New-York tribune., 1907-11-03
TO CONSERTE HEALTH.
Work of tie Nc7c Research Labor-
Hory in This city.
Ey W VI Mount.

On, IF The most powerful agents i'm ,ou~,ry-
lng ~. health of This great city. as Well as one
Of the most useful disscmiuttcia Of scientific
know 'd@- louhiuE 20 more intelligent treat
mcnt for disease. exists in th, research lab
oratoty of the Department IF Health. at 10th
street and IN. East Riy,r Fair and imposiui;
amid it's Giury surroundings is tn. aaud-am.
n'" building dicated To- tho uses Of this I-b-
ur'tury Here deadly maIadi,e are yielding !i
d"y hy day thr secrets Of their obscure origin
beneath tho .yc Of tho microscopes guided by
IN" hight Of scientific knowledge.
Scarcely ten y,;rs ago thu need uf a special
place .or The study of bacteria -o impressed
hsf upon Dr. William II Park that he. Dr
Robert J. Wilson and Dr. Anna W Williams
assisted 10y Dr. Hermann F. Biggs who per
suaded the Board of Health to appropriate" tho
~'"nry t" build and equip q laboratory started
what has since developed into this great inst-
tuticn There were only three bacteriologists
then to experiment with the organisms of lif.
and death, to learn their HABITS and how these
might be controlled Now there are twenty bac-
rIi"ogists, with a large corps Of assistants.
working in the interest not only Of the city of
'cu York but of humanity at large.
The germs of a great many deadly infectious
diseases grown in "culturcs' here. Incu-
hators are provided for them broths are brcwed
by dry heat hot water, compressed and uncon.-
pres. steam and fire is carried ON to render
absolutely germ free every vessel glass. tube,
inetruucnt. plate ana even the absorbent cotton
corls employed in handling and bottling up the
mysterious organisms which have 50 tremendous
vi Influence upon the life Of man.
Little guinea pigs and rabbits in the animal
room" could they able to speak, unfold
tale as to how warning microbes are introduced
into their systems and left there to fight it out.
Some times they triumphantly prove immune
som; times they utter plaintive squeak, turn
NJ protesting paws and die
The Grst important work of this laboratory
was ,tron diphlhoria. Means were perfected to
make the first attempts to reader patients
immune by antitoXin from tctanus and
diphtheIia ia. The laboratory also prepares the
vaccine that the city uses to guard against
smallpox and the autitoXin for hydrophohia
As in many other laboratories it is hoping
TO obtain like results with tuberculosis In
oonEc, ton with tuberculosis DR. Park said
we are confronted first by the milk problem
(Which is also being studied in relation to
summer complaints among children We want
10 lie rl more this winter to whether tubcr-
culosis in cows causes much of the tubercu-
!, -i4 in human beings. Most of us think that
th,, majority of human cases are derived from
human sources and that most cattle infected
derive il from cattle. In cooperation with the
inspectors We hope to add to knowledge on this
subject"
Referring to the success with diphtheria anti
toxin Dr Park said: We have for years been
trying to separate the antitoXin from the blood
ard we have now partially succeeded and so
use a refined and concentrated serum which is