New-York tribune., 1905-08-06
DOCTORS ASMATCHMAKE
Dr. MaudsEey's Scientific Discussion
of Marriage.
London Inlv 90

London, July %.
n. Osler's inaccurately reported reflections ON
- aee have stimulated the activities OF the
.,.s;cal profession in England. The theme is-a
,,,,lar one whenever doctors and surgeons as
s.r,hIe for an exchange of views: bur the concIu-
, i,,za rlv reached is that instead of encour-
,ri1e people 10 retire at forty. when their work
= ra1f done. the profession ought TO teach the
u-orl5 how 10 round out full century and TO die
nth serenity and contentment in the autumnal
.,lendors Of ripe old age The British Medical
ASSOCIATION. al its annual session this week i'm
leicester has been discussing physical deteriora-
,ior i7fautiie mortality. the feeding of school
children the multiplication Of sanatoriums. the
,,.,irg of the bacillus. the reflex action of mind
and bodv. The subtleties Of telepathy and many
other matters: but ii has been reserved for DR..
,senrz ataudsIev. consulting physician Of the
Vest London Hospital and one of the leaders OF
,se profession TO suggest systematic inquiries
-ssractins marriage rs 2 practical measure for
.be Improvement Of public health and the pro-
motion Of golden old age. He did not say So
hroadlv bur he evidently thought that family
rhvsic.ans ought TO have a decisive opinion
when marriages are proposed. since il would he
within their power to balance the proba bilities
between disease tendencies and disease inmuni-
tfes. and to transform morbid heredity into what
Re called "a good evolution variation If the
learned doctor succeeded in raising 4 laugh when
Re stated that in face Of the bold rectfying OpeT
stions Of the modern hospitals it might almost
seem pity that nature in the design and con-
struction Of the human body had not the advan-
tage Of the best surgical advice. his audience of
experts became quite serious when by implica
ton he pointed 10 physicians as the natural
rlatchmakers.
n RFaT6SIe,'s 5fC-asSfoy7 ~,
certainly logical in q comprehensive address on
the present state and future prospects of pro-
fessiOn whose mission he explained as the, pre-
venton Of the origin of disease and functional
disorder. The hymeneal torchbearer is d prettier
figure than the shears Of atropos or the sharp.
facie knife Of the modern surgeon: but either
the boldest operator in the hospitals or the
most cautious family practitioner needs indeed
10 have large measure Of scientific spirit in
der 10 accept the weighty responsibility of mating
the right people. DR.. Maudsey's illustrations
served 10 warn both the light hearts and the
graybeards that it would be a most delicate
operation either to catch or tame the bacillus
Of love. It sometimes happened. he remarked
that one child Of nemopathic family died in a
lunstic asylum, while another of similar breed
rose 10 eminence in literature. art or public life
What family physician would venture to stake
his reputation upon a scientific marriage which
would cOunteract the morbid tendency to insan-
fry and bring about a brilliant evolution varia-
ton? Or what master Of the art OF diagnosis
would bear the torch for wedding which would
theoretically disarm tendencies to cancer, and
open the way for a placid old age. unclouded by
what Dr. Maudsley in his erudite style explained
ss the awakening to activity Of the silent mem
ories of ancestral gerTninal growth? The sup
preston Of morbid tendencies and the develop
appal the most sanguine medical practitioner;
hut the new medical science did not end there
Higher responsibilities supervened. There were
laws of mental breeding. there were methods of
morality culture. and it was no more unlawful
70 inquire scientifically into the nature Of sin
and vice than into the nature and activities OF
poisons
Il the medical advisers finch from the respon-
sibility of matchmaking. with all the possibil-
flies OF morbid heredity and the promise Of the
potency Of intellectual graces and robust moral
fly what VIII the patients themselves say when
these scientific views OF marriage are broached?
VIII they not cry aloud for deliyerance from
the meddlesonle cranky doctors? People in So
ciety may entertain one another by describing
their ailments their dietary regulations, their
fads and their cures. but they viii not care 10
call in their doctors 10 advise them about their
love affairs. nor will they consent 10 have their
constitutional tendencies catalogUed with dia-
grams, nor their immunities guaranteed as
peinainary arrangement for marriage union,
As Mr. Guppy remarked, there are chords in the
human heart, even If DR.. MaudsIey be right
when he says that the discovery of radial rays
hss taught mankind that the atom is not
simple thing, but spot Of positive electri1ca-
ton within which swarns Of negative electrons
Thirl their may rounds with inconceivable
rspidity The doctors will be summoned when
bone is broken. when patients eat and
drink twice IS much IS is good for them. or
when they abuse alcohol and need change OF
ar: and al the worst they can whip out their
knives and cut; but they are not wanted al
mstchnla kers whether they croak about the
silent memories Of ancestral taints the
proliferation Of cells. or sing dulcet song of
golden old age for the scientifically mated.
/ y. F.