, 1897-12-06

conditions that they can as easily tell
one species from another as the ordi>
nary visitor at a menagerie can tell q
zebra from a camel. or the farmer can
tell oats from wheat. These things be.
ing once understood you can easily see
how readily the expert in that line can
decide what particular species he has to
deal with when viewing them under a
powerful microscope. But this is no,
enough. He proceeds to plant" some
of these germs on a substance in a glass
tube and cultivate them. Each variety
looks different. when SO grown, to the
experienced eye, both while in the tube
and under the instrument. This is the
second test. Now he proceeds to a third
test by staining them and again view.
ing them under the microscope. The
bacillus of diphtheria is peculiar and
easily distinguished from all others in
several ways-notably by the mi
in which it takes certain aniline stain
ing fluids. DR.. Crouch Is the bacteri.
"AoeAoS "a NHS oIolC UOdlu il "a III
has opportunities to know what dis
eases prevail in the various parts of the
state of Colorado. He assured me that
diphtheria had been found to exist in
almost every mining camp in the state
and some are more than 10000 feet
high. Georgetown is $500 and Cripple
Creek is higher and the disease in
question is prevalent in both camps.
The altitude. it seems, has no effect
whatever. These same statements we're
confirmed by several other physicians
in Denver.
OF course. physicians will usually
maketheir diagnosis from symptoms in
the case. but to confirm a diagnosis or
when any doubt exists all physicians OF
any standing send membrane or throat
swabbings to the health department
and no one presumes to take an appeal
from their decision.
Last week some cases Of diphtheria
broke out in n of the ward schools
the Wyman school-and it was closed
in consequence. The doctor assured me
that material from the threats of no
fewer than so Of the pupils of that
school was ser to the health depart
ment in one day. namely November 30.
for examination. These were simply
cases that parents and physicians fear
ed had been exposed. The various
boards Of education work hand in hand
with the physicians and the health de,
partment In the detection and suppress
sion Of contagious diseases. l inter-
viewed business men and several lead.
ing physicians regarding the standing
of DR.. Crouch and the city health de-
partment in general.
So much for diphtheria and now for
antitoxin. The health department.
business men and leading physicians AN
agree that antitoxin. lige a number of
the wonderful scientific discoveries of
the last few decades, has come to stay.
was informed here as I had been in
formed elsewhere that all the physicians
of my repute whatever the world over,
relied on antitoxin, the dissenters being
now very few. Our leading physicians
not only spoke very highly of the reme>
dy but told me what evidence he had Of
the confidence the Boston people had
in it. He made a visit last summer to
his old home In Massachusetts He
visited the city Of Boston and found
that in the large children's hospitals of
that city children were not admitted
until they had first been injected with
the antitoxin. Such %preoaution they
claimed will prevent the possibility of
an outbreak Of diphtheria in these in
situations.
In Wisconsin. where l practiced sew.
eral years before coming to Laramie,
| had experience almost every year with
diphtheria, and during several years It
prevailed with dreadful mortality. Then
we treated by the old methods. the best
then known, and I have seen six chill
dren out Of sever die in one family in
side Of two weeks, I will say. too. that
| was not the only physician in attend
ance. Antitoxin Ia almost an absolutely
sure cure If taken in time, and parents
need not now stand in such mortal fear
of the disease.
H. L. STEVENS. M. D.