1912] on Lord Lister. 557 



fcliis l)urdensoine assessment, many huddle themselves and their 

 families into dwellint^s of the smallest coini)ass, where they inhale 

 pre-breathed air, with the resultant lowering of vitality, germ- 

 dissemination, disease, and death. Then we appoint commissions to 

 tind out the cause of the deterioration of the race ! 



Every man who is born has an inalienable right to as much fresh 

 air as he is able to consume ; but the "powers that be " say, " God 

 may give you that right, but we shall tax you for using it." It is 

 true that they do not as yet tax us for the amount of air we inhale 

 out of doors, possibly because they do not know how to estimate the 

 individual consumption. Yet the governing bodies are full of 

 iiumanity and have the best intentions. When the ravages of 

 tuberculosis can no longer l)e hidden, as it stares them in the face, 

 they are moved to grasp at the first thing that appeals to them, and 

 they say to the affected, " Come, let us help you ; we shall put you 

 in sanatoria." What happens there ? The patient has his birth- 

 right restored to him in being able to breathe the fresh air which 

 God has meted out so freely, and for the use of which he was pre- 

 viously taxed. 



Would it not be better to Ijegin at the other end ? — l)etter to 

 stop producing tulterculosis than merely to alleviate or to cure it once 

 it has developed ? 



Modifications in Antiseptic Treatment. 



Antiseptic treatment underwent many modifications. What was 

 essential in the early days of its introduction became no longer 

 necessary as the advance of knowledge brought clearer conceptions 

 and paved the way for radical changes in the form of treatment. It 

 became apparent that though strong antiseptics introduced into 

 wounds destroyed organisms, they at the same time exercised an 

 irritating influence on the living tissue, lowering its vitality, decreas- 

 ing its resisting power, and increasing its secretions. To that extent 

 the free use of antiseptics in the interior of wounds was detrimenfcil. 



Besides being harmful, they were unnecessary, as healthy living 

 tissue of the interior of the body is free from germs, and pure air is 

 innocuous. 



Evolution of Aseptic Treatment. 



As microbiology yielded its secrets, the bearing of germs and 

 their products on the phenomena of disease ever became the clearer. 

 The primitive conception of germs acting upon the human body just 

 as they would in a laboratory test-tube was soon dispelled, and the 

 multiplicity of the defensive reactions established by the living tissues 

 for their own protection was recognized. It was seen that the 



