The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1911-07-25

upon them. Hopeless wrecks of once
strong men live on uselessly and with
out hope, drawn and twisted by the
effects of the X-ray. They were able
to cure others with these weird rays,
but they gave up their own vitality to
do so.
Last July DR.. Kassabian of New
York died of skin cancer brought on
by the X-ray. He had been burned
time after time by their mysterious
radiance. He had been dying for
years. In the years that he was slow
ly wasting away under the inroads OF
the malady he was giving relief to
thousands. He saw that he was
doomed ten years before his death.
In common with practically every X
ray man in the world he had been
suffering at various times from burns
caused by this mysterious energy that
always maintained the greatest Sc
crecy concerning his own condition.
In 1902 he came to the conclusion
that he was doomed to die sooner
or later from the effects Of his burns.
In 1908 two Of his fingers were am
putated. Skin cancer had begun to
appear upon his left hand and later
it began to move slowly up his arm
Last year 1t was found that the ray
induced cancer had reached the glands
under his left arm. DR.. Chalmers da
Costa of the Jefferson Medical college
was called to New York to perform
an operation. The ray irritated flesh
would not heal after the glands were
removed. Kassabian, who had fought
with cancer so long, was slowly sink
ing and still another operation was
decided upon. The glands on the
right side of the chest were removed.
1t was useless. In the meanwhile the
whole of his left side had become af-
fected and there was nothing that
could be done.
Thomas A. Edison lost valuable
assistant because of similar burns
some years ago. Still another death
in the medical profession. brought
about by these powerful rays. was that
of Dr. Louis Weigel OF New York.
Daley Edisons assistant, died by
inches. A cancerous growth appeared
upon his left arm and the lower part
of this limb was amputated. Slowly
his hair, mustache and eyebrows van
ished and his skin In many places
became hardened and inf1amed. Then
his right hand and arm began to go.
First, four fingers were taken from
,hAr f,,fi
made to save his upper arm by graft.
ing small pieces of healthy skin upon
it from time to time. Finally 1t. too
was lost and went under the surgeons
knife in vain effort to save the suf
ferer's life. 1t was in 1904 that Daley
was added to the list of dead who had
died because of their devotion to sci
ence.
Weigel died in 1908, after seven op
erations. His fight against death was
one OF the longest in the history oil
those who have gone to their martyr
dom because of the X-ray. Some years
ago the CURES isolated radium. Curit
himself died as an indirect result O.
the researches with that dangerou.
element. The immediate cause of hi.
death was his being run down in the
streets of London, but his weakened
condition because of frightfu ches
burns from radium was the contrib
uting cause of his decease.
The comparative immunity that tn,
race now has from many diseases
was purchased in some instances b,
the oeath or one or more investi
gators yellow Jack" has ceased L
be the dreaded thing that it was be
= fore the death OF DR.. Walter Reet
Reed solved the mystery of the sprea
of yellow fever and died in its sol,