Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-08-28


Lifelong Friendships-A Cure For This
Would Be a Boon.
Several years ago. when that best of
table companions, Don Piatt, was alive,
we had arranged to have little dinner
together at an up town cafe. was on
time, but Piat5 was late. When he did
come, he looked grave and said in the
low and well Inodulated voice so memo
rable:
81 am sorry, but the simple truth is l
discover that I am afflicted with an all
ment that will not yield to treatment
one indeed for which 5000 years of med
ical science have not been able to find a
cure"
Though always on my guard for a joke,
the sadly solemn face of my friend alb
solved him this time, and with all the
sympathy could throw into my words
l exclaimed:
"Why, my dear Piatt, don't you be-
lieve it! What is this malady?"
'Alas, old age! set out to walk here.
1t was too much of an undertaking"
The timeliness of this reference to the
infirmities of age is accentuated by sew
| eral important cases in court that have
| depended upon the incurabihty of snor-
ing. This vexatious affection to which
the human family is heir has increased
in this country with alarming rapidity
since the advent of la grippe. Its changed
| character is recognized by progressive
| physicians, and the definitions found in
the dictionaries are now admitted to be
| quite wide OF the mark. Webster init
mates clearly, by tracing the etymology
of the word, that the nose is the impor-
tant organ IL producing the noise during
sleep.
This belief must have been general in
| the last generation, for we all know that
a clothespin was the remedy best thought
of in practice. That treatment was no
more severe than cupping and far more
direct in application. But during the
past five or six years, or since the French
form of influenza fastened upon us, there
has been amarked and alarming increase
in the nun Der of people addicted to
snoring. 1t is popularity of this NAL
ady that the sufferers are not confined to
those attacked. Like the delirium ire
mems, the cornet habit and other obnox-
ious forms of nervous unrest, snoring
awakens an antagonism in the human
breast that mere medicine is powerless
to subdue.
Those who fail to agree with me as to
the gravity, the seriousness or the time
illness of these remarks are requested to
communicate by mail, and they will be
made acqu United with a case in point
that will amply convince them.
An acquaintance living on West End
avenue is now suffering from the most
thoroughly developed case of snoring
that has appealed to medical science in
recent times. His life up to the past
J year has been exemplary, but it is the
plain, unvarnished truth to say that he
now looks upon himself as a victim to
the inadequacy of medical science to
reach his case. His wife has left him,
taking the children with her, and while
it is unlikely that the case in Wis
consln will be taken as q precedent for
procuring a divorce there can be nc
doubt that the couple are irrevocably
separated. That husband was deeply at
tached to his wife. He took the best of
medical advice. He even visited that
city of physicians, Philadelphia, in the
hope of restoration to a normal method
of sleeping.
His medical experience was extensive.
He began With anodyne and ended with
a serious contemplation of deadly strych-
nine. He tried oxides and bromides
nerve foods and antifats, Tactics and
laxatives, iodides and chlorides, acids
and alkalis, oatmeal and cornmeal Al
, ternating with these he took beer, baths
, and blisters. Knowing that belladonna
made large the pupils of the eyes, he
searched for q medicine that would have
the effect Of a mydratic upon the nos
trils. Then he went to DIR. Curtis and
had the cartilage of his nose removed
Somebody told him about the Prince OF
Wales being cured of insomnia by the
use of hop pillow, and he tried that
without effect. His case was incurable
He grew desperate. He resorted to at
rophine, camphine, Observation-Disclosures
, At this stage his wife left him, and one
by one the servants in the house gave no
tice.
Thus was a household wrecked be
cause the head of it snored.
We all regard with serious apprehen.
sion the threatened approach Of cpl
denies from the old world, and we re-
member that from the same old world
was brought the sad, sad infrmity Of
snoring gift that we could have done
without and would have been happier
had they kept at home.
Now that recognition of the deplor-
able seriousness of snoring is forthcom
ing would soberly suggest that some
philanthr offer prize for the spe
cific that will antagonize and destroy this
sunderer of homes and destroyer Of hap
, piness. The remedy must be real and
the cure effected permanent.
E Snoring must be removed from the
category of incurable Affections.
Chambers in New York Recorder.