The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-01-16
Physician Proposes to
Substitute Laboratory
for the Electric Chair

The great need OF the day in ex-
perimental medicine and surgery is Il
supply OF live human beings to ex-
pertinent upon. | have no doubt that
with plenty OF human material to ex-
pertinent upon wizards like Carrel
and Flexner would within the next
Two years solve almost all the prob
lens which are yet battling the medi-
cal profession
Thus spoke Dr. George G. Ram
baud, director OF the Pasteur Insti-
tute. Il hold no brief to speak in
behalf of those scientists, and it may
be that they would even disapprove
of MY suggestion, but | can't help
feeling that rabbits, sheep or even
gorillas are very poor substitutes
for human beings when it come to
testing the remedies to be applied
ia human beings
LET me give you a personal ex-
ample of the difficulties we encounter
in our experimentation Take hydro
probia. The period of incubation
is rather indefinite, though never
shorter than three weeks. have
known people to be attacked by by
drophobia as long as year after be-
ing bitten
AT the present day there is no
cure for hydrophobia We can pre-
vent it, but can not cure it. And
even our preventive medication is not
perfect. We give the patient one in
lection daily for eighteen days. Four
teen days afterward immunity is as
sured. Eighteen and fourteen days
make thirty-two days from the time
the patient is bitten until the pre-
ventive cure takes effect
1--WE may make successful dan
eerous experiment on the whole ami
nal series from the guinea pig to the
gorilla. But then it takes pretty
nervy man, would almost say a
constituencies daredevil, to jump
from gorilla to man You arc justi-
fed in experimenting on a man who
Is in a hopeless condition. II a pa
tient is doomed and daring opera
ton might either save his life or kill
him. you might take the risk. But
when a subject is otherwise strong
and healthy what can we do?
Il once saved mans life by in
jocting tetanus serum directly into
his brain, an operation never per
formed before in this country |
might have never dared to do it
however, if the other surgeons hadn't
declared the patient beyond their
help. If the man had had even the
slimmest fighting chance would
not have submitted him to an I'M
tried experiment of whose technique
was practically ignorant. AS a
matter of fact, ntracerebral injec-
tons are not the least bit dangerous
but at the time they were considered
as bound to result fatally.
THE cure for cxophthalmic goitrc
or Graves disease, was found in the
same way. A physicians wife was
suffering terribly from the disease
and losing ground very rapidly. Ir
fact, a brother physician had declared
to her husband that how long she
would live was only question o.
hours.
MY proposition may sound dread
full to some sentimental and ignorant
souls. Still every man engaged ir
surgical or meteorological research
could recite cases of people who have
volunteered to take the place OIL
rabbits or guinea pigs in laboratories
Everybody has read about the poison
squad-how easy it was to find :
group of healthy young men read,
tc submit themselves to the actor
of certain poisons under the super.
vision of scientist There was nc
material inducement; not even fame
was promised them
"Dr. Carrel of the Rockefeller In.
stitute once received letter from a
boy who offered himself for expert