The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-01-31

daily newspapers aS means OF dis"
cussing their work. In fact, l must
say | am extremely sorry that through
some indiscretion the public has been
notified prematurely of the expert
ments l and my staff of assistants un-
dertook more than a year ago toward
finding and removing the causes Of
senile decay. But, since the matter
has been bruited, have consented to
give the following, in many respects
inadequate, statement. Public ex-
pectation seems to have become so ex-
cited that the reserve now might do
more harm than good.
NO MEANS TO PRoLoNa LIFE.
The first thing to Say is that we
have not discovered means of pro-
longing life. We started from the
ory which experiments 80 far have
proved to be correct, but we are not
beyond the laboratory stage of inves-
tlgation; in other words, we have
found road which we think leads to
certain point, but we have not
Travelled on it to the end, and there
may be many unforeseen turns and OBJ
stacles.
Human beings die too early-un-
naturally early. In our constitution
there are appetites for all we do. We
drink because we are thirsty, we
sleep because we are sleepy.
But no human being ever feels the
physical necessity for death. Why?
Because it comes too soon.
AS one of my colleagues pointed
out when interviewed about our serum
in the animal kingdom. the usual
natural duration of life is approx
mately ten times the period occupied
in the process Of maturing. An ele-
phant natures at thirty years Of age
and lives to 300. Men, therefore,
should live to be 25O years old. Only
we introduce into our systems 80 many
ingredients which our organs were
never meant to cope with, and we live
under such abnormal conditions that
our organism always gives way, some
where or other, long before that.
HOW TO OBTAIN LONGEVITY,
However, in a solution of the pro-
blem how to obtain longevity it is evil
dently futile to look for q general
changing of human habits-note that
don't say civilized habits only.
Thus we are led to inquire, what
does cause senile decay now under
pgeaent conditions, ana how does it
manifest itself and how can we pre-
vent or at least retard it?
1t was to determine these questions
that we commenced anew and have
been continuing our experiments.
Upon what scientific basis of known
facts we proceeded cannot possibly be
stated in the limits of such an article
as this. Likewise an entirely ade-
quate handling Of the work would
bristle with teohnicalities utterly un-
Ineligible save to specialists in cellu-
lar life processes. However, let me
say this:
Our organs are composed Of two
sorts of tissues. One, which we will
call the tonjuuctive or plebian tissue,
supports or enwraps the other, which
may be termed the noble element.
By the noble elements I mean the
conglomeration Of cells characteristic
of the organ itself and actually per-
forming its special functions.
WHAT CONSTITUTES sEN1LE DECAY.
Now, roughly speaking, what con-
stitutes senile decay is the destruc.
tion or rather weakening of the noble
elements either by poisonous ingredi-
ents or microbes introduced variously
into the eystem or simply by the en-
croachment OF the more vigorous ple-
beian cells.
This encroaohment, technically
known as scelerosis, produces the
atrophy Of the organ. Where it takes
place in old age the atrophy Of one or
more organs may be observed,
be observed, but whether all or one
organ are attacked it is we'll known
that whenever one ceases to perform
its duty death ensues.
Therefore, the remedy against se-
nile atrophy was to be sought in. the
shape OF some serum which would
reach the organ or organs mcnaced
aud feed and strengthen its noble ele-
ments sufficiently to enable them to
fight the poisons or microbes or both