The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1897-08-06

pital, he has "a tw6 cases
ofhydrophoba 5e for treat
nlent, and even ts question
able. - 3 ss
DR.. Mills, of sBs isersity of
Pennsylvania. says int willie lie
does not feel justified ID laying that
hydrophob:a does not es1ist, he has
taken special pam "a, d a clear
case in the huma1 snDj e&t and has
not yet succeedeaX
DR.. LEARN sc shcsk lsge iof Ply
sicians and Surgeons say II am
of the opinion that Z sliHs of dog
is no more dangero6s ppsshe scratch
of a pin or the rns Van infect
.ious nail, but because ei.ase exaggcr
ated printed anehyosfi Counts, the
picture Of hydrophobia is SOL stamped
upon the public mind that the thought
OF it, after being bitten by dog,
throws imaginative people into such
pmics Of nervouy excitement that
they unconsciousiy reproduce its sup
posed symptoms After twenty
years practice in private and in many
Of tie hospitals Of Philadelphia, DR..
lIcarn declares that he has 'nevcr
seen case Of hydrophobja either in
man or dog. nor docs he know any
other physician or surgeon who has.
D;Ncr eminent physicians and sur,
guons agree: and their case seems to
lis 10 Le fairly made out that hydro
phchia, IN at least Il vast majority of
cases. is a disease of the Imagination
which Stimulates the characteristics
ascribcd-and very inaccluately as
criIc't by popular superstition-to
the disease called rabies, when trans
planted to the human subject.
TIE pA>TEUR TREATMENT.
What, then. arc we to think Of the
fearful accounts fhydrophobia which
seem to have been increased rather
than diminished since 1884, when
PAstcur announced to the world that
he hal discovered an infalliblc method
Of curing that disease? On that sub
icct We lave had, and We have cx-
pressed in these columns, an opinion
Of our own. Quite independently Of
Pastcurs method, which seems to us
to be horribly cruel, we have never
felt sure Of the soundness Of his sys-
ten cr { the reality ,oftiss benefits.
Dr. Dullc> las carefNlly investigated
the facts. He has repeatedly report
cd them to medical societies, by which
,hcy have been widely published. In
these rc| |orts lie has challenged and
demanded tic most mcrcilcss invcsti-
CATION cr his statements, but no reply
has vet been forthcoming. lie SAYS:
no mm has cared to proceed to a
dclbuatr ani detailed review Of the
arguments by which have, ~ vari-
oUs times, cndcavorcd to present to
others the views in regard to hydro.
phobia, which | hold. and which are
held by large number of intelligent
men. What are these views In
brick thcEarc those, tna1 the treat
Of VI. pastcur is so far from having
diminished the number of deaths from
alleged hyIr@phobia that tbcy have
actually increased since the date of
his supposed discovery. Says Dr..
Dullcs: The year before he made
tia, boast there we're four deaths from
hydrophobia in Paris Uhc department
Of the Scinc:) the, year after, when
hc had practccd his preventive meth
od ior six months, the .lc:ths Irom
hydrophai.ia leapcN AT once from four
TO twenty two. In 1886 the number
fell TO three again in Paris, but
have a list Of twenty three persons
who died after treatment by Pasteur
himself in ;hat year. In 1887 the
deaths in Paris rose 20 nine in 1888
TO nineteen. These oscillations III
dlcatc that Pastcur's method is nc
more preventive of hydrophobia than
is the method which he declared in
1894 would eradicate rabies in dogs.
On the contrary, Pastcur's method
has undoubtedly increased the mum,
bcr Of deaths from iy>lrophobia. "
Brt .ha, 's not the worst. DIR. Dulles
continues; i have indicated what
mas taken place in France, and can
assure Yea that there has been nc
,in,inwion in the number of deaths
from hydrophobia in any part of the
world, and at the same time there
has been added to these large mum
bcr Of deaths due to ipaculation o.
the virus Of what ought to be called
'pastcwr's disease. Just how many
these have been mo man can say
'IIr ltu,t,t,p- nroS mn, F,,e,rc. Wb