Daily camera., 1901-07-15
CAN BLEACH NEGROES
Kansas Professor Discovers Bacil-
lus That Makes Albinos.
In0culatiOn with Serum Of . Harm
less Disease Blanches the skia-
singular Fact Concerning
AlblnOs,

That they might be rid Of their color
has been the dream of the black race
since their emancipation, and at last it
appears that the negro's dream is
about to be realized. Prof. Marshall
Johnston, of the University Of Kan
sas school of medicine, has discovered
a means whereby he claims to be able
to make the negro white, reports the
New York journal.
Briefly set forth, Prof. Johnston's S
method consists in inorulating the ne
gro with the serum OF leucitis or Albin-
ism, harmless disease which pro-
duces those strange oddities Of nature
bnism is the result of disease is
discovery in itself, the credit Of which
belongs to the professor.
Albinoes have been regarded for
centuries simply as anomalies Of ma
ture, but IL has remained for Prof.
Johnston to discover that their con-
dition is the result of disease-the
white blood disease or leucitis, as the
professor has named the affection.
Leucitis is a disease only in that it
Is not normal condition. As dis
eases go. the affection could hardly be
called one. 1t resembles badness
somewhat, being only local condition
and in nowise affecting the general
health.
Transmitted to n white skinned per-
son, leucitis checks the deposition of
dark pigmentary matter in the cuticle
and gives to the skin pale and sick
ly hue, while the eyes assume pinkish
color.
But upon the darker and thicker
skin of the negro leucitis operates
with great difficulty, and while
colorless skin is the result of it's work
in light-skinned person. its effect
upon the negro is to bleach the skin
only to healthy flesh color"
The odd whitish aspect Of the AL
bino's skin is due, according to the pro-
fessor, to deficiency Of piementary
matter, or coloripg substance. Cor
long time, however, |, was supposed
that this lack nf eOloring matter was
merely one of the vagaries of nature.
BY chance one day while examining
under the microscope a sample Of the
blood of an Aibino who was detained
in the university hosp,a. with a severe
case of ,yphns fever, Prof. Johnston
discovered that in addition TO the ty-
phus bacilli in the hlgQd there were
specimens of u strange bacillus, the
Ike Of which he had never seen before.
The discovery set Prof. Johnston to
wondering what the bacillus might be,
and when the Albino had recovered
from the fever se sreured another
sample OF blood. There were none Of
the typhus baciiii in this sample, but
the specimens of the strange bacillus
were still there,
a number were taken from the blood
and placed in a gela;ine culture and
incuba;ed. The colony multiplied, and
in a few days a young guinea pig was
inocuiated with a sepUm made rrom
the bacilli. Thesp wa. no change in
the grasrai health Of the animal. but
inside OF month its pink rosy skin
had turned white and its eyes had
taken on decided pink hue.
The couclustqpa weEs easily drawn,
and the nroies spr announced TO his
colleagues, who had ereH watching
the experiment.. With great interest,
that the bacillus which had produced
this condition in the pig was the cause
of the Aibino's color.
The mex; subject WAS c patient in
the hospital, aR IsisA mechanic named
Wi,s.r who was dying of an incur
able disease. 1t took two months TO
affect Wilder, but within so days after
incubation the man had become an
Albino with pink eyes, white hair and
coloriess skin, -
4 negro was the next to offer him
.rlf for experimental purposes. He
was inoculated. but the doctors found
that the leucitis bacilli had very diff
ferent effect upon him. His kiGky
head covering was unaffected. This,
however. was not wondered at, as the
negro. hair is in reality entirely diff
feren; in structure from that OF the
Caucasian. But the negro's eyes did
not change colar. and although his
skin bleached ant, /, did not assume
the pale color OF the Albino. When it
had bleached To a color which in n
white person would he light brunette
|, held that color. and heavy post
incubation of the serum produced no
effect The deep pigmentation of the