Arizona republican., 1911-07-09

il gets no farther than San Francisco.
The home kind is bad enough.
The next stopping place was the
plague laboratory, at this time very
largely devoted to the study of rats
and the disposition of dead rats. Most
readers know hat rats and ground
squirrels are now regarded by the med
ical profession as the principal agen
cies for the spread of bubOfliC plague,
at least i'm this country. The eradica-
tion of the plague from San Francisco
was effected simultaneously with the
eradication of the rodents There are
few rats left in town as they keep
breeding all the time and keep coming
in by various means both on land and
sea but they are under the ban and a
well organized corps of rat hunters is
constantly busy. They catch about 1000
a month as against $4,000 when the
war began.
The mere catching of the rats is
by no means ali of tho Job for eve cry rat
is given the honor OF post mortem
examination. As fast as caught they
are put in sealed box and chloro-
formed, then given an antiSeptic bath
to prevent the spread of disease il
they chance to be infected. The can il
labeled to show where the rats were
caught and is then sent to the labora-
tory. a knife expert then slices each
one open exposing the liver and other
organs that show infection if L exists.
The good" rats are disposed of i'm
mediately after they pass the dissec-
tor. The suspicious looking rodents are
passed along for a microscopic exa-
mination, along with their visiting
cards to tell where they came from.
II the microscopic verifies the suspicion
the plague sleuths Immediately devote
their attention to the rats abiding place
and there is no rest until all the mem
bers of his family are found and
brought TO the laboratories.
About one ground squirrel in 4 thous-
and is found to be suspicious. The per-
centage now is even smaller among the
rats. This campaign has not only
cleaned San Francisco, but has improv-
ed the health of the rats which have
escaped the vigilance of the sanitary
officers. In the laboratory also expert
ments are carried on with guinea pigs
and other animals constantly.
An interesting fact learned at the
laboratory is that many ground SPUR
rels are found To be suffering of a
disease the effect of which, on them
is quite similar to the plague but il
has not been demonstrated whether
human beings are susceptible To that
disease.
The next moving picture show to
which the doctors were steered was
the "Leprosarium," where seventeen
fine specimens of Ieprosy were exam
ined, though at somewhat long range,
Most of them are Chinese but one or
two are MeXiCans The worst case of
all. revolving sight was that of a
trcnchman who had been sick for
fourteen years. Some of those confined
there had been suffering of the dis
ease for seventeen years. This insti-
tuition is supported by the state and
all the lepers in the state are sent
there as soon as discovered.
Among other things the council was
greatly edited by two illustrated lee
lures in connection with discussion
of the plague. one was by DR. Du-
pert Blue who was i'm charge Of the
plague work for the federal govern
ment, and the other was by DIR. Whit
ney of the San Francisco health de-
partment. on rat determination
The meeting of the Arizona Medical
association in Los Angeles was an in
teresting one though it was brief and
only routine and business matters
were attended to along with the cleo
ton of officers There was too much
else doing to permit of the reading
of scientific papers for all were more
Interested in the meeting of the big
AN. A
During the sessions Of the latter a
matter of special interest was the adj
dress Of DR.. FOSs of this city on
"Eugenics." DR. Godfrey also dcliv-
cred an address before the section on
preventive medicine In connection
with that section is a somewhat novel
fact that few people perhaps have
heard about. The university of
Michigan has created new degree
called Doctor Of Public Health" The
chairman of the section of preventive
medicine was DR.. Evans and he could
not be present as he was at Ann
Arbor being decorated with the new
degree. being the first man in the
world to receive it,