The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-05-25

inc rieAo AnaU Oseo Co Be Impossible
No More of the Deplorable ToIeration
of Laudable Pus,
Boston Berald.)
In the civil war the proportion of Union
soldiers who died of wounds to those who
were killed outright in battle was 43 to
67, OF not far from to II. These figures
are taken from the report of the Ad,utant
Generals Office. The statistics on the
Confederate side are less exact, but it
may be assumed that the proportion there
was about the same. As there would be
little chance of finding out whether a
man found dead on the field before medi-
cal assistance had reached him had or had
not been killed instantaneously, it may
be also assumed that "died of wounds"
means "died in hospital" the inference
on the part of the surgeons Of those days
being that death was the result Of the
wounds.
1t is some comfort to know, now that
the Omitted States is engaged in another
armed struggle, that the number Of
deaths from wounds is not likely to be as
much as 80 per cent as large, in proper
tion to tho number of wounds received, as
1t was either in the civil war or in any
other prior to the present generation.
And this In spite Of the more than tenfold
increased destructiveneEs of latter-day
weapons.
The reason and ground Of this hope are
not in the nature of the Krag. Jorgensen
and Mauser rifles, used respectively by
our own and the Spanish armies. but in
the astounding progress in the last
twenty years in the art of surgery. 1t is
not because man who is hit by an up
to-date rifle bullet more often dies on the
spot, for that this is the case is very far
from certain. During the first, third and
fourth quarters of modern nickle-coated
slugs flight its rending effect is terribly
fatal, it is true; but in the second
quarter, or, humane area" of it's range
1t has tendency to out clean hole.
But all experience of recent years indi-
Gates that where nine wounded men out
Of ten would have boon buried from a
field hospital in the years between 1861
and 1866 only four would die in the year
1898, the other six being eventually dis
charged safe. whole, and probably In bet
ter health than they enjoyed before thsy
were wounded.
In fact, ''died of wounds" so far as it
applies to the wars of past generations,
including our own civil war, really
means In most cases that death resulted
from hospital gangrene,'' hospital,
fever" or erysipelas. The surgeons of
those days were quite aware of these
symptoms. but their causes had not yet
been discovered. 1t was supposed that the
atmosphere of a hospital was impregnated
with subtle, impalpable Infection,
which could only be combated after it
had begun to show it's effect in suppura-
ton. One fluid result of this infection
Wss even called, quantity enough,
laudabie pus, because, on the theory
that certain degree of suppuration was
unavoidable, 1t was regarded as q hopeful
sign when the wound threw off the
troublesome humor, which, If kept in
would produce fever. 1t was not then
known, perhaps hardly even suspected,
that the surgeon himself was actually
inocu1ating phtient after patient with a
terrible. specific disease.
The surgeons Of the civil war would
doubtless have been very much surprised
to hear that their hands hastily rinsed
in cold hydrant or spring water were
busy carrying from wound to wound