The Omaha Sunday -Bee Magazine Page
Copyright, 1111, by Amerlcan-Enmlner. dreat Britain Right P.rT4.
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the New RiU U' UV.VO U UUUUU
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Goat.t r -f " 1
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Science Begins Its Battle with
a Fever Germ Which Has
Been Brought Here from Malta
and Which Forms a Serious
Menace to
America's
Health
By Rene Bache
GOATS' milk, rrcquently pre
scribed by doctors, and be
lleved to be superior to
cows' milk because It Is less likely
to carry tuberculosis terms, has
been found to be responsible (or a
new and even more serious disease.
- So serious Is the matter consid
ered that the War Department,
which bas officially taken It ' In
band, has kept it wholly secret up
to the present moment. The estab
lishment ot a "field laboratory" at
Langtry, Tex., to make a study ot
the new plague, was carefully with
held from publication even the dis
covery of the existence of the dls-
- ease along the Texas border belnt
known only to a few officers of the
nedlcal corps of the army.
The malady in question Is Malta
fever, and Its Infection Is derived
( from goats. It gets Us name from
the fact that for a long time It has
been very bad on the Island ot
Malta though more or lest preva
lent all along the shores of the
Mediterranean'. Within the last few
years, however, the Maltese have
managed to get rid of It almost en
tirely by killing off the Infected
" t
1
X
Milk Are
Exposed
to the
Danger
of Malta
Fever.
One of the Texas Goat Farms, Where the New Disease First
Made Its Appearance.
The Tosjgenburff Goat, Whose Milk Is Free From
Tuberculosis Germs but May Carry the
' Fever Microbe. " '
(oats and replacing tbem with
others of the warn variety from
Gibraltar, where the disease was
unknown. The ecenery of Malta is
mostly arranged on a vertical plan,
with rugged mountains and steep
cliffs, so that cows cannot very well
be kept there. Hence the goats, on
which dependence Is had for milk.
Goats from Malta are among the
animals forbidden to land In our
own country, under the regulations
promulgated by the Department of
Agriculture. The restriction, how
ever, haa not proved of much value
apparently, inasmuch as large num
bers of Maltese goats have been
brought If) to Texas over the Mexi
can border. Doubtless it is from
them that the infection has come.
The great goat-ralslng region ot
the United States 1 in Texas, ex
tending for 300 miles along the Rio
Grande and thence northward
about ninety miles. It Includes the
Nueces and Lower Pecos districts
a region of ranges of low. undulat
ing hills, .traversed by many rocky
canyons. For the most part It la
arid and barren and covered wlth
desert scrub. The breeding of goats
Is the principal industry of the in
habitants. For some years past physicians
in that part of the country have
made note ot a good many rather
mysterious cases ot a relapsing fe
ver that did not. respond to treat
ment. The sufferers died only, in a
email percentage of Instances, but
often they were physically incapaci
tated for many months, being even
unable to walk. No sooner would
they get better than they were over
taken by a fresh onset ot the mal
ady. It was very puzzling, and no
suspicion of Its true nature seems
to have been entertained. Com
monly it was taken for a kind ot
typhoid with unusual symptoms.
It bas been especially prevalent
Why One Marriage in Every Nine Ends in Divorce
By Simon Ei Patten
Prefessor of Political Economy at the Unlvsrsltv
of Pennsylvania.
T TNDERLYINO all divorces, all unhappy mar
M Hagea and all resulting evils will be
found the fundamental economic problem
based upon the almost universal dependence ot
women. When society shall make women flnan-
' daily Independent, politically Independent and
personally Independent ot their husbands, anJ of
other men, the divorce problem will have been .
solved, the home will become a place of per
petual peace and the family will reach Its high
est estate. '
,fTbe time passed years ago when normal
women were actually, or even in theory, depend
ent upon men for a llvlnj. This Is proved by
the va.t and growing army of self supporting
women cf all ages in all parts of the world and
la all manner of occupation
Women are successful aa doctors, lawyers,
preachers, as merchants, as nurses, architects
snd engineers; some of them engnge la general
contracting; Philadelphia bas at least one woman
plumber; a Western city has a woman police
officer, a Philadelphia theatre had a woman tor
Its special officer, and thus wo find in every vo
cation of man a woman making good.
It U against the whole scheme ot human de
velopment to hold one cliis dependent, upon
another. The fundamental wrong of slavery was
in the dependence of the slave and the exercise
ef the authority born of such dependence. Had
the Biave received full pay for lils services the
authority cf his master would have diminished
lu exact ratio to tbla pay, and the usefulness of
the slave would have increased in the same ratio.
1 Just so with women. Onco a woman shall be
come self-supporting then shall she become self-ret-pectlug.
When she shall become thoroughly
self respecting and wholly Independent, then she
also shall become a fit companion for her logical
mate and meet htm on a common ground ot mor
ality where love and affection, mutual help, mutual
Interest and every other esseutlal to right living
and right thinking come in logical order and lu
natural sequence.
Wners a wo.iian Is wholly dependent on tho
husband her spirit rebels, is theu subdued sal
tnally she becomes the cringing, dUtasteful and
useless factor lu the scheme of human develop
ment Her offspring sutlers because ot this
mental altitude, to toe resulting physical deter
ioration, it follows, then, when a woman shall
bate loit her spirit and her pride and ber charm,
she llkewi.se loses the interest, and sometimes the
support of her husband and becomes a public
Charge. t
Taking the mutual attraction for granted a
man normal In every respect, anj a woman con
scious ot ber personal attractlveuess, secure In
ber financial Independence, each seeking nothing
more than an opportunity to live a normal lite
tinder decent conditions, sharing each other's
burdens equally and fairly, each meet lug a proper
share ot all obligations, financial and moral the
constant eource of turmoil and strife within the
home, which may be aunimarlied In the single
word "money,- is wholly eliminated.
The woman has her own income, the man haa
bis own Income, and are like partners, dealing
fairly one with the other. The expenses are
shared, as they should be shared, by those who
Incur tbem, and all of their time Is devoted to
the carrying out of their several economlo ven
turer, yielding to each the Increments necessary
to the happiness of both.
Such a situation breeds confidence, commands
respect, builds up tho woman, strengthens the
man, and makes for all that Is best In the
strengthening of society. ,
The marriage relationship Is In law and In fact
a contract perfectly right and. entirely proper,
but the two parties to this or any other contract
should make the best bargain possible, always
being fair. In the marriage contract the woman
offers much, glvea much and has every right
under the law to demand much snd to get all she
can.
It Is entirely wrong for a man to give all and
get nothing, juet as it H entirely wrong for a
woman to cease to be an economic factor in the
scheme of life as soon aa she becomes a wife.
A dependent is a pauper whether she be made
wife or widow, and a womau who lives on the
earnings of a man Is scarcely much stronger or
. better In the final analysis than a man w ho
lives on the earnings ot a woman.
True bappiuess will only come when both the
man and the woman earn each In proportion to
their ability, and the wise man and the wise
woman will have a clear understanding as to the
esrning capacity of each other before enterins
upon the serious affairs of married life. There
can be no love, and there is no love where there
is no respect, and there can be no repect where
dependence falls upon one or upon the other ot
a marriage contract.
The whole scheme of domestic relatlonshlo nar
rows itself down to the fair, frank an equitable
In Edwards County, at the head of
the Nueces River. Twenty-flve cases
occurred recently in the practise of
one doctor at Rock Springs, in the
Nueces River Canyon. There and
elsewhere it is known among the
people as "slow fever," "Rio Grande
fever," and, very suggestively." as
"goat fever." In fact, goats have
been popularly suspected of being
accountable ' for the trouble, which
seemed to afflict only persons who
drank goats' milk or were intimate
ly associated with goats.
The region is sparsely settled
which is doubtless the reason why
the prevalence of the disease was
eo slow to attract attention.' When,
not Ionic ago, It came under the no
tice of the army doctors, immediate
alarm was taken, and the War De
partment sent two surgeons, Thomai
1j. Ferenbaugh and Ernest R. Gen
try, to make an Investigation. They
established a field laboratory at
Langtry and by bacteriological testa
ascertained that the blood ot the
sufferers did actually contain the
germ of Malta fever.
What had been only suspected
was thus made a certainty. The
discovery was deemed of the utmost
Importance, inasmuch as the mal
ady bas recently been spreading in
other parts of the world, especially
in South Africa, and has become a
very serious problem. It is not or
dinarily fatal though once in a
while it does assume a malignant
and very dangerous form. Dut it Is
exhausting, being characterized by
long-continued fever, with frequent
The Sun's Puzzling Behavior Explained
meeting of the financial obligations Incurred, the which devotion can,be expressed' and fulfilled;
support herself and therefore haa to bo sup
ported. The normal girl and the normal man
who are both capable of earning their own living
do not think of these things.
What we want to do with the marriage and
divorce question Is to keep people In a normal
condition, and those who are not in this condition
must be brought back.
Just as soon as you get people away from the
normal state you make one 'set of people slaves
ot another set. This means the decreasing ot
our Intellectual or emotional natures and the
breaking down of social standards.
We have spoken of the girl who Is lacking In
ability, or In opportunity to earn enough to sup
port herself. Now we speak of the girl who is
kept at home with certain duties to perform but
no income-making power. This sort of woman
is absolutely dependent on a man who has the
Income-earning power to satisfy her wants.
We evlucate a woman to spend $1,500 a year,
whereas she has an Income-earning power of
only 300. When she faces life she therefore
haa to choose between the man whom she may
love but wjio cannot earn the $1,&00. and the man
she cares little about but who can provide the
necessary means for such luxuries. Just as long
as we have women who are not taught to have
an earning capacltyiwe are going to have many,
many cases of this KinJ.
The man's side of this problem Is quite differ
ent. The young man of to day has the notion
that he should support a wife, and consequently
he emphasizes this fact. .in himself, often to the
extent of deceiving himself. He does not look
to any income-earning power in his wife; he looks
to her face, her figure, her style, and gets the
idea, which bas a great deal of good In it and
much bad, that women are to be supported. The Photographs of the Descending Sun Taken at In
girl he marries, unless ahe has the earning t.rvali t,f Fiftton Mmnlm sK
yj tt i , uurn uui HIIUW IIIO VKIUV Oi Ills IDCOmO OT
bow to use it. and in most cases she becomes
dissatisfied with the resulting chaos.
Married life snould be a brighter lite, a life in
relapses, and no cure for It Is
known.
It was traced only a few years
ago to goats In Malta, where the
germ, was found In the milk of the
animals. The microbe, known to
science as Micrococcus melitensis,
is a remarkably tiny ball-shaped
bacterium. It occurs In enormous
numbers in the milk of the infected
animals, through the drinking ot
which it is communlctted to human
beings. There is a suspicion, how
ever, that it may also be conveyed
by the dust of places where sick
goats are confined such dust find
" ing its way Into the lungs in breath
ing. The regulation excluding Malta
goats from the United States has
been in force for the last half-dozen
years In 1903 slxty-iflve of the ani
mal, seemingly In healthy condi
tion, were shipped from the island
of Malta to this country on the
steamer Joshua Nicholson. . Their
milk was drunk in quantities by the
officers and crew, and almost every
man on board .was struck down by
Malta fever.
It waa In the same year that Cap
tain Charles F. Craig, an army sur
geon, found a nurse sick with the
disease in a hospital in Washing
ton. She had contracted it appar
ently from contact with sick sol
diers from the Philippines, : where
Malta fever prevails to a consider
able extent. There have also been
a few "laboratory cases" infec
tions due to accident In handling
the germs.
The recent investigations made
by the War Department have proved
beyond question that Malta fever is
"endemic" 1. e., permanently es
tablished, in Texas. Apparently the
infected area is practically the
whole of the goat-raising region In
that State. Most cases of the dis
ease among the ranchers are con
tracted In the Spring, from March
to June, when whole families liter
ally live with the herds, teaching
the kids to suckle. Special note Is
made of the fact that the infection
haa a way of running through fam
ilies which occupy dwellings sur
rounded by goat pens Dust may
have something, to do with the mat
ter In such instances; and It is
A Greatly Enlarged Culture of
the New Fever Germs When
Fed on Gelatine the Germs
Form Themselves Into Little
Round Clusters.
rather curious to find that the goat
raisers themselves, suspecting such
an origin of the mischief, some
times call the malady "dust fever."
So well established Is the connec
tion of the disease with goats that
Mexicans will not drink the milk of
the animals unboiled. But the
Americans, for the most part, neg
lect this very obvious and sensible
precaution.
The army surgeons. In ihe course
of their investigations, made trips
from Langtry for hundreds of miles,
visiting all parts of the goat-raising
section. They took a few sample
goats from each herd and examined
their blood and milk. In about 20
per cent of the animals the infec-
tlon was found to be present
The magnitude of the goat-ralslng
industry in that region may be
Judged from the fact that In F.d
wards County alone there are 176,
000 goats, scattered about in herds
of COO to 6,000. In nearly every
herd there are a few Malta goats,
but the great majority , are pure
bred Angoras. The Angoras, which
are reared for their wonderful
fleeces, were first brought to this
country from Asia Minor. Within
recent years nearly all of those Im
ported have been from South Africa.
But both South Africa and Asia
Minor are badly Infected with Malta
fever.
The Angora goat is a very beautiful
creature milk-white, with spirally
. twisted horns and silvery wool ar
ranged In long ringlets over the
whole ot its body, so as to look as
if curled on a curling stick. It
seems to have been originally a
wild Persian species, but was first
reared for its fleece In the Angora
district among the Taurus Moun
tains. Its wool wss spun by the Is-t
raelites in the time of Moses. Im
mense quantities of It are used to
day, under the name of "mohair,".'
In the making of dress goods. The S
beautiful and costly "camel's-hair'V
shawls are woven of Angora fleece.'
The Turks used to have rigid reg
ulatloDs against the exportation of
these goats, and the first four An
goras fetched to the United States
were secured by Dr. W. C. Bailey,
ot San Jose, Cal. He cut off their
wool, smuggled them across the
Bosphorous under a boat load of
hay, transformed them Into black
sheep by sprinkling them with coal
dust, drove them in this disguise
through the streets of Constantino
ple and managed to get them aboard
a steamship without discovery.
The demand for mohair is far
greater than the supply, and at the
present time the business of raising
Angora. goats is being taken tip in
many parts of the country. If they
become generally infected with 1
Malta fever it will be a very serious
matter for which reason, now that
discovery of the mischief bas
been made in Texas, the Govern
ment authorities will take all pos
sible measures to stamp it out.
IT----EnSnF"'''1"' "' "' " I'' 1 1 lllllli,nilHiMW'ilf HW IIWIIHII IBMHiiHiWWMuq
Size Remains Actually Unchanged.
sharing of expenses and the facing of the eco-.
notnic issues as they develop during the term ot
the contract.
The question of marriage Is simply a question
of Income. Wa are alt creatures of emotions,
passion and desire. The theme of love is a
natural element in the human soul; it is not a
foreign germ that bas to be Injected into the
body and cultivated. It is alreaJy in the soul
and only awaits to be aroused.
There Is no reason w hy we should not combine
love on the oue band with the Income power on
the other, providing society keeps the normal
man within limits.
For Instauce, if girl is earning, say $10 a
week, and Is In contact with normal men who are
earning 20 a week, why then she will pick out
the kind ot man she likes, he the kind ot woman
he likes, and they will have reasons for coming
together and living together. They both are
equally capable of earning sufficient for their
individual needs, and therefore are not depend
ent on each other. This ia what seems to be
perfectly normal.
But then again, it Is Indeed bard to blame a
girl who Is earning only i a week w ho ia pos
sensed of good looks, good figure and is generally
pleasing to the eye for celling herself for 1100.
000. hbe Is not capable ot earning enough to
but on the other hand nobody should be forced
Into It because they lack Income. To get an
equilibrium we mint cut down the education of
women to spend rather than earn, or we must
raise their earning power to a higher point. As
long as men do not want women to earn a living
there will be trouble. The only thing a woman
baa to sell is herself, and it she cannot earn
euough to support herself then in most cades
ibe sells herself.
It Is a false doctrine to tell a person to get
married and learn to love afterward. Love can
not express itself without Income. Jus, as soon
as you get a person on any other basis their
natural and normul feelings are suppressed, they
become subordinate and this subordination
shapes their whole lives.
Ixive Is the sociallxlng of income. Sexual Im
pulse is an inherited sentiment and shouU not be
called by the title of love, nor should it l! ma le
the basis ot marriage. As soon aa you combine
sexual Impulse with Income-earning capacity
then you have trouble.
The way to prevent divorce is to set up a new
Ideal of marriage. Sexual impulse will never
make for happy marriage. The combining ot
the Income-earning capacity will, however, make
the group permanent Instead of the individual
- and will put the family on a sound basis
ivr
rOST persons have noticed, perhaps with won
der, that the sun appears considerably
smaller at midday than shortly after rising or
before setting In fact, that on Its rising course It de
creases in size, spparently, and on Its descending
course gradually regains Its proportions observed at
the beginning of day.
This puzzling phenomenon has been variously ex
plained. The most familiar explanation Is that when
the sun Is on or near the horizon the layers of vapor
in the lower atmosphere act as a convex lens, magnify
ing it and confusing Its actual outline with a sort of
luminous aureole that surrounds it.
Another explanation la that when on the horizon
the sun is viewed In comparison with objects on the
landscape, and therefore the illusiou ot greater size
la created, which disappears as the orb rises farther
and farther out of the range of such comparisons. It
is said that proof ot this theory Is obtained by look
ing at the evening or morning sun through a long
tube that excludes other objects, in which case the
illusion ot extra bulk disappears.
Recently, photographs of the sun taken st Intervals
during Its afternoon course from the senitb to the
horizon proved to be of exactly the same size show.
Ing that the camera lens and the photographic plate
do not share In the illusion experienced by the human
eye and brain. The camera also destroys the Illusion
of decrease in size through greater brilliancy of the
sun at the zenith than at the horizon.
The most interesting and satisfactory explanation
of all, however, is that the Imaginary vault of the
sky beneath which the sun rolls along on its dally
course is ellptical, or flattened. Instead of being n
semi circle. A simple diagram shows the effect ot this
upon the apparent size of the sun at morning, noon
and evening.
A semi-circle described from a base line shows the
actual path of the sun at different periods of its course
from the horizon to the zenitlj. Small circles of equal
size along this true path indicate the unvarying size
of the sun. At the centre of the bass line, directly
beneath the zenith, stands the observer; but less than
one-third of the distance to the true xenith, where the
sun is at noon, is the zenith of the ellptical heavens of
his imagination. Lines drawn from each side of the
sun's disc at the true zenith must converge at the ob
server's eye. Therefore, at the much closer xenith
of the imaginary ellptical path ot the sun that orb's
disc must appear correspondingly smaller.
As the beginnings of the true arc and of the ellpti
cal path at the horizon are identical, there, Is no
illusion at that point. The illusion Increases with the
flattening of the eliptic toward the zenith.
Stars, being bo distant and being mere points in
stead of visible discs, are not affected by this tdiosyn
cracy of human vision.
o
i -'j v. i::::::;:;;:;;n
Diagram Showing Why the Sun Appears
Smaller at the Zenith Than on the Horizon.
The Semi-Circle Represents the Sun's Actuai
Path, Which Our Vision Flattens, as Shown.
