Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1903-04-24
ARSENIC IN MEDICINE.
Because Little Is Good Is No Reason
More Is Better.

eAvAN - ~~~~~~q
"The recent discovery Of a French
scientist that life Of every kind and
description is very largely depend
ent on arsenic" said story teller
from Tennessee to a New Orleans
Times-Democrat reporter, reminds
me Of good story on the late
Isham Greene Harris, the war gov
ernor of Tennessee and for 20 years
a member of the United States senate
from that state. But, by the way,
there is a very interesting feature
connected with this late discovery
that arsenic plays such an important
part in the life of all things ON thus
old globe. Fish and fowl, and vege-
tation, and man, and beast, it seems,
could not get along without arsenic
at all, for the functions of sensation
and reproduction would be quite out
of the question without it, and one
commentator, discussing the Gautier
discovery, remarks enthusiastically
that the sea is simply so much bullion
made up of arsenical ingredients.
incidentally these announcements
hit some Of the experts rather hard
blow. Experts have been chewing
each others necks for some time on
account Of the arsenic problem in
murder cases growing out Of alleged
poisoning by arsenic. More recently,
because of the use Of arsenic in en-
balming fluids, the opinion has de-
veloped that it was always a matter
of speculation, even under the scru-
tiny Of microscopic examination, as
towhetherthearsenic was put into the
system before or after death. Expert
opinion has been widely at variance
on this point, and at this time there
seems to be no definite way of telling
just who is right in the matter, and
the recent announcement of the
French scientist that there is natur-
ally a considerable percentage Of ar
senic in the human system to begin
with tends 10 still further complicate
the question Recurring to the late
Senator Harris, some time before his
death he had been complaining a
great deal TO his friends around
Washington. On one occasion one Of
his friends advised him, just as he
was leaving for a short run to New
York, to call on a physician and get a
tonic of some sort. He followed the
friends advice. The physician was
very frank He told him there wa;
arsenic in the tonic He was to take
three tablespoonfuls every day. In {
few days the senator was a new man
! The color came back to his face, hi;
| eyes became clear and bright, his steI
was light and airy as boys. He fell
so good that he thought he would
double up on the tonic, so he began tx
take six tablespoonfuls every day, anC
the climax came when he was landed
in bed. He sent for a Washington
physician, and told him what he haC
been taking, and referred him to
small bottle which was on a table il
his room. TT helped me so much,
said the senator, that l thought
would double the doses and that's
what's the matter with YOU said the
doctor, you have paid aphysician to
do a certain thing for you, and then
proceed to do an entirely different
thing for yourself. The result Of it
all is that you lose both ways All
very nice, doctor, very nice indeed,
SIR said the senator, with some irony,
but what I want now, and what l
need, is not a lecture, but prescrip-
ton The doctor smiled, and the
fretful retort passed as joke"