St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1913-02-28
Golden Days
for Mankind
Wonder Dream of Scientists Is
that Humanity May be Made
Free from Disease and Pain

T,HERE is being dreamed n won
der dream. These days men
Il are seeing vision Of univer.
sal happiness, a world Of per.
feet men aud women and happycyed,
strong limbed children. They are lift
ing the veil that hangs between the to
dny aud the tomorrow OF science and
showing TO us the golden vista of
world that II free from pain. They
dream. these men Of science, and they
work. II II well that they do drcam,
too, for II is Of dreamcrs that the
blessings Of former ages came. The
ABYSS between the abstract and the
concrete IL first bridgcd but by the
filmy matter Of which dreams arc.
The drcamcrs Of the wonder dream
work In terms Of bacteria and bacilli.
microbes aud scrums, vaccincs and cul
lures. They do not, perhaps, really
know that they are dreaming, yet, 40
fanciful IL their endcavor that cold
syllablcs and 'black.and.white word
ctchiugs do not tell the story.
Think, then, that the human body Is
n citadel fortified against attack from
without and garrisonod within. There
arc. Of course, ns always In real cita'
dels. traitors within the walls. Again
as alwaya, there are defects In the
very walls. The men OF science call
the mierobc inhabitants "malignant
and "benevolcnt." The population h
cosmopolitan. For instance, In the sa'
liva Of the mouth there may bo half
hundred different sorts Of microbes
perhaps all "bonevolont," perhaps
not. Practically always there are
among the hordos upon hordcs OF the
microbes each one Of ms harhors
treacherous ingrates, always on the
alert 10 give comfort and aid to the
enemy that attacks from without ever
ready 10 take part In internal upris
inps. ON the other hand, there are the
leucocytes. loyal always and prepared
10 battle for our health with Invader
or traitor The loucocytcs are some
times known as phagocytes, eaters OF
cells. for they devour their enemies
Under the proper conditions the leu
eoeyttes can take care Of all "malig
nant,i microbes by themselves, un-
aided. II il when the odds are against
them that disease comes and men must
bring aid. 49,,
n is from the study Of microbe life
as outlined in unscicntific terms above,
that physicians have made Of some OF
their dreams golden truths and are
pushing on, year by year, 10 the ultima
thule of their hopes, world without
iiesase. The latest development OF the
theory of vaecines is remarkable
thiuq. IL is no legs than this' man i-
cured by his own disease, The modern
pbys.cian makes culture of spe
cifie disease germ. That means that
he takes some Of the microbes who are
causing trouble and let's them propa'
gate in test tube, beyond the habitat
of the human body. These germs he
kills nv heat. Their dead bodies he
inieets back into the body of the pa
tient. lie win use a few million
germs hut that need not be alarming,
for million germs would have plenty
of room on the head OF pin Also
the microbes, being dead, cannot mul'
tinlv and the tissues of the body are
able 20 cope with them. A spectre an
tidote is produced by natures inter
nal chemistry and this either destroys
the troublesome bacteria or renders
them HELPLESS before the savage rush
of the phagocytes. Chronic colds, IN
fluenza, bronchitis, earbuneles, hs'
eased teeth, even pimples, can be
treated this way. The physieianS
speak of the specific that the BODY
makes for itself as "autogenous VI
rus 4"
The possibilities OF this form OF
treatment are illimitable. The man
with the chronic cold or the frequent
and persistent attack Of tonsihtis can
thus be made immune from his par
tieular type Of minor ailment, as the
man who is vaecinated for smallpox
cannot contract that disease aud as the
man who submits 10 the typhoid vac
cine is safe from that seourge.
The story of the wonder dream Is
not all told here. The telling wili not
be completed until il is said that the
scientists are growing new bones, are
transplanting bones, are grating SKIN,
are making whole men and women OF
crippled wrecks, are, even, promoting
morality with the surgeons sealpel, IL
is a great thing, this dream, wonder
ful thing. There is more 10 be told