Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-01-12
Dirt Mans Greatest Enemy
NOBODY wouLo COULD KEEP PERFECTLY CLEAN ALL

THE TIME.

When Il celebrated Paris physician
was asked how the city could prevent
the coming of a plague tuon raVas-
iag other European places, h an
svered: Bell ycur ice" That terse-
IL called attention t. the necessity Of
utter cleanliness and that even ice
made from impure water carried dis
ease.
yellow fever" said Henry Ward
Beecher. us Ged AImigbty's opinion
OF dirt" The chief contributing cause
toward modern efficiency in surgery Is
that surgeons have learned t. keep
clean Nothing is "a Spotless as snoa
hespital-beds. Instruments, clothing,
washrags. flopr>. lands and finger
nails That is why they say" lives
Nobody would die ii ne could keep
perfectly clean. Death is the final trl-
urnph Of dirt
The enemies of savage men are the
biz beasts, lions. tigers, elephants ana
aligators. Tha enemies of civilized
men arc the little beasts, with mulch
longer names than those of the big
fellows For instance. there l. the
bacillus family. They can only be seen
with {; microscope. They attack in the
dark Zig beasts are called game,
for ii is fun TO hunt them; but there
il no fun about these diabolical it'll"
ones. There is the Bacterium Tuber-
cuiosis, causing consumption; kechs
Comma Bacillus for cholera; Bacillus
Diphtheriae, the secret of diphtheria'
the Icteroid Bacillus, which gives vel
low fever: Bacillus Pestis. producing
q < a.
cilluy. whcl. hits you in the stomach
and causes cancer there; the BacliluS
Botulnus, which turks in sausage ana
the Bacillus Bowl Morbiticans, whose
home is in beef.
All these have one common every
day name. which is Dirt. There are
a thousand ways for an upcleah per
son To die The only way a clean per
son can die is by accident. II art
could speak and were asked its name.
il Wnuii reply. like the devils Jesus
drove cut of the swine, My name is
legion"
There are Two mortal enemies OF
dirt. one is health and the other Is
soap The most remarkable difference
between Clcopatra and modern AM
erlcan beauty is that the former had
~ kinds ot perfumes and the latter
10 kinds of SOAP. There was no soap
in the COED old days. That which is
termed soap in the Bible was a pre-
paration OF ashes The Romans in
their baths used ashes. During the
Middle Ages 1tcupIc did not Wash, to
speak Of Fer that reason plaques
came along every once in a while and
wiped out whole cities
Flies. mosquitoes and bugs of all
kinds are the favoritc messengers and
carriers of thu deadly microbe. The
greatest of these are flies. the dlrtieSt
creatures God ever made. 1t might
be questioned if God made them; for
one of the devils names is Beelz"bub.
which means The Lord OF flies,
Those who are fond of investigating
may discuss why flies We're ever made
at all: but for us the answer is PLAN
as a pillestaff: they were made to be
killed. Whoever destroys one is "a
friend of his race.
Nero is said to have been fond Oh
numbering flies when he was boy
II he ever is let out of purgatory II
viii be by grace of that sin. If l were
King of Chicago / would throw every
man in Jail that allowed on his prem
Uses Il manure heap or an open gar
bage can, where flies are bred. That
would do more good than 40 hospitals
Next comes the mosquito. II the
fly is the most unciean. the mosquito
is the meanest of created things. we
cannot object to his drinking our
blood. for We must all live, even
grafters. But the queer thing is that
| he pays for the food he gets by the
| poison he leaves. Without any preteXt
| Of self-defense, as in the case of the
| spider or snake, when he finishes his
| feast he must needs let out drop
| of poison and a few fever microbes.
T. looks as if he did it for malicious
| pleasure. There is but one humane
| thing to do with him; to destroy him,