Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-04
NOW DEAD ] /
.(CoNTINUED FROM .FIRSTaPAGE1.)


from the wound inflicted IN the hand OF
patient under my care,sI have looked
int. the subject very closely, and N {. ny
opinion the germ. Of. the sdisease-the teta-.
nus bacillus-iss found In the clay con-
E tanned in the wad Of the cartridge. used
1 In the toy pistol. This clay is OF the
common variety found almost every:
crimped paper. and Of late the manufac-=
turers of these blank cartridges nave
been making them very powerful In order
! to produce loud explosion: Nearly. a :
Athe wounds are inflicted in the left 4hano-s
This Is due to the fact that boys usually
hold the pistol with the leftahand while
they try 70 pull back me nammersW enta
the hammer slips from the thumb unex-
pectedly and the wad is driven into the
left hand. indicting painful 1w o!
but one that under ordinary conditions
would not be at all serious.
Only Examined .. Pistol.
The physician IN I question stated that
his patient was an adult who had neen
wounded while examining one OF the Dan
sgerous wea pons so dear to the small BOY
In celebrating Christmas and the = tou 5asl1
jaw, the physician made use Of the most
ent time more serious danger seems
likely to be ayerted: He expressed al; him,
the wad is made. and stated that the
theory had been investigated several
Reasonable doubt
The toy pistol is a crude piece OF me-
chanism, as is indicated by ITS priee.
After it has been fired several times the
the small boy without realizing the ua =
ridge, proceeds to tug at the s hamm csr
in the Cartridge is easily exploded; and :. q
very slight blow of the hammer is su11i-
Client to fire it,7with the result that the
6ndd s s rxsn What has yf happsned d
Last year there was an e2ldenlsc GO: o.
lockjaw in and around New York from
wounds inflicted by toy pistols, and the
discussion from eminent doctors: w ounds
inflicted on children by weapons other
than toy pistols did not result IN tock9aW ",
and the consensus Of opinion see e1I,l ~ ~
the material used in the wadding OF tne
cartridge, for by no other rational theory
could the fatalities be explained:
Coroner Tnylor,s Views.
Coroner W. H. Taylor. who is not - an n
ardent believer in the germ theory ,ea Sa1o
gst or an authority on the subject OF Joy
pistols. He said he was puzzled to know
just what the connection IS J, neswe f ,n, q
toy pistol and tetanus. 1T Is certainly
true that wounds inflicted by those Inn
PIGMENTS frequently result in lockjaw.
but just why this is SO, don't Know now:
Some Of these germ fellows can tel! you
all about it. They can explain anything
to their own satisfaction, but they
haven't been able to show me. They tax
about that tetanus bacillus getting IN
the wounds, butt should think that when
one of those caps exploded 1t Woulu
blow all the bacillus folks into sn,itfe-
reens. You newspaper fellows ought 70
print some pictures of those TOY, pistols.
I'm sure every good mother would IKE 70
! know what the thing looks like 80 she
! can keep the small boy away from II.
Zone Of the first cases / remember :, ss -
| ing when I was student was ntlle
darky who had the lockjaw. The doctor
gave ga, G, him chooform, but at that time not
! much was known about admins ierlng
! cholofcrm, and it was administered inter
nally to the patient, instead OF naving
him ir1hale It, When the boy was treated
!, choloform was just coming into not1ce
among doctors, and the proper use OF II
was little known. The boy did not re.
cover from the lockjaw, and ! DOM
know Of any cure for 1t. These germ n
| fellows who are soaring every body to
| death by telling them that there IS q
germ everywhere, ought to f1nd some
| thing to counteract the microbes. mere,
! certainly some connection between the
Etoy pistol and lockjaw. but what What 1t Is
! don't know.