Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1904-09-15

A CLUB WHERE DOING MEMBERS
ARE NEVER DISTURBED.


There IL q Good Reason For This
Custom, Which 10 Not Allowed to
De violatcd-A short slcegAWhich
illuminated In Trasedy.
There L. an exclusive club In Upper
New York where the employees arc for.
hidden from awakening any member
who drops asleep III his chair In the H.
quires for him he Is out" Other mem
berS. ~ they SOC him, carry on their
conversation III low tones or go to the
smoking room or cafe. Very few new
members nr. admitted ia. the club, b,N
those who urc fortunate enough TO get
IN or those who bring visitors IRE re
minded of this custom.
A physician who belongs TO the club
explained the reason Of 1t. II is
wrong under any circumstances" he
said. ito awaken man who has fallen
into natural sleep. How do you
know but 1t III tine first time he has
been able TO sleep for hours or even
days? This phenomenon of sleep is q
very complicated one. There are many
grades OF sleep, and they affect differ
ent men IN different ways. Dreams
are the res 1T of defective or partial
sleep, and tlGil common occurrence
In the lighter varieties OF the state
shows that the rest taken by most per-
sons Is not profound or continuous
even while il lasts
Don't you kn"w that scores OF per
sonss In New York take long trolley
ride In the evening simply to produce
feeling Of siec,:ness! IL a mnn looks
straight ahead Of him or reads news
paper his ride will do him little good.
He might as web remain Mt home on
his front stoop. But IL lie looks about
him, constantly shifting his gaze from
one scene to another, he gets into
state Of drowsiness such as il brought
nbont by artificial means when 1t is
called hypnotism. That is why SO
many men feel like doziny in the club
after they como in from ride or
drive IL the park.
sleep induced by ove4nting is not
natural. That Brought about by stimu-
lants is nothing but blood poisoning
and stupor 1t may be desirable ind
even necessary In some cases to pro
duce this stupcr. But the state into
which the brain is thrown Is not sleep.
II naturnl sleep follows. 1t is con-
tingency and not the effect Of the
stimhlant. But was going to tell
you story, not deliver medical lee
tue. must not mention names, but
many old club men Of New York will
Remember the trngcdy.
''rhcrc was man WHO was quite
prominent both in business and SO
cial way. In the lie OF this city. A
dreadful family misfortune brought On
insomnia. He would sometimes 90
forty eight hours without sleep; then
~ q sseat 49, ~ 4eo - Nof
rot be abte to sIep for Z veek. All
his life until hiss tro,ibis cams ul.on
him he bad been habitunlly heavy
sleeper. After two or three months of
this insomnia attack his health began
to give way. Physicians tried all the
usunl means Of overcoming the diff
Guilty, but failed. He was prescribed
sleeping drifts until 1t became dan
gerous to continue them longer
''Then Ire went to Europe, taldng a
competent young physician OF my nc
Quaintancc as companion. Specialists
abroad prescribed walking and noun
tain climbing. but they discovered that
there is nothing TO be gained by i'll
crcnsing the fatigue of the body when
worry Of mind will not allow the re-
pose to which the limbs ale entitled.
The man cAiue home little the better
for his trip. He retired from business
His strength wasted away.
"Nnally by one Of those curious
freaks OF nature we occasionally
caught him DOING ut the club. All
who knew his misfortune sympathized
with him. We moved about MS though
In sick chamber until he nwoke. He
seldom slept moro than twenty min
utcs and told us that his restlessness
at night continued One afternoon he
came In positively drowsy. 10 a friend
he said:
~ feel as though could sleep for
week, but can't sleep IN my own
homc-no.s Find me bed here
Eve got him upstairs to room and
pvt man OH guard Mt the door, with
Instructions to see that no servant was
allowed to disturb him or make hoisc.
An hour ur 40 afterward an accident
In the kitchen brought the fire engines
up to tic door There was really no
danger, but before a ladder could bc
raised poor Blunk's body came tum-
bling into the area.
"He WAS killed. 6uicidc2 No. II
WAS the opinion Of all of us that sud
den awakening from the first sound
sleep he had enjoyed for more than q
year upset his mind and that when he
was awakened by the noise he did not
realize where he was In frenzy he
leaped from the window. New York
Times.
Chinese Scandal Merchants.
In China there is a profession for
ladies', strange because openly and
handsomely remuncrntcd in the cus-
rent coin OF the realm, 1t Is carried