St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-26


dalries, and it is to be hoped that the
influence Of the Clio b e will be ex-
erted as We'll in the direction Of edu-
catlng the public in the belief that this
is an infectious and mildly contagious
disease, and by consequence one Of the
preVentab!e diseases. There is no
question that an enlightened public
sentiment, properly applied, would re-
suit In Its complete determination in
a rev generations We no longer be-
l1eve in the direct inheritance of the
oisease, save in very rare instances,
but we do know that the children of
tuberculous antecedents offer a fit soil
Tor the development and growth of the
bacillus"
DR.. Carl Wirth stated that the main
entrance of the tubercle bacillus into
the human system is undoubtedly
through the ahmentary canal, yet it
cannot be denied that the sputum Of
consumptives becomes dried and pull
verlzed and is inhaled through the
ar passages In this way tuberculosis
may gain an entrance into the sys-
tenn.
Dr. b. H. Ogden was Of the opinion
mat the germ was contagious in both
ways; that is, by inhalation and
through the alimentary canal, and that
there was a decided danger in being a
constant attendant upon consump-
i've because Of the dried secretions
inttlhS IN the air. Such Secretions, for
instance, as are eXpectorated and are
on the carpet will later be fioated in
the atmosphere Dr. Ogden thought
we had overlooked the contagion
through the alimentary canal, but did
not believe that was the sole source
of contagion
He thought the method of detecting
the germ by tuberculin a great adj
vance, and every effort ought to be
maze by the medical profession to edu-
cate the public to the idea of having
meat carefully inspected. He believed
Or. Price was doing a very good work
IN that' line. One singular thing is
tnat this disease is not readily detec-
tlpie In cattle excepting by the tuber-
culin test
A number Of other physicians who
dld not wish to be quoted, seemed to
th!nk Or. Won Ruck's letter very radi-
cal IN some respects. Pure milk, how
ever, seemed to be one of the upper
most subjects in many of the physi-
clans minds. 1t certainly is of vital
importance to the citizens Of st. Paul
that local diaries have the tuberculin
test applied, and that milk free from
contagion be furnished them. An
ounce Of prevention is worth a pound
OF cure at all times, and If the people
will demand that such precautions be
exercised that will tend to diminish the
existence of the fast killing germs,
much of the evil will have been re-
moved. That is certainly where to be-
gin the work.
NOW that satisfactory results have
peen attained by the Roentgen process
of photography eXperimenters in a
number of cities throughout the coun-
try are taking up the practical side of
the discovery, which deals the saving
OF human life and the application of
the process on a theory which is Of far
more Importance than the simple pho
tographing of a shadow through a
block Of wood, or step higher, the
location Of bullet in a mans hand.
The announcement that there was a
possibility Of the x rays being fatal to
certain disease germs has aroused new
interest toward proving the truth or
falsity of that theory
The principle as explained by a very
prominent inventor Is this:
1--WE know that If we could throw a
flood Of sunshine into the lungs of a
consumptive, the bacillus tuberculosis
family living therein, and bringing
death to the system would soon die
themselves. They cannot survive sun
shine. But we can't get sunshine into
the lungs. If the indications regarding
the x rays prove to be we'll founded,
We can get them into the lungs or any
other portions Of the body, for that
matter, and the same result will be &C
complished. If consumption germs
cannot live after. a dose or two of x
rays, the cure for consumption has
been discovered"
The statement is startling Should
the unknown force be rightly interpret
ed, the average life of man could be
heightened to- q, remarkable extent.
tuberculosis eliminated from vital sta
tistics would mean more than the eli
mination Of cholera, hydrophobia,
black death and thousand other ter
rible maladies all combined.