The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1900-05-04
Continued from 1st pdae)

ordinary soil which If injected into
a rat would kill him. The cause OF
his death can only be determined by
postmortem examination.
Again, it may be that bacilli are
found which are evidently the
plague bacilli but which seem to
have lost their virulence or vicious
ness and are apparently harmless.
But all our processes and all our in
vestigations are very crude when
compared with the processes and
methods OF nature. We do not know
how nature works. We cannot know
what nature knows. 1t may be ma.
ture has processes of which we as
yet know nothing. Our soil is new
TO- the plague germ and consequent
ly we have not the facilities for iu-
ves,igation which they have, for in
stance, in India, where the soil may
be said to have become supersatur-
ated with the plague bacilli in all
stages OF viciousness. There plague
bacilli, or what resembled them,
were found but they had so far lost
their virulence that rats innoculated
with them were scarcel y sick or only
a little sick, and the rat, as you
know, is the animal Of all animals
most susceptible TO the plague. But
by .inoculating other rats with the
bacilli found in the body Of the first
rat and continuing the process long
enough, in the course Of time bacill
were developed from this original
specimen, which were the most viru-
lent and aggressive type of the ba.
cilli known to the psychologists.
Perhaps some of the rats inoculat-
ed with this culture in it's earlier
stages would apparently be perfect.
lv we'll, but perhaps one more sus.
ceptible than the rest would be
sick. A rat is supposed to
die within So hours, but perhaps
some of these rats would live as
long as twelve days and then die.
The postmortem in such case
would show none of the marks
of vicious plague, buS the rat
inoculated from the culture from
this rat would perhaps die 10 eight
days instead of So hours, and thus
by continuing the culture and in.
ocula'ion, in the course Of three or
four months plague bacilli of the
most malicious form were develo ped.
[ think the Board of Health is do.
ing right in going slow in view of
these facts.
The soil committee is not yet
ready to report. The committee
realizes its responsibility and wants
to make sure before making re.
port. The plague is back in Osaka
after d period of ninety days. am
stating these things for the benefit
Of the public and l hope they will
reach the public and especially
those interested in the opening up
Of the burned district,
Mr.. @. Bolte:-I would like 10 be
privileged to ask two questions. l
want to state that l approve hearth
y Of the work of the committee and
Of the actions Of the Board of
Health but many Of my friends are
after me and for them appear be.
Fore you to ask question or two.
The first one is; can not the soil
% sterilized by means of sulphuric
acid or some OF the other methodist
DR.. Wood:-There is no way of
the soil in thorough
manner You can not sterIize the
bottom OF a cesspool nor the wind
ngs of a rat hole and they are the
most dangerous places.
Mr.. G. Bolte: By blowing after
you would fill up the
at holes. You can pillow two feet
leep if necessary. The cost of
terilizing and blowing would be
ess than the income from the land
or one month.
DIR. Wood;-R Rats will not stay