The St. Johns herald., 1891-08-13
THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE.
Great Mems Brains to Be Given
 to It's Furtherance.
Some of the Leading Divines, Scientists, Politicians and Public Men Will Donate Their Mental
 Mechanism.

''Will you give us your brain to cut
 up when you die?"
 This is the startling question that has
 been propounded to hundreds of prom
 inent men in every walk of life within ! the last few days. The request comes
 in the form of confidential circular iS-
 sued by a society newly organized for
 the purpose of more advanced investi-
 gation of mental phenomena as shown 1 by brain formation and development, {, and it's relation to health and disease,
 intellect and ignorance, morality and
 crime, says the New York Continent.
 The leading brain specialties of the
 country have for a long time desired
 that it should be the general custom for
 the brains of men and women who be-
 come in any way famous during life to
 be dissected and examined and the re-
 suits put on record. But it was not un-
 til lately that they have seen their way clear to bringing this about. Now they
 hope to make the custom general
 through the medium of the special so- ciety which is being organized. The members of the society agree to
 allow an autopsy to be performed after their deaths. They give full permis- sion to the specialists sto preserve and handle their brains in any way they please and to record ther observations. The specialists find no difficulty in get ting the brains of men and women ot average and low-grade intelligence, anc already many startling discoveries have been made by systematic examination of brains of that class.
 Naturally, famous people place 9 l higher value on their brains than dc others. The thought of dissection is more repugnant to people the higher their intelligence. Hence, when the specialists sent letters to a number o: well-knOwn men, asking if they would allow their brains to be examined if others would in any great number, the responses received were unexpectedly hearty. The formation of a society was undertaken at once. The society already has long list of men and wom- en who have given their consent, and is waiting to hear from several hun dred others in this country and abroad. The list will not be made public. It is known, however, that Phillip Brooks is one clergyman on the list, while Chaun- cey M. Depew, James G. Blaine, Dr. R. Heber Newton and others are among those who have received requests from the society.
 The readiness of famous people to ac- cede to the society's request is partly explained by the high character of the specialists. pr. E. c. Spitzba, the noted writer on insanity and diseases of the brain and spinal cord, is member of the committee having the society in charge. Associated with him are Dr. Harrison Allen, Dr. F. X. Dercum and Dr. Joseph Leidy of Philadelphia, Dr. William Osler of Johns Hopkins uni versity, and Dr. G. B. Wilder, of Cornell university. Dr. Leidy has been elected president of the society, and Dr. Will jam Pepper, an intimate friend of Dr. Spitzl1a and associated with him in much of his work, is secretary. The society will be known as the Society for the Examination of Brain.
 The doctors are not prompted in their work by mere curiosity. Their object is strictly scientific. The work will be divided up, each member taking par ticular portion of the brain. Dr. Spitzka will probably give his attention to the connection of the brain with the spinal cord. Others will study it's relations to the body. The theory that a defect in the brain will prove corresponding defect in the body will be tested. The value of this theory will be incalcula- ble, as it will largely aid in determin ing the causes of sudden or violent deaths. The brains of all great men and women are irregularly formed, lit tie hills and valleys showing themselves on the surface. These irregularities are to be studied much as phrenologist studies bumps. The relation of the ir- regularities to the intellectual traits of the subject are to be determined. Then, by long system of comparison between the brains of different subjects, many interesting conclusions are expected to be arrived at.
 It may even happen that man who during life thought himself a very won derful and distinguished person will be found at death, by the unmistakable evi- dence of his brain, to be man of but mediocre talent. But this is contin- gency that the doctors do not care to talk about.
 Dr. E. c. Spitzka says: ''The move ment is international in character. There are perhaps twenty men in the United States, ten or fifteen in England, thirty in France and twenty or thirty in Germany and Scandinavia, especially | in the pathology and physiol- ogy of mental and nervous diseases. It is proposed that these shall unite for | the purpose of systematizing and inter- changing records of the results of our investigations. Of course, it is very de- 1 sirable for us to secure the brains of | men of eminence. Many like Gam betta willingly provided that their