Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-12
Fifty Years Ago
I'm The Star

1.-THE revolt against vaccination In
England" says The Star of May z, 1879
lis growing in
Star Defends strength. Two news
Vaccination. p practice IT'S It is held
that vaccination is not certain pre-
ventive of smallpox and IS frequently
the cause Of consumption, cancer ano
other ineradicable diseases. One emil
nent physician suggests with impressive
indefiniteness that the description
which he might give OF victims
ruined by vaccination would cause the
blood to stand still in ones veins, and
would, it is presumed, erect the hairs
of ones head like the quilts Of the fret
full porcupine. An Austrian physician
denounces the practice in phrases fun
of sound, like those in which the poly
syllable Beaconsf1eld expressed his opin-
ion of Gladstone. He takes long breath
and pronounces an opinion which con-
cludes with the assertiaon that vacc1-
nation is the greatest mistake ana de-
fusion in the mind of the discoverer; a
phenomenal apparition, devoid Of scien-
tific foundation, and wanting in all the
conditions of scientific possibility
For all that, smallpox does not rage
among the vaccinated as an epidemic.
While nearly one-half of the cases were
mortal before the introduction of the
practice, the mortality is now only about
ne-sixteenth. So that the world IN
general is likely to retain vaccination TO
escape the smallpox evil, which 1t sees
and breads, content to brave the pos
sible cancer and consumption which 1t
knows not OF"
X X
The story of how Thomas A.
Edison made bug is related as fol-
lows in The Star of
Edison Makes May 10, 1879, by a
a Bug. fndianapoiis journal:
zone of my letters spoke Of the pos
sibility of utilizing the present gas pipes
by running the electric wires through
them. How Is the wonderful Edison
going to get his wires through the pipes,
/ should like to know asked an I'M
believer Edison thought it over.
claimed the next morning, I'll make a
bug that will drag the wire through all
the pipes in New York
MAKE a bug!' said johnson, what
In the world are you talking about?'
"'Well, I'll make a bug said Edison;
an iron bug that will go where you
send it and drag wire after it.
His assistants drew around while he
described his coming-or, rather, his
going-bug. Next day he Matched
rude specimen Of that insect as large as
a coat button. And it stood out on the
table and crawled!
"It was constructed thus: A minute
electro-magnet carried behind 1t fine
insulated wire, the armature of the mag
net operating friction pawl. Now, OBJ
serve-every time the circuit Is closed
through the magnet the armature Is
attracted, the pawl clutches the sides
of the gas pipe with its claws, and the
magnet behind Is drawn toward the
armature about sixteenth of an inch.
When the circuit Is open the arma-
ture reaches forward, ready to take a
second step. Thus. at every closing of
the circuit the little magnet advances
one step and dragS forward the insu-
lated wire This description will be
perhaps incomprehensible to non-ex-
perts, but more people know something
about electricity than formerly did, and
every telegraph operator will under
stand how this iron bug reaches out its
armature claws and crawls around a
gas pipe.
Edison; 1t isn't at all likely 1t will ever
be used to thread gas pipes: have
made 1t merely for fun-just to show
that I can make a flrst-rate bug that
will crawl all by himself. I shan't make
a cockroach. for there Is no necessity
for any morA but-by the way, ] may