The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 15, 1899, Page 20

arly all other cities of Californi Alameda received a most unwelcome visit from la grippe. ut unlike other cities, Alameda at once went to work with the modern disease yparatus, and in ten days nocked out the misery-pro- At the same time there epidemic of diphtheria most complete almost ng, and this has also been ht un control by the united ef- rts of the Board of Health, the physi- and the townspeople. free from la grippe for GIANT UMBRELLA FOR THE PARIS EXPOSITION = 4 THE UMBRCLLA™ 00SED terday fr ican conc ions for t R E. SHERMAN, a Chicago electrician and inventor, 1 is no “Sher: a long time after it had become epi- demic in many other places, and pos- sibly might have escaped altogether if the rain had only come a little sooner. As it was, though, the long, dry season that had prevailed left everything in such condition that the germs grew with frightful rapidity after they once started. The result was that the doc- tors soon found themselves with their hands full and the Board of Health was confronted with a serious problem. The cases of la grippe that might have existed in Alameda before the be- ginning of this year were certainly very few and attracted no attention what- ever. Two days later every doctor in town had to work almost day and night. There seemed to be a case in al- most every house, and new ones were reported as rapidly. It was apparent that something had to be done, and done quickly. The Board of Health was equal to the emer- gency and at once procured a large number of portable formaldehyde gas furnaces. These are acknowledged to be the most powerful disinfecting ma- chines in existen Large quantities of formaline tablets, formaline liquid and methyl alcohol were also procured, and instructions given to use plenty in ry case. rom the first the board realized that to do the work effectively it must be done thoroughly. To this end several of the furnaces were placed at the ser- vice of physicians, who used them in houses where they had patients. This immediately put a check on the disease in that place, as it killed all the germs in the house and so prevented the well people from carrying them out and dis- tributing them about the town. The work done by the Board of Health was principally precautionary, although Dr. McLean, the Health Of- ficer, had a large number of cases that required the same handling as was done by physicians in their private practice. The first public work done was to dis- infect all the omces in the City Hall. This was done by bringing the formal- dehyde furnaces ‘into the rooms at night, closing doors -and windows tight and starting the apparatus.. In less than an hour the rooms were so full of gas as to make it impossible for any- body to remain in them. The gas was allowed to remain in the rcoms all night, in which time it penetrated into every crevice and killed every germ that lurked there. In the morning the doors were opened and the odor of the gas passed away. All public halls were treated the same way. The Public Library was the biggest undertaking, as the room is enormous. Several furnaces were used and nearly 3000 formaldehyde pastils consumed. The material used in do- ing this work cost about $15. Several merchants obtained the use of the formaldehyde furnaces and disin- fected their stores. People who had no sickness also borrowed the machines and disinfected their homes merely as a precautionary measure. In this con- nection it is Interesting to note that not a single case of la grippe has been re- ported from these houses. 1t seemed for two or three days that all of Alameda was being disinfected. The odor of the gas hung heavy nn the air, but nobody minded that, for the dread disease was being conquered. E. C. Maillot, the sanitary ins has had charge of most of the work of disinfecting, and it has kept him busy. “I don’t know how many cases of grippe we had,” he said, when speaking of the matter, “but there were a good many. And they all came on us sud- denly. I don’t think there were any more than we had at the last visit of the disease, but they seem more; as they all came in a bunch. Two weeks ago we hardly heard of la grippe, ¢x- cept that it was bad in some other city. TYE "UNBRELLA © OPENED ceived word yes- m George Pangelo, C ommissioner Peck’s secretary of Amer- Paris Exposition, that “Sherman’s umbrella” v practically certain of getting’a place on the Exposition grounds. wan’s umbrella” is the designation given to a mechanical device intended to rival the Ferris wheel, and Mr. Pangelo has promised to no- tify the inventor by cablegram as soon as the concession is secured. The name of the device invented by Mr. Sherman was suggested by the resemblance which his model bore to the frame of an umbrella. The ac- tual planning of the thing was intrusted to a practical mechanical engineer, R. H Exposition. Hinchliff, who planned the Manufactures building at the Columbian The idea of it is to carry passengers to a great height overlooking the Exposition grounds. Sherman s: The plans call for a steel structure 350 feet high and 250 feet in diameter from car to car when the cars are at the top. cars are planned, each capable of accommodating fifty passengers. that the cars can make three trips every hour, which will Ten Mr, admit of their carrying more passengers in that time than the Ferris wheel did, because all the cars can be loaded at one trip. The cars are to be supported at the ends of ten long steel cables, which are to run over the ends of the arms or staves of the “umbrella.” power is to be applied from the platform around the central column. The The platform is intended to move up and down the column and to carry 350 passengers. rovided for in the plans. The power by which It is expected to move the platform and to lower and raise the cars is hydraulic pressure. Another motion is also That is a rotary motion of the platform, carry~ ng with it the cars, and that motion is to be carried out by a separate ap- plication of electrical power. Mr. Sherman says that not as much power will be required to run the machine as is required to operate the Ferris wheel, because the weight of each car filled with passengers is utilized as a counterbalancing power of gravity over the pulleys at the ends of the arms. The application for a site was made for grounds opposite the Champ de Mars, where the Paris Ferris wheel is now in operation. The Paris wheel is forty feet higher than the Chicago wheel. Q0000000006000 060606600 @ ® ® Never in the history of 2 California hasa municipality taken the steps to stamp out a disease that Alameda has taken during the last two weeks, And Alameda has conquered. Like other cities of the State Alameda re- ceived a visit from the grip scourge. Owing to the long dry weather that had previ- ously prevailed, the disease established a strong foothold and spread rapidly. Eut the Eoard of Health was equal to the occasion, and at once procured a numb:r of the most modern disinfecting machines. Then began a systematic fumigating of all public buildings, offices, the library, reading rooms and schoo’'s with formaldehyde gas. In the laboratory of the Board of Health one apparatus was kept working all the time, and whoever wished had the privilege of entering and being disinfected of any germs that might bz clinging to his clothing. This was a precautionary public measure that has proved valuable. Ina week the disease was under con- trol and it is now almost entirely stamped out, asonly cne or two new cases have : been reported inthe last three o days. PPOPOOPOPPPVPVVIODVOPOIVOOVPVOOOOIVPOP00P0000000COSGS® PPCOOPPPPPIVIIRPVVPPOVVOOVVPPPO00000000P000090PPVOPOOOOOG [ RO R R OR R R R R R R R R R ORCRON + ] Then suddenly we were swamped with cases. “Dr. McLeap had to work almost day and night. We used pounds of quinine and pills in the office on city cases, and still the malady got worse and worse. “Then we got'the formaldehyde fur- naces and . diginfected everything we could and soon had the disease under control. Now it is practically stamped out. “One of the clerks in an office in the City Hall seemed to have a touch of the disease and he asked to be allowed to stay in one of the rooms a while during the time of disinfection. I don't know whether it did him any good or not, but it certainly prevented him from carrying any of the germs around with him, because it killed any that may have been in his clothes. ‘‘Then other people asked for the privilege of being disinfected and, of course, it was permitted. It 1s not ex- actly a pleasant sensation, but is un- doubtedly a powerful killer of microbes in clothing. And if we can prevent germs being carried about in this way we can soon check the disease. Did you ever see the apparatus work?"” Mr. Maillot then led the way to the WOUNDED NIN six times, is still a little tender, Mr. Kennedy. for General Lawton. ches. It was too late to turn back. into the Dons’ faces. “Well, I felt the conventional How - NEDY, now in Kansas City, was wound- ed nineteen times in the battle of Santiago de Cuba. He walks with crutches, since his right leg, broken to be able to discard them, when he will again enter Uncle Sam'’s service, this time as a regular. “I was in Guthrie, O. T., when the war broke out,” said “Two brothers of the name of Otto and James Wilson and I were going to the Klondike. our tickets to the Pacific Coast already bought and paid for; then came the call for volunteers, so we sold our tickets to a scalper and enlisted. Little did T think then that eight months later I would be a claimant for a pen- sion, with my picture in the newspapers looking like the diagram of a panicky day on the Board of Trade. have long since ceased being surprised at anything. “I was a sergeant in Troop F of the First Texas Volun- teer Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Wood. second day of the battle, I was serving as mounted orderly Early in the afternoon, while carry- ing a dispatch from him to General Wheeler's headquar- ters, { ran into a Spanish skirmish line, and before I knew it there were Spaniards all around me, yelling like Coman- I put spurs to my horse, and, drawing my revolver, proceeded to ‘stinging several times before I got out of that mess, but I kept straight ahead, loading my revolver as I went,and incident- THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 1899. laboratory. The air was heavy with a gas that made the eyes water and smart. A few people were standing about, undergoing the heroic treatment merely as a precautionary measure. “Let me put in a few more pastils,” said Mr. Maillot, lifting up one of the furnaces. He then took about a dozen small, white disks that had much the appearance of candy and dropped them into the top of the furnace. Instantly a faint white vapor could be seen issuing from the opening, and soon it spread all through the room. Graduallv as the paste in the pastils was consumed they disappeared. Then there was a smarting of eyes and a coughing. But there was no physical effect as far as weakness was con- cerned. “When I am disinfecting a room I use it much stronger. But for this purpose a mild strength is just as ef- fective because we can only expect to kill the germs in the cjothing. Dozens of people underwent this treatment. and it undoubtedly went a long way toward checking the disease. ‘At any rate we now have la grippe under control. No new cases have been reported to-day and but one yesterdayv. “We have also had a large number of diphtheria cases to look out for. Quin- zy has also been very bad, but now there seems to be an end of them. The disinfecting apparatus has been used wherever: possible, and-I.am sure it has been the means of saving us from a big epidemic. The citizens have all been anxious to aid us in our work. That we have done so well has been entirely due to new scientific meth- ods. o i In connection with the important work just done by formaldehyde gas in Alameda it is interesting to note the following discovery just made in re- gard to its properties by Dr. Ernest Pillsbury, ‘of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. “I have done a great deal of work with maldehyde gas,”-said Dr. Pills- bury, “and have read a great deal of literature on the subject, but I have never heard that it had the power of producing immunity from infection as well as being a disinfectant. “That it has this power I discovered accidental a few days ago while working in my laboratory. And it seems perfectly natural that such should be the case if you stop to think a moment. , “I had a lot of gelatine plates with disease cultures on them that I did not want. T destroyed them by the fumes of formaldehyde ras. It so happened, though, that there were also a number of fresh plates in the room. That is. the pure gelatine plate in which no dis- ease cultures had been planted. “The next day I planted some cul- tures in these plates and put them in the incubator. To my surprise the cul- tures did not grow at all. It took me some time to find out what was the matter. It then dawned on me that the plates were immune. That I am right in this ¥ have since proved by experiment, and know positively that whatever is touched by formaldehyde gas is immune to any vegetable bac- teria, such as that of la grippe.” —_————— S. H. Rosenthal and Dr. 8. J. von Kourocki have been for the last three years working together in Berlin in the endeavor to discover the means of mak- ing a non-poisonous match which would strike anywhere. To Mr. Rosenthal be- longs the credit of finding a paste for eads which is not poisonous, readily ignited on any rough which gives off no fumes or smell. The use of phosphorus in the manufacture of matches often gives the factory operatives a horrible disease, decay of the jawbone, sometimes called “phossy jaw.” Like many other tremendous discov- but he hopes soon chetes, thirteen. ‘We had afternoon. But I On July 3, the Thomas, Ky. empty it and surgical attention. 1l pride in bringing me out whole, as I was so badly cut up. The World of October 20, ¥ r somewhat similar to that which accompanies this article, pointing out the wounds received by Fritz Woelk, a vet- People Being Disinfected With Formaldehyde Gas in the Laboratories Established for That Purpose by the City. Similar Disinfecting Machines Were Also Sent to Private Homes on Application and Were Constantly in Use at @All Public Buildings. erfes,%this one was made accidentally. T am not at liberty to divulge the nature of the experiments during which Mr. Rosenthal made it. But at all events it was one which proves that “peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.” The discovery of the invention having been achieved it was submitted te the well-known assayists, Mes: Johnson, Matthey & Co., Limited, Hat- ton Garden, who declared that the match contains no trace of yellow phos- phorus. Mr. Castle told me that al- ready provisional patents had been taken out for the United Kingdom and eleven foreign countries. Considering that the discovery was only made on the 1st of this month smart work. “And how do you propose to develop this is pretty ally taking an inventory of my wounds. I found I had been shot four times and cut twice with machetes. “A quarter of a mile farther on bunch, and again T had to run the gauntlet. ing of three minutes before was repeated. revolver,.and put my horse to his highest speed. This time | I was shot three times and received four cuts from ma- which brought the total number of wounds up to I ran into another The proceed- I emptied my “After this second adventure I had ridden about a mile, I guess, when a shell burst near by, killing my e and breaking my right leg below the knee in six places. I fell to the ground, t It was 2 o'clock when the shell burst. “Shortly afterward I was placed on board a hospital ship and taken to New York. While I was stil New York harbor Major Armstrong, formez jor of the Becond Kansas National Guard, & been a member, came on board and recogmnized me, and by his orders I was transferred to the hospital at Fort Here I was given the very best of medical hors where I lay until 4 o'clock the nex on the ship in surgeon ma- which I had I believe the surgeons took special 1898, published a diagram eran of the Franco-Prussian war, nov: a grocer at 420 East sensations’ Eighteenth street. But since Mr. Woelk was wounded only six times, he must yield the palm to Mr. Kennedy, who goes him thirteen better.—Kansas City Times. Frank Kennedy Was Wounded Nineteen Times in the Battle of Santiago. this discovery?” T asked. ‘“Well, we don’t propose to develop it ourselves; we are content with taking out the pa ents. We are thoroughly assured that the invention s a sound and practical one, and we expect to be approached by one ot the other of the leading match manufacturers—that is to say, if they are honest in their intention of adopting a process of manufacture which will do away with the use of yel- low phosphorus, and of that I should say there can be little doubt.” Some time ago, it may be added, the Belgian Government offered a prize to the inventor who would produce a match which fulfilled the following con- ditlons: It must not contain phos- phorus or other poison; it must not give off poisonous gases in combustion; \ | A OOOOOOOOODOOOOOO © BOO-TCHI-KA, the Indian © o Woman who Is Said to o Bel30 Years Old. oo [ ©000000000000000 On the North Fork of Cache Creek, in Lake County, California, there lives an old withered Indian woman, Boo-Tchi- Ka by name, who is popularly supposed to be at least 130 years old. She was a very old woman in 1850, when Lieuten- ant Lyons punished the Indians of that county for the murder of Stone and Kelsey, two early settlers on Clear Lake. “Old Zeb,” an Indian who is over 100 years of age, is the youngest son of Boo-Tchi-Ka, who had a family of eight children, all of whom are long dead except Zeb. Zeb's great-grandson is a man over 50 years of age, and his OWN numerous years are pretty well proven by records and the memories of many old white people who when chil- dren knew “Old Zeb” and his phenom- enally aged mother. Boo-Tchi-Ka is totally blind and deaf and for years has made no effort at communication with any one. She cannot walk without as- sistance, and is cared for most kindly b}f her tribespeople, who regard her with supertstitious awe. st i INCE the death of old “Vaquero” a few days ago the oldest Indian now living in the Monterey County Almshouse is “Old Parito,” a Yaqui In- dian, who first saw the light of day over a hundred years ago. The real name of this Indian is not known, even to his best friends now living. Those who once knew it are all dead and the present generation has never been able to learn it. For some reason best known to himself he refuses to tell. 0Old Parito was a full-grown man when the Mexicans rebelled against Spanish rule in 1810. He was then known as a young man, but he fought | with his tribe in that war, and says it must strike evervwhere. These con- ditions Mr. Rosenthal and his partner claim to have fulfilled, and, moreover, they claim that their matches eamn be manufactured as cheaply as the ordi- nary ones and by the same machinery and staff. > There is no excuse, therefore, for any cturer of “‘phossy jaw’ matches ate in giving this new discovery a trial. —_————————— A costermonger was in great trouble. His little son was dead. The bishop en- deavored to comfort him to the best of his power. Rocking to and fro in dis- tress of mind, he suddenly looked at the bishop, and, with tea running ‘down his cheeks, said: “D think I -could get the young beggar stuffed?” proudly that he did his share-of the work. ‘When the Mexicans had gained their independence he, with the rest of his tribe, claimed equal privileges with the victors. As this was not granted a general uprising occurred and a war that only ended a few years ago be- gan. Parito took part in this fighting, but when certain rights had been ob. tained he emigrated to what was then known as Upper California. This was in 1827, and he resided here until the war with thé United States occurred in 1848. When th: goid fever broke out he worked in the mines, but was too feeble to do very much when he came in competition with the younger men. At that time he was about 60 years of age. He says he has a sister named Anna Maria Vaquero, living on the Yaqui River, who has property belonging to him. She is his youngest sister and was 100 years old when he last heard from her. As I was leaving I asked Parito what he thought of the war between the United States and Spain. His re- ply was: “I have seen that country (Spain) own nearly every Yoot of land south of this country and the greater part of this country itself. T have seen her lose all; I have helped her to lose some. I can now die happy.”