Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-04-19
LABORATORY CARS
DOING FINE WORK !.
IN CANTONMENTS

IN CANTONMENTS
Four carloads Of "shock troops"
specially trained and equipped to
fight the various divisions OF the germ
army threatening our soldiers at the
environments and training Camps,
have been putting up quiet, grim and
successful fights against the pneu-
monia and spinal meningitis forces
during the past three months, Accord
ing to reports JUST submitted to: the
bureau of sanitary service Of the
American Red Cross.
!: Operating from the four new lab
.oratory cars designed and maintained
by the Red Cross, the germ fighters
have done yeomanlike work in break
Ing up h epidemics of communicable
diseases at half a dozen OF the can
tonments. The work, which started
as 500 as the first laboratory car
was placed in commission last De-
cember, will be kept up until the last
germ has been routed.
The necessity for a mobile BAG
THEOLOGICAL force to assist the sur
geons and medical STATS in their bat
ties against epidemics al the train
Ing camps was recognized by the Red
Cross last summer. On the authorize
ton Of the war council $4,000 was
appropriated for the, purchase and
equipment of a set Of four laboratory
cars. The plans for these cars were
furnished by the medical advisory
committee and the cars themselves
built by the Pullman company.
Car No. 1. the "Pasteur." ,named
after the eminent pa%thologist Of that
name. was delivered to its base in
Nashville, Tennessee, o n. December 5
and dispatched at once to Fort
Worth Texas, at the request Of the
surgeon general, to assist the canton
ment staff in the fight against the
pneumonia epidemic there. ~
For twenty days. the pathological
experts Of this car. headed by Direc-
tor q. W.. Jobling, Of Vanderbilt uni
versity, fought shoulder to shoulder
with the camp doctors, analyzing Gull
lures and doing all the other work
necessary to locate and ~segregate the
particular kind of pneumonia germ
that was responsible for the epidemic.
Then, after the. germ had been run
down and the work of routing 1t from
camp had been started, the Red Cross
car returned to it's base. Within d
few days it was humming over the
rails again-this time~to camp Beau
regard, at Alexandria, Louisiana,
where the meningitis germs were
threatening. y.
Similar campaigns have been car
ried on by the 'germ-routing crews Of
the three other cars-the Reed
"Metchkinoff" and Lister" All have
seen service-some at the canton
was only recently that the "Metchki-
nof" under the direction Of DR.. F. p.
Gay, professor of pathology at the
University of California, was rushed
to nj of the aviation camps outside
of San Antonio. Texas, to break up
threatened epidemicss Of measles and
meningitis there.
The Lister" Of which DR.. Ludwig
Hektoen, of the Memorial Institute
for Infectious Diseases, Is director,
after taking part in the battle against
pneumonia at Fort Sill, Oklahoma,
was assigned to Camp Johnson;.neay
Jacksonville, Florida, from: which. II
has just returned to it's base at Chi
cago:t The Reed" which was recent
ly turned over to the war depart
ment, is, on duty at Camp Greene,
South Carolina IS, ! -. &. - -
In appearance. thu laboratory car.
Pullman sleeper, the only distinction
being that they carryNthe Red Gross
insignia at either M and the. maine
of the American Red Cross across. the
top. A kitchen Inc sleeping. quarters
for the cook and porter occupy one
end; an. Office and quarters for the
professional staff are at the other end.
The laboratory cover the central
fhaK OF the car. ~: y
All four cars are eaulippsd3'S aatK the
most modern laboratory sapHsFattt,
including microscopes, sssinc1bators,
culture media, serums. vaccines and
! chemicals. They are manned by stafIe
of experts who furnish their services
WITHOUT compensation, q director ar
alternate director and four :bacteriol-
ogists being assigned to each. mad.
dition to this force, the Red Cross
provides and pays for the services Of
2 resident bacteriologist and q cook
The cara. which are operated, by. thu
bureau Of sanitary service OF the Red
Croa1., Of which DR.. Taliaferro- Clari
is director, have been constructed and
equipped to meet any emergencYs tina,
may arise in the control Of com
municable diseases, not only In mill,
1stary camps but ip riytl communitde'
During periods Of ssrvice, the az
penses for maintenance and 0pera
~tion&whtch average about sS1.20eisl
ltmonth, are paid ROM HsA sCtn3
fundsSmado avajl1blSas ,aky q Snncta
appropriation. a car 10 rent out when
ever fequesteds BY the surgeon genera
iof the army. navy Or public healtl
service Upon the rsceipt OF such
tory carts Immediately DISPATCHED i
The location indicated ana the Ss4Irec
tof OF the car instructed to confO
w1thkthee proper authorities and aMle
lthemsto the fullest extent pOSef6le.G
Tos facilitate the prompt move