The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-04-30

military organizations Quartered near
| Washington.
The work is simple, practically
| painless and requires but a moment
OF two.
Theory Not a New One.
| The theory under which this pre-
| ventive of typhoid works is one that
| is now fairly well known to the pub
| lie, namely that the entrance of germ
| into the human body at once causes
| the formation in the blood of active
principles hostile to the life of that
| disease germ. Now, then. the scien-
| fist in this case merely obtains q Sc
rum extremely rich in the principles
| that combat typhoid fever and intro
duces it into the blood.
, The general result is an immunity
( from typhoid fever for about two
years, the actual period of immunity
depending largely upon the particular
| individual and the state of his gen.
eral health at the time of exposure to
| infection. The immunity granted is
exactly like but not as great as that
obtained by a man who has suffered
one attack of the fever.
The infusion of the new serum with
| the blood causes on very slight
scale the symptoms of mild attack
of typhoid fever. The patient has
high fever for about eight hours and
i has no appetite or energy for from IA
| to IS hours.
In the cases so far treated in the
United States army the men have been
inoculated about o'clock in the after
noon and have usually been able to
eat their breakfast next morning with
a fair appetite. This means that for
slight sickness far from equaling the
distressing symptoms of many slight
cold the soldier can now obtain the
certainty that he walks unassailabfe
through swarming germs of the ty-
phoid bacillus.
The idea of attempting to attain
for Uncle Sans boys in blue or
khaki safety from the terrible scourge
that harvested thousands of their pro-
genitors in the past wars of this re-
public resulted in the sending abroad
of Major Frederick F. Russell, of the
army medical corps, whose training
and aptitude for this most important
mission was recognized by the de-
partment as unusually fit.
Major Russell made extensive stud
les in Germany as to the workings of
anti typhoid serum in the German
army especially as to the results OBJ
tanned during military expeditions of
the kaiser's sol6iery in Africa He also
visited the great British army camp at
Aldershot and studied the reports
upon the anti-typhoid incubation as
practiced during the Boer war.
In neither the German nor the Brit
ish army had practical perfection been
achieved 1t has taken the United
States considerable time and ingenuity |
to prepare for the final advance |!
against typhoid in the ranks of its
brave soldiers.
When volunteers shall next be |
called for as last done by President |
Mckinley during the first days of the |
Spanish American war, these soldiers !
will in all human probability be inoc- !
ulated against typhoid as soon as en-
listed In this way the terrible mortali
ty which has hitherto ensued upon the |
herding together of thousands of men
in hastily constructed camps will be
avoided
Private Use Uncertain.
AS to the use of the typhoid prophy
Tactic in private practice there lies be-
fore the progressive members of the
medical fraternity a weary campaign
of education In fact. it will probably
be more easy to so improve water sup
plies and sewage disposal as to kill off
typhoid through these means rather
than through the serum Of prevention.
If this serum were of value after
the disease had once started the ad
vertisement of its cures would I'M
doubtedly lead to frequent use as
preventive. Unfortunately 4, while it
can ward off the germs Of typhoid, it
cannot do battle with them once they
have found Judgement in the human
system and multiplied in such num-
bers as to produce even the early
symptoms of headache and lassitude
typical of typhoid.
Hence the usefulness of the serum
being prepared by Uncle Sans scien-
fists in his army laboratories for wide
spread use in private practice Is
doubtful 1t is essentially a war meas
ure in every sense of the word. 1t is
aimed primarily against the typhoid
plague that sickens its thousands and
kills its hundreds inevitably once
great military camp has become i'm
pregnated with the bacilli.
A War Measure First.
But as a war measure it is of the
very first rank. It WILL once war has
been declared, increase the efficiency
o four soldiers even more than a new
improved rifle or some new-fangled
smokeless powder.
Napoleon was wise in his generation,
for he declared an armys strength
depended on the ability to keep those
regiments fed. Today Uncle Sam has
made a step forword. for he will be
able not only to feed his men, but to