Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1910-06-03
PERILS In
PAPER CURRENCY
Prof. HilditCh Of Yale Finds
That Disease Turks in
Money

Paper money, as an avenue by
which disease can be Transmitted. mas
been an object of suspicion for some
time says The Medical Record. IN
deed, this particular form Of exchange
has been shown, more or less conclu-
sively. to be under favoring conditions
an actual menace to the health of the
community.
"Hilditeh Of the Sheffield Laboratory
Of Bacteriology and Hygiene. Yale Uni
versity. and Park of the Research
Laboratory of the Board eg Health OF
New York have demonstrated that dir
~ paper money is similar to other
paper and rags and capable Of carrying
living tubercle and diphtheria hacini
for some days or longer'
"Hilditch. however. does not regard
the danger as very great ell obtained
twenty-four bills, the very dirtiest he
was able to procure. and subjected
them to a minute examination. the out
come being that he found the average
number Of bacteria in each of twenty
one bills to be $4,000. Further it was
established by subsequent experiments
that these organisms we're not i'm pos
session of their fun cirulences. The
publication of these results was apt
to create a feeling of confidence in the
comparative harmlessness OF the dirti-
est paper money. or at least. to seem 10
demonstrate that as sources for spread
ing infection such was not greatly to
be feared.
"In a recent issue of The Popular
Science Monthly. a. Cressy Morrison
writes to point out that the menace
of paper money must not be wholly
Judged from the virulence or the ma
ture of the germs discovered. He perth
emily draws attention to the fact that
the infection of drinking water with
the germs of typoid fever should not
be estimated from the number of the
bacilli typhosi found. for IL that were
the case water would be seldom con-
demned. and those bacilli are seldom
discovered.
"In brief Morrison contends. and 10
appears contends with justice, that il
is not so much the question Of viru-
lence or even of the nature of the or
ganisms found on paper money. but
that experiments have established that
money is a medium of bacterial COM
munication from one individual TO an
other In order, therefore, TO eluci-
date the matter. paper money knows
To have been exposed to contamina-
ton by highly infectious organisms
should be examined by scientific ex-
perts. It has been ascertained that
nancy can be infected by handling; it
| has also been shown that he germs Of
diphtheria and tuberculosis may live
| on infected bills for several days. Nor
/ rison says 1t seems but a step. then.
[ to the final demonstration Of the ac-
/ tual transmission of these and SINH
/ lar diseases by money in circulation,
and to the prevention Of ouch spread
Of disease by the proper measures to
! eradicate such possibilities
There is little doubt that disease
is spread in ways that we know not,
even in these times ow advanced re-
search. If paper money does spread
disease. though but TO an extremely
small extent. this is reason sufficient
to insist upon the more rapid with
drawal from circulation Of soiled bills
and the issuing Of new and clean
| notes.
1.-THE result OF more minute and ex-
haustive Investigations into the ques-
ton Of infected paper money as a
means of spreading disease should be
interesting and valuable"