Middletown transcript., 1908-10-10
WASHINGTON LETTER

WASHINGTON, D. O., October Sd, 1908.
CTNCE there has been lull in the cam
| - paign letters from the White House
and an announcement by the President
himself that be will not reply to Mr.,
Bryan's last letter inasmuch as it deals
mainly in personalities, there is bat little
OF polilicaI .lerest going on,in Washing
ton at PIES st.
For the time, the international Tnber.
culosis Congress holds the center of the
stage. Thursday, Secretary of State Root
entertained three hundred of the distin-
guished specialists at Wilard's Hotel and
the following day reception was given
to the visitors by the President.
The recent announcements from the
meetings of the Tuberculosis Congress are
little short OF sensational. The startling
claim is made that serum has been dis
covered that will scotch this most serious
of diseases known to the human race.
Science, it is said, is ION the verge OF giving
to the world a serum that will make man.
kind immune to the effects OF tuberculosis.
A group OF eminent men this week per-
mitted it to be known that the long sought
means of immunization to consumption
has at last been found. This proved the
most important announcement of the
fourth day session of the International
Congress of Physicians. The men who
believe that this safeguard against tuber-
cuIosis may be effected through immuniz-
ing the human body just as vaccination
does with regard to small pox, sre distin-
guished in their respective branches of
medicine both in this country and abroad.
In this connection, and as strengthening
their remarkable claims, it may be well
to mention their names They are Prof.
NJ. A. Barber, of the University of
Kansas; DR.. Gerald B. Webb and DR.. W.
w. Williams of Colorado Springs; DR.. I.
-Ishigami, Director Of the Institute for In
fictitious Diseases at Osaki, Japan; Prof.
A. Calmette, of Pasteur's Institute,
France; DIR. ]. Bartell of Vienna, repre-
senting the Ministry Of Education at the
Congress; DR.. Edward R. Baldwin of
Saranac Lake, distinguished baCteriolo-
gist; and DIR. II. Noguchi of the Rocke.
feIler Institute for Medical Research in
New York. Il will be interesting to
vivisectionists and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
alike to know that as in all similar re-
searches, animals have been sacrificed to
demonstrate this theory. The guinea
pig, as is most common in such cases, has
been the agent in proving the correctness
OF this test. Its success has also been
demonstrated in COWS. 1t has been
shown too, that this period of immuniEa-
ton by serum extends for not more than |
two years in cattle. Professor Barber |
makes more advanced ground than the
other scientists. He saws; "Any successful
method of producing freedom from tuber-
culosis must be sought through the living
germ" This statement created stir
among his auditors of medical and lay |
delegates to the Congress, inasmuch as it
is considered radical and opens up new |
line of investigation. Professor Barber |
said further;
"The possibility of producing freedom |
from disease or immunity by the inocu-
lation Of living organisms has till now
only been accomplished in few diseases,
in chief smallpox. The virus of this
disease weakened by passage through the |
cow can safely be inoculated into human
beings, resulting in protection against
smallpox. The human race possesses IN /
varying amount a natural immunity |
against tuberculosis. Were it not SO the |
race would long ago have become extinct.
Artificial protection to tuberculosis
has never yet been achieved for the |
human race, but it is possibility we be-
lieve can be accomplished, inasmuch as
it is now possible by protective inocula- |
tion by living organisms of the human
type to protect cattle from tuberculosis. |
All conceivable methods of weakening |
the tubercle bacillus, so that it can be |
safely inoculated for the production OF
immunity have up to this time failed. |
Trudeau has shown it possible to produce |
certain amount of immunity in guinea
pigs by the use of living bacteria.
"Dead tubercle bacilli and their pro-
ducts, known as vaccines and tuberculins, |
when used for innoculation have failed to |
produce lasting immunity, although OF
distinct value in the treatment OF tuber- |
culosis. Satisfactory immunity to tuber-
culosis has only been Obtained expert |
mentally by the use of the living bacilli.
"Realizing the hitherto almost futile
attempts, We were led to the experiments
of attempting the production OF immunity
by increasing numbers of bacteria by be-
ginning with the incubation of one liv-
ing germ.
Encouraged by these results, guinea
pigs, animals very easily rendered victims
of tuberculosis, were inoculated in siml- |
lar manner with the germ OF tubercle
bacillus and increasing up to thousands;
SO far none, as proved by post-mortem
examinations, has become victim OF
tuberculosis.
"To ascertain any therapeutic value OF
this theory, rabbits rendered tuberculous
BY feeding living tubercle bacilli, are un-
dergoing similar inoculations for their
cure"
WAS INCENDIARY
nrt..k A. c. ,,h;ob tho harm