Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1888-12-21
SOLDIERS DEPARTMENT.
AILMENTS OF SOLDIERS.

/
DIR. Horace +. Porter Explains why Our
Veterans Ago Young-An Address to tho
Northern Kansas Medical Society.
Pardon me for asking you why 1t is
that the eX-soldier's hand tremblesp
why is his gait unsteadyP Why these
failures OF memory and will powerP
Why is he 80 sensitive to thermal
changes or why, | should have said,
this permanent unbalancing OF the heat
regulating mechanism of the soldiers
bodyp
Why is II that he is so often disquali-
fed for making the best possible nd
justment, or even an average adjust
ment to his surroundings Why does
he so often fall behind his competitors
in the struggle for existenceP Why
this tendency to mendacity so heart
lessly mentioned in n recent issue of a
leading daily paperP What is the cause
of these aches and pains that he will
persist in calling rheumaticP Why
that stiffness when attempting to mobi-
iize himself? What has become of his
ability to make fine mental and muscu-
lar adjustmentsP Why, in short, did
the eX-soldier age youngP
This is no fiction of the imagination.
You can find evidences of these physi-
cal defects in this pre-eminently soldier
State on every hand-they are visible
to every competent observer, and so
very common that they have been al
most entirely overlooked.
Men think, reason, remember, will,
and act by reason of their having n
nervous system, and it is to state very
simple truth when we say that defect of
function always follows defect of nerve
structure. The converse is also true
that when the nervous system functions
defectively it is evidence of n defect
within itself, and when it functions de-
fectively for long periods of time the
defect is undoubtedly structural.
The life Of our soldiers of the late war
was one continuous hardship to the
nervous system. 1t was characterized
by continuous discomfort to the body in
general, and the nervous system in par
ticular.
When the brain OF man functions as
courage in the presence of great and
imminent danger it does so at great
sacrifice of energy and there can be no
great sacrifice of energy without injury
to the physical substructure that has
functioned as energy.
General Sheridan was honest enough
to say that he was e. afraid" in bat
tie; that it was all question of the
power of the mind over the body
For every one hour of battle there
were hundreds of hours of the brain
tension of expected danger
One of the prominent factors in the
deterioration of the soldiers nervous
system was loss of his regular sleep in
n comfortabe Q bed.
The wear and tear of the soldiers or
ganism was never compensated for (and
under the circumstances of war never
could have been) by adequate rest and
refreshment.
The nervous system of man is the
highest known product of organic evo-
luton in the universe, or to put it in
harmony with prevailing belief, it is
1Ou DcSJ GIOrt.
In the hemispherical ganglia of the
human brain, matter rises to the dig
nifty of thought
The structure of the 1ervous system
is delicate and complex beyond all other
things-it can not be abused with i'm
punity, although long intervals of time
may exist betwiXt the infliction of the
injury and the after effects that never
fail to follow if life is sufficiently pro-
longed
These nervous defects did originate
in the service of the United States, and
in the line of duty, and they are pen
sionable under existing laws; but what
does the pensioner know about neuro-
pathology? He knows that he tires
readily when engaged at manual labor
that sound man performs with ease;
that his wind Gas he expresses it)
give out, and that somehow he is not
well; being unversed in medical nomen-
clature he is at loss to give name to
his ailments and consequently can not
in many cases go TO work properly and
lay the foundation of a well-deserved |
pension claim.
My purpose in writing this article is
for the ex-soldier's good and his coun-
try's honor. 1t is to call your attention
to the disabilities that are so common,
as we have stated above, that we are
apt to overlook them.
In presenting this paper, have no
'ther axe to grind did not come here
T. Deddle any wares; | did not write
wisdom in the domain of neurotic dis
ease; but / am here to point out way
whereby every one of us can conscien- |
tiously help some deserving man before |
the end OF this week if we will look |
around us for the opportunity.
Dir. Stearns, of Lynn, Mass, has sug-
gested the word neurokinesis to express |
in brief the common nervous troubles |
Of ex-soldiers. 1t would seem that |
Neurokinesis, meaning shaking up OF |
the nervous system, should be applied |
to the cause of these troubles, and that |
neural atrophy would better express the
present conditions as we find them in |
these cases to-day. am aware that
the words neural atrophy involve
a pathological hypothesis, but it is an
hypothesis resting on grounds that
appear to be impregnable, but for that
matter pension claim can be brought
before the pension bureau under the
broad heading of nervous disability,
which words in these cases do not in
volve any guessing whatever.
shall state II truism when tell you
that these nervous defects are the out
come Of permanently and Gas rule
with but few, very few, exceptions) in
curably diseased nervous system. There
is a physical basis beneath all of these
al Il