Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1921-06-16

Among TdlIcHtS--iH'pTeSsiv oSCIS
As the Redeemed Raise Their Voices
lr Hymns Of Thanks-Leprosy Is
Very Ancient Disease.
Surely the cup of thankfnlneSS of
that group of once lepers was briG~
ming as, TO the notes of the dOXOlogy,
they passed through the lava pillars
of Kaliii, in Hawaii, the other day on
their way to freedom and peace. writes
John Walker lIarl ington in the New
York Times.
Victims Of one of the oldest ScOurgeS
of mankind, they had gone through
those gates less than two years before,
believing that above them was written
I'm letters Invisible: Gle who eniereth
here leaves hope behind"
The dispatches from Honolulu have
told how through the chaulmo"gra oil
treatment this group of siXty-fonr men
and women, who had thought them,
selves condemned Ia living death, had
been restored to home and life.
In view of the fact thar in the last
two years 142 patients have been pa
rolled from this leper colony and not
one as yet has been sent back science
may indeed be said 10 have won much
vantage ground In its fight against
the sc"urge.
An impressive scene it was when
stephen DeSha, minister of the Gospel
standing before the band of the re-
doomed. lifted his voice in benedictiOn
and the choiring multitude gave thanks
in antiphonal song. Their paean of
praise swelled in volume to the OBJ
bliyato of the ruStling palms and the
signing of the warm trade winds.
Reports from various scources now
indicate that there is much merit In
the oil from the nuts of the chaulmoo-
gra tree. native of India, which has
been tested under severe conditions.
If the good augury is borne out many
a brave life will be spared, for there
have been scores Of martyrs who, fol
lowing the example of Father Damein,
devoted themselves TO ministering to
the disease disfigurpd outcaSts, against
whom society had raised the cry, I'm
clean Sound In body and In mind,
they had taken upon themselves vows
to return no more to the world, but to
dedicate their lives to a lingering sac
ritce. If, then, science has reached
the hard won goal of c0nquering that
disease, which swept the ancient world
and has lurked all these centuries in
lands under the tropic sun, there may
he no more such offerings upon the
altar of humanity.
Much Hope for Lepers.
Whenever announcement is made
that cure has been found for anything
the medical profession raises the note
Of caution. 1t would Dow how many
cases have been treated and makes un-
relenting analysis. Even granting full
sway to scepticisn, however, there Is
abundant ground for believing that
there is much hope for the leper.
Leprosy, although it has existed so
long Ia the East, did not appear In
Hawaii until 1S4S, when 1t was be-
leved to have found its way there
from China. Various remedies were
tried In the effort to drive it from
it's lOdgment, but before many years
there were 1900 inhabitants of the is
land segregated on account of the dis
ease. Little progress had been made,
however, In combating 1t.
The development of bacteriology in
the last fifty years has done much,
however, to aid In the treatment of
the wasting plague. The isolation of
the bacilli leprae in 1871 was followed
by further Developments and as early
as 1888 medical science turned to-
ward chaulmoogra oil. 1t was not un-
til ten years ago, however, that the
tests of the remedy were developed
along lines which Justified a good
opinion of It's efficacy.
Just why the oil should have so
lecture, for at first Its use was re-
garded as purely empirical. Leprosy
Is distinguished by the formation of
great number of granular cells, and
large nodules Of infected matter form
under the skin and give that lOath-
some appearance which marks even the
first stages Of the disease. In these
nodules are found embedded the ba
cilli. 1t is believed that the chaulmoo-
gra oil contains an active principle,
not as yet identified, which gradually
destroys these bacilli.
The oil is usually given by injecting
it into the veins with a hypodermic
syringe, but 1t can also be admins
tered In gelatine capsules by the mouth.
1t has an unpleasant taste and Is
likely to disturb the digestion when so
given. 1t has also been employed
combined with camphorated oil and
resorcin. When swallowed 1t has been
noted that the crude OIL is more eff
cacious than the refined, which indi-
Gates that processing In some way af-
fects the subtle and beneficent active
principle.
The elaborate report on the treat
ment made by DIR. Victor ii. Heiser,
a surgeon of the United States Public
Health Service and the Director of
Health for the Philippine Islands, for
COPY of which am indebted to the
lnk o{uac