Evening star., 1937-02-21

u n ACHINE GUNS deliver .
M tattoo against the pursuing
IV car. But the pursuing car
4 ' L diminishes no whit its des-
perate speed. It gains on the car
ahead; it passes its murderous fire,
and O Government agent levels his
automatic at the man at the wheel.
The man crlrmples in his seat, the
car careens and roars and crashes
into a roadside ditch. Public Enemy
No. / of the times has been wiped
out, and throughout the length and
breadth of the land the spectacular
capture Is heralded amidst eulogies
on the courage of the pursuer.
In a Washington laboratory a sci
enlist leans again over his test tube,
remarks the results with satisfaction.
He writes in a notebook, Conclusion:
It is apparent that -" None OF
the elements of the dramatic chase
are here, yet this Oman Of science
has Just released q discovery that
will have hundreds Of thousands OF
lives, will protect human health and
AlhpUllfSS6 W UllC kdA IAkCA 141oot bSsAASA@-
ries Of the civilized world.
The Oman answering q machine
guns fire has captured and impris-
oned a criminal whose scope, at its
most extensive, and even when aug
mented by gang associates, is as lin
tied as human activities. But the
Oman Of science has captured, iden-
titled and put under control an agent
Of destruction whose diabolical &C
tivities are unlimited; whose powers
to reproduce Its kind are immeasur-
able, and whose sole occupation Is
the manning and crippling and
binding and killing Of humankind.
Ruthless, insidious and unseen, this
agent has worked. The leader of
notorious gang has been tracked for
Q year, two years, even three. by
means Of the clues supplied In q
world of obvious and tangible ele-
ments. But the destructive. agent in
the scientists test tube has been pur-
sued for more than quarter Of
century, half q century, perhaps, or
the sum total of the lnetimes Of many
men. and has been tracked down by
no other means at hand than infinite
patience, singleness Of purpose, devo-
ton, industry unremitting to the
point Of sacrifice, plodding research,
trial, error, inspiration and chance.
The criminal brought to cover by
the agents of justice has, it Is true,
BEEN a potential menace. But doors
cou':i be bolted against him; he could,
In tc last analysis. be grappled with,
hac1 to hand. Not so the fearsonle
forces imprisoned in the scientists
test tube. They have been enemies
against which no human being has
been safe. They have invaded prem
1ses unsupported; they have attacked
In the dark; they have killed without
warning. II society owes q debt Of
gratitude-as it assuredly does-to
those brave men who risk life and
limb In physical combat with crini-
mails, how much greater Is the debt
It owes TO the advance guard Of sci
ence who have established barriers
against destructive invasion by ex-
perimenting upon their own bodies,
subjecting their own health and
sanity and life to minute and ruth
less combat with an unidentified
combatant. r-s=
WE ARE interested in accounts Of a
w neighborhood robbery or the
fire set by some firebug in the next
block. But we do not identify them
with our own lives. Po1iomyelitis,
epidemics better known as infantile
paralysis, leaving In their. wake arm-
les OF helpless and crippled children;
invasions Of unnamed and terrifying
diseases that decimate entire commu-
mites; the failure OF the human
heart to function; the slow decay of
the human lungs; the merciless ad-
vance Of cancerous growths; typhus,
typhoid. influenza, tuberculosis, and
an almost countless, army Of human
Ills and ailments-these are the