South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-03-15
NEED WHITE MICE
TO FIGHT DISEASE
On Receiving Sufficient Num-
Der of Tiny Rodents May
Depend Human Lives.

CHICAGO, March 15.-He Is just
a little thing. with snow-white hide,
and beady eyes. yet ne destined 70
play a most important part In the
s orlj war. HE" is the white mouse.
Mai. W. A. Shields. chief madical
officer at the central department
supply depot here, says that these
mice are needed in large numbers
now and that If there be those who
are in a quandry as 20 how best
they may serve their country, IL
would be well for them 20 look in
10 the white mice industry.
White mice, Maj. Shields said.
are among the most important needs
OF t:fs army hospitals. Upon Sc
cur..sg Of a sufficient number of
the tiny rodents may depend the
lives of many hundreds American
soldiers and sailors.
Pneumonia is the spectre with
which the tiny mice are called upon
TO do battle, and. according 10 the
medical supply officer. if the mice
can be had in sufficient numbers,
they can crush this grim plague of
the environments and trenches. They
can alleviate the suffering caused
by pneumonia byN the sacrifice Of
their lives for the manufacture OF
serum.
Through elaborate experiments il
has been discovered, according 10
Maj. Shields. that pneumonia r. OF
several kinds, each distinct from
the other and requiring a different
serum. There is, however, but n
way in which 10 determine which
form Of the disease has attacked the
patient. That is through the use Of
white mice.
The question that faces the med
zeal supply officers is to get the lit
tie rodents which play such an i'm
portant part in army hospital ser
vice. Before the war, said Mai.
Shields. mice were so plentiful that
10 cents each would purchase all
one might desire.
Then came the war and the sud
den demand for large quantities Of
the rodents. Immediately the price
leaped upward. Today. Maj. Shields
said, white mice are quoted at S1.22
each. with the prospects that the
NA ALE AAAo AA0k N1k AN1NAANA NAAA ~
Greed Outstrips Patriotism.
This is a sample OF the patriot
ism OF some of the people of this
country" Mai. Shields said. 1T is
"A sad commentary upon such per-
sons that they viii let their greed
outstrip their duty 10 America A
white mice breeder Gently wrote,
asking my quotation on mice. When
3 told him-giving him a figure that
six months ago would have been
considered extravagant-he replied
that he could get 10 cents apiece
more elsewhere. and he refused 10
let US have any.
Not all persons. however. are like
this. the officer added. A woman in
California who sends on an average
of 50 mice "a month to the Chicago
depot has requested that the check
in payment for the rodents be turn
ed over to the American Red Cross.
While the department could not do
this. it was none the less exceeding
Iy gratided 10 note this spirit.
White mice are bred in 'mouser-
les the major said i'm explaining
how the animals are reared. They
breed rapidly and the eXpense for
caring for them is practically moth
iu. All that is required is "a place
TO keep them. which need not be
expensive. and a slight expenditure
for food. The mice are FED lettuce.
oats and greens and are very hardy
They are shipped 90 the Chicago
depot from the Pacific coast With
practically no loss and are kept at
the central departmental depot UNI
iii called for by the various hospi-
tails. Mai. shields explained. how
ever. that the supply is SO limited
that the depot is unable to keep any
or hand and has been Obliged to use
every facility at its disposal i'm orde.
to ind enough TO supply present
needs of the hospitals.
Pneumonia Most Deadly.
Pneumonia is generally %recogniz-
Oh ass n OF the most deadly dis
eases TO which soldiers are subject.
The average death rate is S.3 per-
cent. In of this fact IL
presents itself as a deadly menace
TO the men at environments both
here and abroad. but If a sufficient
supply of whit mice a be obtain
ed the death rate can be appreciaoly
lowered.
In the diagnosis of pneumonia
with white mice. secretions from the
nose or throat OF the patient are
injected into the animal and then
lv a series of experiments which are
executed quickly. the Nac nature
of the disease Is aScertained and the
proper treatment can Ice administer
ed. No other animal can be used
for this work. the major said.
Mai. shields said that he is row
securing white mice from several
mouseries in the United States and
a small supply from Canada.