Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-06-28

Ahc WY ~ pASNSSS VI
hausdon OF its moisture called desic- /
cation could be kept as n mummy for
au unlimited period and by the reintro-
ductiou OF water could be terminated.
This literary production was consid-
cred by the people of that age to be
very ingenious and highly imaginative.
There was no pretense on the part of
the author that the idea on which it
was built was or ever would be possi-
BILE, nor was it taken seriously by the
public.
The coming of the twentieth century
marked the beginning of new scien-
titic era. For a hundred years men
had been discovering that they could
talk 10 each other from different parts
of the globe: that disease was nothing
more or less than the work of ind
nitely small germs and hundreds Of
other-to them-marvelous processes OF
nature. These discoveries were mostly
accidental But about the year 1900
rich men began to found institutions
with view to making regular prog
reSs-
One OF the most important subjects
studied by these institutions has been
the human body and that mysterious
life process which is born with it and
grows as it grows. In the year 1912
scientists began to experiment, among
other things, on the animal heart and
found that portions of il removed from
the body and cultivated In hyptonic
plasma would pulsate for several
months. This changed the conditions
under which the animal might be pro-
nounced dead. 1t was also about this
time that scientists laid down two
causes OF bodily death or corruption
the action of microbes and self diges-
ton. From this scientific fact natural
" followed the axiom-exclude the
microbes, exhaust the water and there
can be no death.
A hundred years have interviewed be-
| tween knowledge OF this fact and its
| being put in practice. That which $50
, years ago was the basis of an imagi-
native extravaganza has today become
/ the subject of an actual occurrence.
1t appears that about the middle of
! the twentieth century there lived in
/ Chicago, then a small city Of not more
than four or five millions of people, a
! meat preServer named SwartZ. whose
son Adrian chose, rather than follow
in the footsteps of his father, to de-
vote himself to scientific research. Be-
ing heir to a couple Of billion dollars,
or 1000 wealth units-the people OF
that dav had not been driven by vast
| Accommodations to our present system
of typifyiug fortunes-he was not pre-
vented from following unremunerative
tastes by poverty.
This Adrian Swartz loved a beauti
| full girl whose name appears on the
records as Muriel Anderson. Profes
sor SwartZ worked on bis own lines
in his own laboratory, keeping his In
veStigations a profound secret What
he was doing has only come to light
fifty years after he was engaged in
his. work He was absorbed in two
things-his investigations with a view
to perpetuating the life principle anC
Miss Muriel Anderson.
1t was then known that different
parts of the body may be taken from
person who has recently been pro
nounced dead by the old standard anC
preserved in cold storage vaults fol
an indefinite period. The young pro
fessor was able to start on his iIfvesti
cations with a knowledge of this anC
other facts Knowing that corruption
may be kept out by excluding mi
crobes and water, he devoted himsel
to the discovery of a process by which
after having kept them out, the wHte
might be reintroduced at a later dat
without admitting the microbes.
That the breathing process may b'
suspended without producing corrup
ton was also known to Professo
Swartz, and this was very Emporium
point. The main problem before bin
was not how to keep out corruption
but to restore animation.
Miss Muriel Anderson was taken IL
and died. Her lovers grief was s.
great that for a time it was feareu
that he would lose his reason. Their
, was no evidence that the body was no
, disposed of by burial, which was tn
, usual method in those days. After th
girls death Swartz was observed {
pursue his Investigations with stil
more eagerness than before. Indeed
his relatives feared that he would e
insane on the subject of perpetuatin
life
There are traditions that dog bt
( longing to one Of his friends died an
= ten years later appeared at his mas
i. ters door and showed great delight q
the reunion 1t was whispered tina
[ the dog had been terminated by III
young professor. There was a simila
story about cat. but unscientiDc pc
sons claimed there was nothing II
markabIe in bringing back a cat
life except for the tenth time. Thes
matters are mentioned here to sho'
that IL was supposed Professor Swart
was reported TO have achieved son
success IN his work.
Recently there was a commoiOD
the Institution For Scientific Researc
Iocatcd IN thIs city. Doctors ana pr
: fessUrs have seen seen TO be consul
Ing together IN whispers. but despite II
improved methods used by some OF on
: enterprisiug reporters for maGnifyin
> the whisper waves the secret was KEEP