The San Francisco call. [volume], October 20, 1907, Page 6, Image 6

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THERE are cook*' and cooks, as
everybody knows. There is the
cook who stands in the window
and turns the wheat cakes a
delicate , brown and makes the mouths
of the passersby water at the sight;
there Is the cook who stands in the
kitchen at the rear of" the restaurant
and turns yesterday's meat scraps Into
an appetizing hash fit for the pret
tiest girl who ever stood in black
dress and lofty pompadour behind the
counter; there Is the chef with the
foreign name, who can disguise the
simple viands of this homely land and
serve them up in more ways and under
more varied names than one can think
of In a month of Sundays; but there
are no cooks that do more wonderful
or useful things than those who live
and move and have their being in tha
human body and cater to the white
clad soldiers who fight incessantly to
save the body from its enemies.
The cooks of which I speak have a
class name; they are called Opsonins,
and the man who gave them thlsname,
their godfather, bo to epeak. Is Sir A.
E. Wright of England, an honored and
distinguished physician, whose highly
Bclentlflc work in the realm of biology,
as well as in that of practical medicine,
has not only brought him the highest
honors of his own land, but has won
for him the great regard of men of
his profession In all lands.
It will, of course, seem a strange
thing to many that there Bhould be
white soldiers within the human body,
or within any body for that matter,
and that there should be cooks to pre
pare food for them. Perhaps before
we are done we may find that there
are waiters, too. But let me now ex
plain.
Most people, doubtless, have long
known that many diseases are caused
by disease germs that are very small;
indeed, so small are they that a very
powerful microscope Is required to 'see
them. Although thesa germs ara so
very minute they nevertheless act as
do the larger living bodies, living in
certain ways, partaking of certain
food, liking one kind better than an
other, preferring to live In the air or
not to live in the air, as the case may
be, or actually dying or living in pro
portion as they have or have not access
to oxygen or the reverse, as well as
displaying many other traits charac
teristic of the different species.
In order that I may not be Indefinite
In this article, I will suppose that we
are speaking of the germ that causes
tuberculosis, or consumption. Ido this
partly because it is one of the best
understood of the disease germs and
because the whole subject of tuber
culosis is one of Immense importance
to us aIL With this disease in mind
we will discuss Dr. Wright's cooks and
waiters and the white soldiers that
they cater to.
The germ of tuberculosis is called a
bacillus — the 'bacillus of tuberculosis,
or T. R for short. These T. B.s are,
as I have said, of microscopic size, but
they can be very easily seen by those
who know where and how to look for
them. They may be said to always
look alike— little club shaped bodies
They may be stained a reddish color
by a special stain and look quite pret
ty when plainly seen under a lens of a
good strong power. It is not our pur
pose to say anything of the disease
called tuberculosis any more than to
state that these bacilli gain a lodg
ment In some tissue of 'the body per
haps in the lungs most frequently set
up an inflammatory process In the part
they have chosen to attack, and if al
lowed to do as their nature bids them
do they gradually destroy , that part,
C2metlmes with the assistance of other
germs that are frequently found work-
Ing in company with the tubercle ba
cilli. ,
But every one who is attacked by the
germs of tuberculosis does not die. by
aay means. It Is now known that -a
large percentage of those who take
consumption may recover If they re
ceive the proper treatment. There may
be 'a great difference of opinion as to
\u25a0what this proper treatment is, but most
of the. leading physicians of the world
have come to agree that .when , a per
son recovers from tuberculosis . ho does
«o because the " treatment has \u25a0 enabled
nature to do her very best work '* In
overcoming the bacilli that were en
deavoring to destroy the body. Nature,
it is Believed, always tries to overcome
the enemies. If. she succeeds In doing '
this the patient gets well; If she does
not the patient dies.
Now let us see how nature tries to
overcome and destroy the germs of tu
berculosis. You may be aura the study ;
into nature's methods of curing disease
has been very* earnestly pursued by
many of the world'3'greatest scientists, .
and an* exceedingly Interesting study
-it has been. It has' not always hap
pened that the students of nature in
this 'department of her work have;
agreed in the conclusions, they have
drawn from the. things they have. dls-.
covered, and It has also been a fact
that not all students have seen alike.
This is hardly to be wondered at when
we consider that all problems that have
\o do with life are exceedingly complex,
and that nature, at least in the realm
of life, seems to be variable in her
moods and methods of working. The
truth probably. Is that nature is not
variable in the slightest, but, instead,
is absolutely constant; always doing
exactly the same way under fixed condi
tions, the trouble: being that the stu
dents of nature have unknowingly and
unintentionally been working or watch-
Ing nature work under varying condi
tions, being puzzled then because they,
have not been able to agree, as to what
nature's methods really are..
Sometimes these, disagreements be
tween scientists working In the realm
of physicologlcal and biological science I
have resulted in "harsh words being
spoken. Sometimes this : has happened
in the case of the students of disease—
those who have been earnestly seeking
to find the causes of disease and to as
certain how to overcome It, medical
scientists . even going so far as to ac- .
cuse a brother, of being a sort of "na
ture faker" because of assertions that
germs did so and so arid acted in such
and such ways while under his observa- •
tlon, while others could not seem to
catch the same germs acting In that '
way at all. The Roosevelt-Long ,con-y
troversy has been fought over many'
times in this field of medical science,
and in all probability the reason for
these controversies was misunderstand- I
Ing of the conditions under which the
observations had been made. |
It has often happened in the field of
medical science, however, that students j
have differed and, while differing, have ;
freely and amicably discussed their dif
ferences, each . acknowledging that It
was possible that he might be in error
or giving his brother credlt'for single-;
ness, of purpose, even while feeling
obliged to ' condemn him as being in
error.
The study of nature's methods of
overcoming the disease germs, such as
the bacilli of tuberculosis, is a splendid
example of how. learned men may dif
fer In theory and seem to be unable to
agree, however hard they may try, only
to find that each had some of the truth*,
but, not having all, they had' not been*
able to give full credit for hard work
and disinterestedness to those who -had
differed, with them, until some inde
pendent worker hits upon a truth that
seems to unite the partial truths that
the others had , discovered, making a
complete whole, much as the keystone
of an arch completes the arch, although
each component stone has been neces
sary in the arch. i , .
.Long before Dr. Wright gave the re-"
suits of his work to the world medical
scientists had known that , disease
germs were destroyed by -the body.
This was being demonstrated constant
ly, but how it was done was a puzzle.
The great scientist Metchnikoff dem
onstrated that certain of the blood cells
were the active agents engaged In de
stroying the bacteria that caused;dis
ease. These cells were . of the class , of
white blood cells, and because he had
seen- them ' devouring the bacteria
Metchnlkoff called .these .blood cells
phagocytes, | from the Greek j word pha- '
go. that means "I eat." ". It was .quite :
easy to demonstrate the truth of Metch
nlkoff's claim that the white' cells \of
the blood, or some : of: them, devoured
bacteria, for it was possible to actually
see phagocytes which had taken up into
their bodies one or more of the bacteria.
It was proved that great hosts r of pha
gocytes thronged to the spot where .\u25a0
certain disease germs had effected an
entrance and that many of these con
tained bacteria' in their substance as*
though .they,: had enveloped them so as'
to digest. them. ; "Thls took place when
ever there was i. wound \u25a0„ to", heal, a
wound that; had been' poisoned by" bac-/
terla, and It was easily seen where the
germs of tuberculosis had attacked the
tissues, for there could be found count- '* .
- less numbers of the \ white ; blood : cells,
which had in their bodies the bacilli 'of
consumption. - -
Sad to say. the white cells* that could
be, rushed to the diseased 1 - part were,
not always able to' overcome? the : ln- =
vaders. In other .words,' the white' clad
soldiers were; overcome .at fonet point
and another. When this happened It
was always founia, that that part of the ;
body was destroyed and the'baoterlaS
had full reign. .:. If then something ; wa»
not.doneto destroy the bacteria there .
,was great danger that; they, might -do
so muck harm «• to kIU \ the patient
rhls .is why . the .surgeon's knife is
jften necessary.'. It *Is /'not too much
to say: that. if the white soldiers could
Uways win the fight they put vp >
igainst the disease bacteria invaders
there would never, be need foKthe:sur
jeon's. knife [except for the* purpose
if repairing damage from injury or In
iorrectingr deformity." ;
, Now , all ; medical scientists did' not
agree with Metchnlkoff that the white
blood .cells alone deserved the credit
of*this work; of Tesisting the disease
germ invaders.* ;• In fact, there 'were
those who .- declared /that; there ''were
times when the white cells did not take
up and devour the bacteria. '.". And ' they
proved this. ':.\u25a0',' \u25a0[\u25a0 \u25a0 . v ' '\u25a0.'\u25a0\u25a0 : - \ -'. -.' ': '\u25a0 \u25a0
They would take an , immense num
ber of disease germs, perhaps . germs
of tuberculosis,., and mix ' these ; . In a
glass tube with* a, large number, mil
lions even; of white blood ' cells, with
the result that nonet '^pf the' bacteria
was disturbed In the /leastV by the
phagocytes." This was; done with liv
ing cells; so that it could not be argued
that the white soldiers had ; been: killed
and could, in consequence, not be ex
pected to fight J \u25a0 '' : /
But these experiments went further.
When they had, proven that the whito
cells would not or. could 'not destroy*
any of the bacteria ,they added some
blood serum to the" mixtuira in the tube.
Immediately,; the battle .was on and * ttia
bacteria were . being devoured; by \ the
phagocytes. , So these j scientists' said
that Metchnlkoff ; was, If not wrong,
not altogether right, , or at' least" had
not fully explained ,the nature method
of destroying ; disease ; bacteria. The
leading : scientist 'who \u25a0 showed the ac
tion '\ of the blood serum.. In .. the battle
of the white soldiers with' disease, was
one /.named ; Buchner. As to: what
the':; blood "serum ',. Is that , was shown
to be. so Important,. lt is sufficient here
to say.*thsj|"lt -is t6e liquid" part of
the blood. :. ; ' ; ; .;
Butj another Important phenomenon
had been noticed by medical men, and
for ' that matter by other than \ medical
men, and 'that was that many times a
sick man .would j seem to be" improving
nicely, and /would suddenly begin v to
"go S down hill." jWhat was "the ciuse
of this? It .was sometimes easy- to an
swer the' question, ; or seem to f answer
It. Por, Instance, af man nwlth; tuber
:ulosis,who is doing well; and is gaining
In : weight; suddenly, contracts \u25a0 a heavy
sold, becomes much worse as to v his
WMi^MMi&^M^S^^^M^^sMM^^w^MW^^
Lincoln E. Hackett
\u25a0—— a ROM the summit, of Twin ; Peaks,*-'
I "the panorama of city, \ bay and '
I Islands ; , ocean and distant Far al- :
.". lones; north and south coasts, with
their Jutting ; points and headlands, a
never ending, line of white froth along
the- beach, where sea and land meet:/
the inland mountain ranges, with here v
and there a greater height possessing
some distinguishing title of its own;
Sausali to and vicinity ; ; the 5 cltieg ~ and
j towns of . Alameda ; county; * our: nearby .
valleys^ and canyons delicately' tinted
with haze and their , protecting 'back
ground of 'hills,!; sloping i away in sym
metrical and I softening irregularity, .is
always an ; inspiring < sight .even ' to the .
most unpoetlc: of "natures/ ' . *
•\u25a0 It is never Just: the same. The "char
acter iof the <>,weather; r; the's, movement
of the ; aea going craft, a new building
added to the landscape, the: time ; of
day," season of the •' year, • all create
beautifully interesting / kaleidoscopic ':
pictures."':/. .\u25a0 / ./,.\u25a0'-. \u25a0.:.-"\u25a0•,-/',;,/ .'
Possibly, no city in the, world ; boasts
of - a viewpoint pso s comprehensive ;In V
scope.; or one which revokes, as much,
praise from visitors as does this , price
less : landmark in the center of San
\u25a0 Francisco. V \u25a0 : ; '\u25a0\u25a0 '•: - j r ; \u25a0 ; : \u25a0• ' > • :"\u25a0"'. .;\u25a0 i.
. And some mornings, as you sit there
gazing £ oceanwardV? your/ attention >.; is ,;
suddenly :: attracted j to"; a ; small puff Tof .
white, ' smoky ''vapor | among '{ the i leafy :
branches In the Sutro forest. VAs quick
ly as \u25a0 It . came, 1 1 vanishes ; X arid,, as you .
continue to look, another puff appears ;
this hesitates a moment,' then It, too," is "
-gone^v,/' :.\u25a0'\u25a0".'\u25a0 ' ; - '\u25a0•,.-./;;/'-/"\u25a0 v : - e '-^ - \u25a0 '\u25a0 : :".
: v. The puffs come ; more , frequently,' now. ".
They_ linger longer; ; and 5 the % puff s be- '<}
come* a wave,-; and; the\wave : increases
to a "\u25a0;\u25a0 sea; J and - Iti drif ts^ lazily • : toward*,
and . past you.v The 'beds jof £ the valleys t
Boon . fill. The^' trees,"; foot iby^ f oot,"l are
. engulfed ; *\u25a0 and/ibef ore" you treallze^what^
Is happening, the eea creeps higher and
higher, until [ lti reaches youri f eet't '• \u25a0» J ..The ;
' air, , has 3' become^ chilled .. aSd V, the ; sun
obscured, and youTgetS.up Vwlth ; the* In
" tention Of ;•"* going f-r elsewhere-^-and, ' at'
once!,, .'\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0• ../^- •/,.;:\u25a0/;/ v- ..\u25a0iT.v-.~-i . \u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0- ,;.
.\u25a0:Then;;you\>l6ok^about you amazed.
What ( has -happened? :.
OPSONINS THE COOKS IN THE
BLOOD
whole condition and dies in a shorV
time,^' or; Is ; very sick and improves
again". -Now the question that will sug
gest itself to us all Just here is: , ? When
the! man': ls 'getting, worse' are the whito
soldiers; being defeated, and when, he
improves- are they" gaining at least a
temporary victory? The . answer ;to
both questions is probably yes. ; Then:
another. :: question .naturally .'.arises:
When the ; white cells j are" being, over
come la It because they themselves , ara
weak!; or/, because 1 /' there .J is '•' something
wrong with the- bloddCserum? This; is
a' : natural question /.'afteV- what we". have
Baldf*about the ; experiment", wither the
white, cells' arid the bacteria/ and tha
serum in .the 1 test tube performed by
Prof essorj Buchner , and his colleagues.
/ Dr. WrlghS has ' given \us a clear an
swer-to ': this He says un
qualifiedly that \u25a0/ there is V something
wrong with; the serum l.when thai white
soldiers are, being overcome. He says
that, there la -a, variation! in; the serum
when the white cells do different' work
at one time .than i another.
; The way ,Dr.,Wri&ht shows that there;
is this difference in , the '-. power, on -the
part of .the white; cells to devour, bac
teria, and the way « he proves; that ;th«
difference" is; due t» tne Equality /• of
serum- rather.; than to the white .cells,
is very* lnteresting and; worthy.^of ex
planation here. -
. jjj Tubercle \u25a0 that have been" al
lowed' to '\u25a0•"grow .'arid, multiply; in;some
material that f furnished them;, with
proper ; food \ is placed In a 'test tube at
proper ; temperature, * blood; heat, and
white cells are mixed with . them. :Now,
blood serum taken 'from one person is
added? to^ the£ mixture; and -allowed to
stand; for some; hours.; Then, under
the . microscope, Ja- great ma^ny of/ the"
white : cells are ' examined, and -It \u25a0Is
found that perhaps on an average .the
white, cells have devoured, each/ one
bacillus, as ascertained by actually, see
ing the bacillus In/ the body of the
white \ cell. - A record Is kept <of /this
average. ."-,-' . ' -.. • ' : -
Af: the,, same ..time, tho mixture \u0084was
made that; we { have Just , examined an
other was made in which the ~ same
You are* alone!
Bereft of, all j your fellows 1 -
/• All 'mankind, their works and the
places, wherein .they labored ;: have < dis
appeared..' ..'
j > San' Francisco, \ the r 'ocean, > bay, \u25a0 neigh-"
boring cities and towns-— are goneJ
7 'All g life ;ls^ stilled! 5 - r ,\ ' \u25a0 J' • . -
.; That terise/bustling comriiunity.'Jwith •
its hundreds of thousands of uoufjs, with
-their,; many y Joys •. and sorrows, is , com- ?
pletely Bubmerg«d.y V .; "- ",*j •". .'.yJcV^
; The^ sky, iithe sun, ithe.Bea,^ the land,-,
the^ mountains,/^ hills . and j valleys, X the",
people— all •. that\made ; up ; your I beautl- [\u25a0:
ful pictures of but a moment ago-— are
eon^lc \ - ' .:.-;"/;..;..; ' ' .
. Your solitude, is ; painful. > .
It. ls too -apparent-^too. real. , " .'
Nothing but ; ; an^/immovableV
smothery,: white,*; downy .sea," above.'.be- ?
low. and about,"' surrbundirig . you I 'every-^
.where." .-'. '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0'. • /\u25a0 'i:CC-JJ] '• \u25a0 *."-:' _'\u25a0"\u25a0['.:' ' ,\ ;V
You,' are -filled;" with , an;, awed sensa
tion, as jof somethingr lost— and ) some- 1>
things f ound.?,i You ; are j elated ; i. you 1 are V
depresßed.vi It ';'. requires": no; Imagination'?
to conjure. uP;the peculiar f eeling.'.That '
comes ', of ; itself;* and >> is~ : ; indescribable^"
It is I well £ worth/ enjoying, •; if ;' only s for ';
:the; mikery < ;6f:;it. L .^; ; ."-v-i :'/'.".' • ; . . ./ ; : /- r
Then *the atmosphere begins to clear
a v bit ; ; ; and you *'-' see-f-not & the
blackish, bluish, purpling ;fog that : you :i
have 'read ( of: and , sometimes ; seen. But
. a,beauilfullyiwhite;and seemlnglyjlim-i;
1 tlesa ; waste if of "\u25a0;\u25a0; sim \u25a0 .\u25a0/; kissed i, feathery^
'down i spread": bef ore "'\u25a0\u25a0'/. you / level as ; a
. floor land', extending I every; direction
far into J space."^ It f, en tlr el y obliterates i
all objects from sight and remains per
fectly stationary aa if fixed to stay, for
all,time.''-.,-.\ ; f ' %]>\u25a0 .:.;--. ; :."-.,.r:/", ; :.
Perhaps the \ sun, ; whlch r is -as • yet
{ quite;;; lnvisible w" to -„ you V : \u25a0> somewhere >
above/; may. Indulge in • a ; play f ul't prank, -'
and;r r aß^sometimes~occurs,
yquriiflgure". In /silhouette ;:^upon^ the";
snowy, expaneeJ^A*; somewhat elongated*
i figure flt'*is •true,;^butvveryiaccurate- ln^
. detal XX ; It . may -be i, a . ;/ shadow :. and '% 1 1 ]>
; may " not. * v It ' is' very . curious,' though^ -
and s unnervlng-^-artd * smacks of -; mys-/
tery. -And ; again : you V would "\u25a0- like >, to: go '',]
home7-7but;/lt;ls^too»sobn."),j',V i \u25a0 ,-• -/ r ;'.
" Then' : the ilamp/ls'rubbed.^ .
t Theygeriieic6mesSupdn-:the scenel > ' *
\u25a0'X: The' stage magician works his mystlo St
art. i 7 .The 1 props ; move, . ana v the .
derful transformation .begins.
Suddenly; your " solitude is disturbed.
Away, off somewhere In the sea, 1 a small
slender object, no bigger | than a lead
pencil,',; obtrudes ;. Itself r. from i the ; mist.
It >,'. grows 3, momentarily f larger and
larger, and .you watch! lts growth with
keen interest. -"Other. similar «mall ob
jects ' appear,'- and ' slowly.'.,, very • slowly,"
butv steadily i rise s Into .view and ; grow
stronger i; and -I more 'clearly defined.
They- dlrnb pup : and ; up,- gradually
adding to their numbers as they them -
selves' Increased In =bulk. ; .-You - become
curious , now^. and ' try hto ;. guess what
each i little .'needle \ point ; portends. Is it
church .spire/ • flag i pole,' . or ,what? You
find {yourself ; , trying^*. to > identify each
object £ as_J; its :\u25a0; mysterious "uncovering
commences. \u0084 Sometimes you are right
-fmore *of ten ; wrong. ; The: fog, Badly,
baffles your sense of location and you
resort J.to I wild -^ guessing. : p It's? safer,"
and' more of tener correct. Trees close
by, .on neighboring . heights [ begin their
climbing. " \u25a0 - First '3, the %i tips* then ' tha
branches, "becoming more widespread,
as ithey ; appear j from ". Bomewhere—any
where \\ but*, where they were a few,mo
ments t bef ort,'i and,V as >. they, climb : up-;"
ward \lnch .by inch ,'*;. so i surely,: do you
seem "j to s descend : in '„. like /ratio. 1 Then
theShill^ slopes /grow./ Into ' the'; land
scape ; and soon : houses begin to appear,
then ',- the i streets " and the people, and
all life proceeds at before and the dis
tant hum comes faintly from the city
'alive!;s:-..-':./.- : \u25a0-: v i \u25a0 0
, The? fog | Is' gone! \u25a0 ,
;IthaSvnot lifted.; ... .^
\u25a0 \u25a0 : There has , been ; no 'disturbing current.
of ;air.l- ;' • i~Z;': ? .^V'/^-''" ':;''\u25a0.\u25a0 J \ :'\u25a0 y '
Yet it - has unmistakably, disappeared
—gone as completely as If It had never
beenT . j And i the bay,", bayicountles^.thelr
setting \u25a0\u25a0 of hills v and - mountain ; ranges,
the' occasional loftier peak of some fa"
off point;; the bay,' the ocean, the , marl,
tlme'c'Hfe-^-alirt every thing,, .Just i as iit
was ; jbef ore., J.i Your % delightful pictures"
are^re'storedvtbTyou.;, A .bit 'different,
perhaps, but unchanged in the main.
;: v; The, scene; is 'ended. r : ' ->" :
,The # transformation*! complete.
'. \u25a0 ..-..-' • ... : -•,: • .-',•";\u25a0'\u25a0' ;\u25a0•••- \u25a0;\u25a0; :'. • .-> :,-<* " •• <.^v"
,Then there •Is - the picture fog, visible
in ' all its lrarel splendor.' only^f roin \the
valleys : on the: eastern * slopes •of * Twin
Peaks. V 4, The* kind ; that r gathers ". like } a
black, threatening, pall, and lies there
fort of white cells and tubertlflT bacilli
were used, 1. > a., taken from tha same
sources, -but, mixed with a serum from
another person than* the one who sup
plied .the first' serum. If a similar count
la made and it is found that on count
ing, say, 100 white cells, .there were
only<76 bacilli devoured. .there. is reason
to conclude that the person from whom
the; second lot of serum was taken Is
either a consumptive ;Who is not doing
well -or is a -person in such a state
of health as to make tha contraction of
tuberculosis a particularly, dangerous
thing; .in other words, tha resisting
. powers , of this person to tuberculosis
-are' small. ' -w
• . . \u25a0 \u25a0 • \u25a0"*• -~^-i •\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0.
for hours, an inert and dormant mass,
seeming .to create as if by magic a
new range of lofty mountains extend-.
ing north and south as far as the eye
can, reach... The moon, though invisible
beyond the" " opaque body." colors tha
crest: with" a silvery radiance, produe
.lng an, effect which resembles a vast
expanse of anow capped ridges tower
ing toward the sky, with an effective
background of starry deep blue; and
then, .when one has become accustomed
to its presence and satisfied of its per
manency, ragged' particles of snowy
vapor are detached .as if by the . pun!,
of soma unseen giant's breath, and go
drifting . along.. into ; space; and more
particles are torn off, and the. work of
destruction continues until, when a
short time afterward' you chance to
look In ..that direction again, you find
tha .mysterious range entirely disap
peared, and the Twin Peaks in all their
grim loneliness ;' are \u25a0' onca mora per
forming their ephlnxllke and comfort
ing j sentinel duty .as they hava dona
for centuries past! ;
\u25a0 And \u25a0\u25a0 then '• we have the' blustering,
blizzard y, bleak, : aggressive.- heart
breaking fog, that saturates the cloth-
Ing and penetrates to. the. skin. •;caus
ing aches and pains, and brisking up
business ". for the \u25a0 dentist and : the man
who sells sure cures for neuralgia and
rheumatism! The -fog that tears." Into
town from the ocean and acts as if It
were «in / a hurry -. to get somewhere,
and one swishes it , would; and, quickly
. And ;the kind that rushes down past
Cape' Horn on the Corbett road at the"
head "of J Nineteenth I street and forms
huge \ billowy .waves ias it .travels, and
tumbles over and over and over, bound
ing^ and - breaking; and - re-forming : into
more- billows.* iwhich^roll \and tumble'
about ' in their {downward course : ilka
sporting dolphins at play, and you .wish
you were a dolphin and. hastily, change
your/ mind '-' about T lt v and are glad ; you
weren't.- The pace 'Is too swift and
dangerous, and ?they get: so horribly
bumped and mangled and torn on every
projecting 1 obstacle, as they burap,thelr"
way v down and' down into" tha valley,"
and break and completely disappear. ,
' And -the high fog . that puts the sun
on . tha blink,; so, dispiriting' and dis
heartening with \u25a0 its - dull , leaden * sky,
making strangers f think it *ij going to
rain/ when It can't.'. ;\ v.
The *\u25a0\u25a0 Saa Francisco StmSay GaJL
..It Is evident that Dr. Wright has la
iuch experiments proven that tha
serum has helped .the white cells, and
that It has done so in tha .one case 35
* points more than in the other. Thus
has ha . confirmed both MetchnlkofTs
and Buchner's work. But you sea ba
has 'gone farther and shown how it is
possible to tell whether a person is
strong to resist a disease or compar
atively weak to do so.
It must not be forgotten that wa hava
only spoken of tuberculosis In order
to be able to deal with a concrete ex
ample; but Dr. Wright has shown that
many other germs ara devoured in tha
earns way as are those of tuberculosis.
In fact, it is probable that all diseaso
germs act In the same way. For In
stance, It has been shown that a man's
.blood has been proven to bo normal
when tested against one dlseasa and
below, normal when tested against tha
germs of another disease. Tha valua of
such tests becomes apparent when it
Is* remembered that bo long as r/A"/:ra
is doing. good work in handling: p»Vs'-s
easa It- Is ordinarily well to let natura
alone to handle it. ~v • , \u25a0 -°-'
Dr. Wright has gona farther in his
useful work and has shown the medical
professlon'how they can increase tha
npwer of the serum to help the whita
calls to overcome tha disease germs.
In doing so, he has advanced tha causa
of >such treatments as have been advo
cated by I such . men as Pasteur and
Koch. These men had been claiming
that it was possible to increase a man's
resistance to disease. Tha way they
did it was by injecting certain vaccines,
as they were called. For instance. Koch
claimed that dead bodies of tubarcla
bacilli Injected into tha blood of a per
son HI with tuberculosis would increase
his power to resist this disease. Tha
use of Koch's tuberculin Is a very com
mon thing now In the treatment of con
sumption and it has given good results.
Dr. Wright has' shown by his blood
tests as mentioned above Just why
Koch's tuberculin does good. Tha serum
of the man who had had proper Injec
tions of Koch's tuberculin aids tha
white cells to devour a greatar percen
tage, of tha tubercles.
'. But Dr. .Wright has gone still far
ther. Ba has shown that it Is possible
to prepare vaccines of other diseases
and to use them to increase tha power
of tha blood to overcome tha germs of
thesa ; diseases. Tha vaccines ara pre
pared much as that of tuberculin.
A very interesting point has been
noted Just here, and that is it is b.«tte?
to use a vaccine prepared t&mi th«
germs taken from tha patient himself
rather than to us* * vaccine prepared
from germs taken t?om others. In.
other words, It U b*«t to use an auto
genous vaccine. Perhaps tha reason
for. this' Is that diseases and disease
germs differ in some particulars with
each Individual, so that in order to
hava a remedy exactly meeting the
conditions of the particular case In
hand It la necessary to take germs
from the patient himself, grow them In
a suitable medium, kill them In the
right way and Inject them. Thus has
it 'been found possible to get tha best
results.
But where are Dt. Wright's cooks and
waiters? you will have asked. They
are. the agents in the serum that pre
\u25a0 pare tha bacteria to ba eaten by the
white soldiers. These agents, as I said
In, the beginning, have been named op
sonins,* and .this Is 1 derived from a
. Greek word meaning "I cater to." The
word was chosen by Dr. Wright after
j he had proved that mora bacteria could
be devoured by the white cells after
the serunv had been added; in other
words, after he had supplied the white
[ cells .with cooks and waiters who could
•.-provide them with bacteria prepared in
such a way as to please them. Some
times, as we have seen, the force of
cooks and waiters was small or weak,
and in consequence the white soldiers*
food was not such as they could de
vour — It had ' not been properly pre
pared*? and . so they could only partly
devour Jt. In such cases, as wa saw, it
was possible to reinforce the staff of
cooks and waiters so that the Mtchen
work would ba well dona and thai wait
ing be such as to make the eating of
the meal a pleasure and a success.
And what a staff of cooks and wait
ers there must be! For, so far as we
can at present tell, there would seem
to be a different set for every dish
that Is to be served. But this is hardly
strange.-j for In other departments of
nature study it has been found that
nature Is ever prodigal.
Dr. Wright's findings are being con
firmed on this side of tha Atlantic and
in different centers It is coming to be
possible for patients to be treated with
the vaccines properly prepared for the
Increasing of the opsonins to aid in tha
preparation of the bacterial food for
the white soldiers; In other words, em
ployment agencies where the servants
ara actually created would seem to be
a near possibility of the future. .
Then there ara fogs that coma Ilks a
wet blanket and settle down &s If coins
to stay for a week. The soaking,
dreary, dismal variety, that* a thick and
dangerous, aad hangs .. about all day.
It catches you coining home with no
wrap and chills you to the bone, and
makes you lonj for a tropical horns
farther south. .'
And the fog that crowds in through
the channel, and chokes up tha bay
with Its danger breeding smother. and
makes' vessels beat oat their brains an*
sometimes go to ' thj* bottom \rr<f i
everybody and everything on board.
Tha kind that occurs in a solid chunk.
and crawls in \u25a0 from away out at . sea.
bringing oceans of its r unwelcome Ilk
along f t r company.' and playing hob
with the bay travelers' peace of mind.
Then there are other kinds that
sneak in when you don't expect, need or
want them, and spolr your pouting, tak
ing the curl out of feathers and putting
crimps In your temper. And tha kind
that spreads, in , to tha southward and
nils up tha ".valleys with a creeping
Intruslvencss more common than wel
come. - Lr s
And tha fog they call the Scotch mist,
and you are sorry tha Scotch missed it.
but. you don't blame them — you'd, hava
missed It. too. If given the chance.
There are only certain times of tha
year when . there art fogs lurking i n
or about San Francisco; that is any
where between January 1 and Decem
ber 31. Sometimes .they're only nica
pretty little fleecy fogs, Just nosing in
and looking about. They travel high
and don't stay long enough to gat very
well acquainted, but during the months
of June. July and August they hold a
sort of convention, and they coma in a
body, and go into camp, hanging about
somewhere all day and well into tha
night.
• Then. there's — but it is a dear old fog
a X delightful old friend, and > ona wa
miss most when". we are away from Its
cooling influence, and tha climate v,£iuld
be almost unbearable without U..«r«>l3
one 'of ' the city's most valued assets
To^enjoy. It.' live In tha thick of it. get
thoroughly used to it, then, go away
where it Is not—you pine for it. It has
entered largely into our history and
without it this would' not be San Fran.
CISCO.- '. - •'\u25a0: