have
undertaken a few investigations in or
der to ascertain the effects of these rays
upon animal life and upon the tissues.
The only leg we have to stand upon at
present is the singular phenomenon Of
the penetrative force of these rays Is
not the hypothesis fair to set up that
these rays, in forcing their way through
tissues, exercise some action upon the
! tissues in their transit through them?
! The work is notably slow and tedious,
besides involving much cost and time.
l can hold forth little beyond saying
/ that up to the present moment close OBJ
servation Of the action Of these rays up
on animal and vegetable life is being
carried on. "
After referring to such evidence as has
been accumulated on the subject, DR..
| Bleyer concludes: "Why, then, may we
not expect that rays Of light propagated
from many sources will give us valuable
| effects in disease and growth? / bring
these arguments and the problematio
| question before the notice Of the pro-
fession in order to stimulate others be-
sides myself to enlarge this field of in
vestigation, as there is no telling what
hidden forces await our unraveling of
their laws and their probable therapeutic
application, etc.
DR.. Bleyer was found at his residence,
and asked by a reporter to state more
| fully the nature of his observations and
discoveries
II am not yet prepared" he said,
"to go into details, because these must
first be communicated to my profession,
but can tell you some things in a gen.
eral way. First, do not make the mis-
cake Of supposing that 1 am combining
myself to experiments with the x rays.
am studying the effects of different
rays Of light both singly and in combi-
nation with each other, and have secured
some remarkable results. The remark
able effects Of the rays Of the ordinary
arc light in forcing the growth and frui-
tion of plants have been observed both
by myself and the authorities of the
botanical gardens at Washington. I'm
der their influence many plants can be
nearly doubled in size and brought to
| fruitage in a very much shorter time
than by the ordinary course Of nature.
1 recently ripened green banana in IA
hours by exposing it to arc light rays.
Think Of the commercial possibilities OF
producing fruits and vegetables in adj
vance Of their season by the use Of cleo
trio light
"Now, as to therapeutical results, 1
have made experiments which satisfy
me that the bacilli Of diphtheria and
tuberculosis can be speedily and effectu-
ally destroyed by concentrated rays OF
sunlight brought to bear on them. / re-
Gently destroyed some specimens Of both
in from four to ten minutes. Ny meth
cd would be to concentrate the sun q
rays by lenses and pass them through
the chest or throat Of the patient, ae-
cording to the nature Of his affection,
after interposing plate Of blue glass to
interrupt the heat rays.
"This brings us back to the theory ad-
vanced 20 years ego by the late General
Pleasanton of the United States army.
His theory caused u good deal Of fun to
be poked at him, but he was nearer
truth than his critics suspected. About
I Aoh Nayo a9O uudn cdiuc 10 l1b buQGf-
ing from a rheumatic knee joint By
the use Of concentrated sun rays passed
through a plate of blue glass 1 cured
him entirely in four days.
From this time I shall devote my
self to the treatment Of phthisis by this
method. do not mean that anything
can be done for q patient in the last
stages OF consumption, but have great
hope Of relieving patients in the early.
stages. Apart from the great boon 70
humanity OF such a result, there are the
monetary considerations involved in
saving the large number Of valuable cat
tie annually slaughtered because affect
ed with tuberculosis.
''As to the x rays, have noticed
some curious physical effects on myself.
Exposure of my hand TO them produced
we'll defined sensations, which eventu-
ally became painful. Placing my head
in the rays caused a violent headache.
which lasted for three hours. These are
evidences, you see, of marked physical
effects New York Recorder.
For the While Boys.