Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-07-26
A MAN WITH TWO regulations
ny Frederic j. Hnskip

WASHINGTON ID. C.. July 2s-Elie
Me;chnioN. the famous scientist who
died few days ago. was a man with
two regulations. To the scientific and
Intellectual world. he was recognized
as on" or the most daring and original
thinkers or this age. but TO the great
public 10 was known solely as the
man who recommended the drinking o.
buttcrutlk.
Me,chnikcn was the discoyerer o.
the method by which the human body
resists disease he Was the worthy Sue
ccsso. ~ Louis PaSteur in the Paris
institute 81 that name. ana he sen,
millions 81 gallons Of buttermik and
koumis and fcrmented milk cascad!nE
! down the throats Of millions Of PEG.
pie. he made "a great scientific rsputa.
ZION. aud then lie made the remark
that perhaps buttcrmilk would pro
long life. and forthwith til" world
set out n drown death in buttermilk
II did not succeed. hut !, pretty We'll
swampcd MctohnikoG's reputation for
genuine scientific achievement.
Nctrhnlkon Ms 4 Russian by birth.
q Jew by ancestry. and an atheist by
religion For al OF these reasons hc
lcft Russia at an early aSc, and cam.
% Paris. where he quickly gained a
great reputation. not only ~ set
enlist. but as a philosopher, Ills cfca,
achievement was the discovery OF the
action ~ tho phaSo cyics. or white blood
c"rpusc!"s. ia combating disease iio
showed that these TINY PARTICLES ~
matt"r arc really living amochac. tia,
n.ht for tho lie Of the body. When
- -, %our fnGcr. II - in thn pha-
SoCyteS, rushing INTO the breach 10 iichi
The intrudiUp microbes. that cause Tho
formation az q clot II tho battle IS
hard fought there is inflammation. and
! u goes Very hard there may be
FEVER. Under the microscope. these
phasocytes may he seen overcoming,
dcNourlnS and digesting their enemies
the microbes
The truth AMI value or this discover,
by Mct"iniEom was promptly rcco.-
niH"d by Nirchow tho German who dis
covered the white corpuscics. and Pas
tour, who discovered the microbes Iic
also received half of a Nobel prize 10.
nus discovery. tho sum being divided
between h!m ami Professor Ehrlich
wh" discovered 600" The 100000 re
c"iN"a - M"tchnkom, he usca In
inrth.rtns his studies.
Found 0ld-Axc HnciIII.
Me,chUihons studies OF old age pro-
r"eded logically from his discovery Of
VIC phaSprytcs, for he found ,hat in
la'"F nj" these began TO prey on the
BODY and were ono cause Of it's decay
The principal other ono he found in
N" hauNi. which juhabit the lower
'hA'E ttHN- anu lie denied ola age a
an infectious, chronic disease"
He Was able To show that the major
intestine was hy no means essential
TO human lifo. and that il was un-
doubtcdlN :, scrinus menace 1T times.
lie also found th;u III many lower ami
NAL forms, tic life is long in proper
ton a the major intestine is short.
From al Of this he dcduccd that hui
man life IL by no means limited
generally supposed. and he announced
his belief that 100 years much nearer
the normal lifetime OF man than tho
accepted seventy years. In support OF
this contention le gathered from nj!
over the world records Of persons who
had lived 10 be more than 100. lie
cit.d as well authenticated the cr<~t
OF brakenburc, the Norwegian. who
lived To he liS years of aSe: that of
Thomas rarr. Shropshire peasant.
who did hard work until he was $50
wears OF ace and died at SO, and long
list of others. lie showed by specific
cases that. although sobricty was con-
duciNe 10 long life neither tobacco, COT
fee. nor alcohol WAS al all fatal. Thus
he cited the case Of Elisa beth DuricuX.
who lived 10 lie I20 and made coffee
her principal food, taking sometimes
forty small cups every day; and that OF
the famous Irish landowner, Drawn
who also lived TO he 40. and who had
I'm inscription put on his tombstone to
the effect that he was always drunk.
and when in that condition vas so ter
riblc that even death had been afraid
Of him.
Set Healthy Germs to Work.
So. by process OF elimination.
MctchniS off came back to his theory
that the bacili in the major intestine
arc the real cause of death and old
age. The question was how TO he rid
Of them. one method that occurred to
him was hy placing in the intestine,
other baCilli that would crowd out the
dangerous ones. The bacilli OF the
tactic acid in fermentcd milk Is a very
healthy one. and tho idea that persist
en-; drinking of buitermilk, kourlis
and other forms Of fcrmentcd milk
might produce the desired result was
Il perfectly logical conclusion, though
not susceptible of scientific proof
Nctchnikon was further strengthened
in his belief by the fact that tie uco-
pie OF Bulgaria who drink a grca,
deal Of fermcntcd milk, live to "a vcry
great age. and have a surprising n.,-
centaSe Of centcnariana among them
Metchnikof himself drank fcrincntcd
milk, and recommended it, He had
nothing TO do with tho numerous fer
mcntcd-milk drinks that were nut on
the market. and made no, prort on
OF his idea. lie certainly deserved
neither tho devoted following or con
nrmcd buttcrmillS drinkers which he
won among the public nor the stream
nf rldiculc and criticism which no got
from scientists and press TO hear
himself called tho modern Ponce tic
Leon searching FOR The fountain OF