D. B. WARD, M. D. 203 



not, lead to answers to these questions. Of course the 

 main problem is how to get rid of these diseases ; how 

 to stamp them out from the community and how to treat 

 them in the individual case. We cannot g;ive powerful 

 germicides to our patients to kill the microbes without 

 killing our patients at the same time, for these simple 

 organisms are much more tenacious of life than the ex- 

 ceedingly complex structure we call a man. Only the 

 quacks have caught at that idea and advertise microbi- 

 cides and microbe killers in the public prints. In the 

 first place, can the system be put into such a condition 

 that the bacteria will not grow in it ? Some doctor a year 

 or so ago in a medical journal proposed to cure consump- 

 tion by introducing rheumatism into the system. He 

 says that the gouty and rheumatic are never consump- 

 tive, owing to the excessive acidity of their blood, the 

 bacillus tuberculosis growing only in an alkaline medium. 

 I know from sad personal experience that a rheumatic 

 can get, both mentally and physically, as sour as a pickle 

 factory, and since I read the article I have been looking 

 for a rheumatic consumptive but haven't found one yet. 

 How, in the absence of the bacteria of rheumatism, which 

 have not yet been discovered (although I thoroughly be- 

 lieve the disease is bacterial), we are going to confer upon 

 the consumptive the boon of rheumatism I do not know 

 and the doctor doesn't say. The idea, however, may be 

 worth thorough investigation. In the second place, can 

 we introduce other and antagonistic germs into the sys- 

 tem ? Quite recently efforts have been made to cure can- 

 cer and sarcoma by injections of the streptococcus of ery- 

 sipelas. This of course sets up at once an active attack of 

 erysipelatous inflammation in the part and after this 

 subsides the cancer in some instances is found to be 

 cured. However, I believe that thus far this treatment 

 has been found disappointing and it is certainly extremely 

 dangerous to life. Only the terrible nature of the origi- 



