TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12602, 19 September 1906, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Paris .seems to be vyMummicß ing with America in anel the propounding of Consumption, startling theories. Dr Korgnac, lecturer on bacteriology at the, Soi-bonne, asks us to believe that tho present prevalence of tuhereulcsis is directly traceable to the exhumation of Egyptian mummies and their distribution over the world. He asserts that there are more tuberculosis germs in tho almost impalpable dust roundi a mummy ens o tha.n in many receptacles for the sputum of consumptives. Theso ge'.rms live for thousands of years, aud it is known that the scholars and workmen who first exhumed the cases suffered from au epidemic of tho disease, and that keepers of mummy-cases have been subject to it. "The staTt of tuberculosis in Franco i_ a uerieus way may be traocei to the great importation of mummies and mv in my-cases at the time of the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, arrd thus start gave the disease its first great fcotliold in Europe, whence it lias spread all over the Eastern world and through tho Western Hemisphere as well. "Dead bodie« preserved in tho man nor of the ancient Egyptians are favourite lodging-places for tubercular bacilli; and it lias been shown by experiments in Paris that bacilli taken from mummies aro infinitely more deadly than those obtained from live persons who are infected.'•' Science will doubtless require overwhelming evidence before accepting Dr Sorguac's theories. In the nnuiitime, it is interesting to note that one expert pokers cirt the i<r»sihilty of the persistence of disease germs iiulelinitely. Sonic germs when dried will return to activity alter ten years, anel there is no reason to believe that the —in to germs would nor. retain, the power of activity for ten, twenty, or thirty ecu-turios under proper conditions. Such conditions exist, to an ideal degree, in the tombs cf Egypt, where the bodies were lirst wrapped in me—.t cloths, and after continued wrapping, placed iv stoiw

coffins in hermetically sealed tombs. Tlio temperature of Egypt is- cvon, and tho dry soil a wonderful preservative. Journalists are now suggesting, in tho light ol Dr Sorgnae's prorxuncement, that tuberculosis was the Great Plague of the Pharoah of tho Exodus, and that violators of Egyptian tombs are now being punished by being stricken with the disease. This is certainly much more in accord with the spirit of the ago than consigning the violator to a violent death, as has boon done more than once in story. So much has been Tho written—much of it Officer's in violont terms — Life. about the extravagance and brainleesness of tho British officer that a brightly-written defence of tliat person contributed: to the "Daily Mail" is very welcome. The writer remarks on the amazing ignorance of most novelists on the subject, from Ouida, with hor dirawlmg Guardsman who spends his time drinking ere mo de mentho out of a tumbler and killing pheasants with a service rifle, to Marie Corelli, with her brainless, over-fed, offensive creature, loafing aimlessly through life, doing as little work as possible and living on "fatted calf. washed down by cham;;ague.'-' "Haughty young cubs'" was one London writer's recent description cf the officers of one of tho smartest regiments. The average officer of to-day, says liis defender —ho takes the case of a member of a "crack" corps stationed at Aldersllot— sleeps in a room furnished with a camp bedstead, a wash-ha-nd. stand, a plain deal table, a bath, a chest of drawers, and a strip of carpet. On tho tabic stand a few photographs and a ??w books—works on polo and golf and military treatises. He rises at seven, 1 .-re-akfasts on bacon and eggs, with an : jcasioual sausage (a luxury), deals with his company dciinqu-eiuts at eight, and half an hour later probably takes liis men out for training until halfpast twelve. Ho returns to barracks, inspects his company's rooms, and lias a plain lunch at half-past one. In tho afternoon thero is an essay to ba writte'-n, a tactical scheme to be worked out, n sketch to bo completed, work to bo done on some committee, courtmartial duties to be performed, riflo practice to bo watched, or a war-game to be attended. Every weeds there is a route march, and every fortnight a firltl day, and there are numerous courses of training in signalling, musketry, mounted infantry work, and other subjects to bo gone through. From M.arcii to September, tho period in which the various trainings are in progress, ho is on liis logs from morning till aiight. In his spare timo ho plays pdo, if lie em afford it, or something lees expensive, and tho opportunities to leaf are tew. As for regimental expenses, "more nonsense lias been written about them than about any other subject in tho world, tho fiscal question alone excepted." Uniforms a.ro expensive, and pay nct-ori-oii—y small, but in spite of all statements to tho contrary, it only requires a modest private income to enable liim to live happily in a "crock"' regiment, and in no regiinomt that the writer oveir hoard of will -lie bo less popular fcr lack of means. Ho does not drink champagne, and hardly over wears a monocle. He is not brainless, or he would not have .passed his examination, and he. is r.ot lazy, or -he would not be permitted to stay in the service. Tho diary of M. An Echo Politovsky, the onof tho giiieer-in-chiet' to Ad-Dogger-Bank, miral Kozhdestvensky's fleet, to which brief reference was .mado in our cable messages recently, throws a lurid light em tlio proceedings on board tho Russian vessels on that memorable October night when they attacked tho trawlers. M. Politovsky, who was on the Suva.rofF, and went down in her in the sea of Japan, wrote letters to his wife in' tliary form throughout tho voyage and these are to bo publisluxl iv book form. It appears, from this pathetic record" of a hapless mission, that the Russians wore in constant fear of «.n attack before they reached thr. Dogger-Bank. On'tlio night of October Kith, when tho fleet passed into a, narrow strait leading out of tho Baltic, they men slorjt in their clothes by tho loaded guns. Japanese officers had been in Sweden for some timo past, and the Russians feared a torpedo attack or danger from mines. Even in daylight the greatest caution was observed, the destroyers clearing all vessels from the path of the fleet. On tlio night of October 20th, tho engineer noted that a feeling of tonsion prevailed, wind everybody's nerves woto slrattercd. On Octolwr 22nd ho noted down the attack on tho trawlers. About one in the morning they bent to quarters, ships having been sighted ahead, and theso wore allowed to approach within a silort distance, and tho squadron opened a heavy fire. "Words fail to describe the disgraceful action that followed. ... A .small fishing vessel was tossing helplessly on the sea!" Wo saw hor quite distinctly, tho black and red of her sides, her single funnel and tho bridge, but nobody was on deck; puaiicitricken, all had probably taken refuge below. The unhappy vessel had been the target for tho concentrated fiTo of our guns. I watched our shells explode. Tlio order to cease firo was given, but the firing continued unabated from tho other ships, who. no doubt, sent the steamer to the bottom. Tlio second and third steamers, also without a soul on dock, were bobbing lK'lplcsdy up and down. Tlio Suvaroff did not firo at these.'' The whole world, he declare:!, would ring with this shameful outrage, but tho trawlers were to blame, for they should Lave got out of tho way, knowing that the Japanese had vowed tho destruction of the fleet. This goes to show that the Russians knew the character of the vos-els at which they wore firing, but it also shows that the fear of a Japanese attack was very real. Even on the night after the outrage an attack was expected, anel tho Russians did not consider themselves safe until they were in the open Atlantic. The Aurora was mistaken for a Japanese vessel in the confusion anel six shells struck her at a long range*. "A most deplorable incident, indeed, furnishing, however, one/consoling reflection—that tin- firing was not altogether harmless!*' Tho. exclamation mark is ours. "Whether it wan punishment of the Aurora for being out of position, or tlio fact that tho Russian gunnors were really able to hit something tliat was tho cause of tlie -atisfaction expressed in this extraordinary comment, is not eiuite clear.