Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-05
GETTING AWAY FROM SURGERY.
Serums and Antitoxines Removing
Need for the Knife.

No other investment made In the his
tory of the world ever resulted in such
beneficial returns as money invested in
original research work. The newest
thing In surgery is that we are trying to
get away from 1t, and 1t is through origi-
nal research work that we have already
accomplished wonders and hope for still
greater things.
For instance, we have discovered that
many ailments, at one time supposed to
be due to different causes, are traceable
to exactly the same germ. We now know
that rheumatism is an infection caused
by the same germ that in some patients
causes liberated stomach, In others in
fiammation of the heart, in others, gen.
eral rheumatism. in others, muscular
rheumatism, and so on. 1t all depends
upon the soil the germ finds in the IN
fected person what manifestation II
makes So now rheumatism, which We
once treated as a dietic mistake is treat
ed as an infection. The confirmation or
this theory we owe to DR.. Rosenow of
the Mccormick contagious diseases hos
pital fund staff 1t was original research
work that did it.
example of our getting away from sur
gerry 1t was nothing uncommon in the
old days in Chicago to have dozens of
cases of locked jaws, for which we had
to operate, after Fourth of July. Now
we rarely have a locked jaw Antiteta-
nus serum has done it. Take diphtheria.
You have heard of operations to relieve
a patient A surgeon is only retailer.
Supposing he saves a patient or two by
an operation. What becomes of the un-
told multitude he cannot treat because
of his physical limitations? The discov-
cry of the antitoxin for the cure of diph-
liberia was their salvation. 1t works
wholesale. In Paris, where they keep
their statistics very well, the percentage
of mortality in diphtheria cases were
81 Since the serum was discovered 1t
has dropped to l S-16.
Over in India, you know, the natives
are subject to dysentary. 1t kills them
by the thousand. We had known that
ipecac relieved the patient man
named Rogers, who had been expert
menting at Calcutta for years. recently
discovered an alkaloid made from ipecac
which he named emetine. He can cure
!
five days by an injection of emetine
That's original researchwork. You re-
member how we had to operate for an
abscess of the liver, put in tube that
we didn't get our for months. Now
Rogers injects emetine, the abscess is
killed. and the liver heals itself.
Our great effort is to find a means OF
curing without resort to the grosser and
cruder methods of treatment, of which
surgery is the acme. 1t is only by origi-
nal research work that this can be
accomplished. Therefore, there is no
higher purpose to which Il rich man can
put his money than endowing original
research laboratories The men who
work in them work for pttance-
enough only to keep alive Few OF them
reach fame They may be compared to
teh bricks in a great architectural con-
struction. Hardly anybody notices the
bricks. A few notice the eapstones, at
everybody halls the setting of the key
stone vet were it not for the bricks
there would be no place to set the key
stone. The genius who comes along in
research work and sets the keystone de-
pends absolutely upon the work of tae
humble and unsung workers in the re-
search laboratories. Every great discov-
cry has been due TO their work except,
perhaps, the X-ray. which was discoy-
cred by accident.
Serums and antitoxins are going to
take the place of the knife and the saw.
The research laboratory will be tho ply
sical salvation of the race e--MilwauAee
Journal