The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-10

cept there are organic lesions of the heart when 1t is essential. Children with or ganic heart lesions should be under special and appropriate discipline, and under no circumstances should they be permitted to attend school when these lesions show symptoms when the body is at rest or in ordinary exercise The problem here is to save and prolong life, which Is not always successful. Games and play that call for unusual stress, exhausting the reserve power of the heart and leading to it's dilation and hypertrophy should not be allowed to any child. Activity must be kept within the limits of the reserve power, never beyond it. By the employ ment of this reserve power adequate an- atomical and functional activity main- tained and development promoted. Beyond this there is exhaustion or ultimately or ganic lesions of the heart and arteries.
 The greatest difficulty is the nervous system. Whether the brain cells "secrete the mind like the liver does bile," or whether they are simply a machine through which some unknown power works, is not here discussed, but it is un- conditionally maintained that brain cells are necessary to mind. Therefore, mind is a function of organic matter, its life principle, and as they exist in the brain cells. The presence. normal anatomy and functions of these cells are necessary for mind. Again, these cells have intrinsic potency and tendency and their modified tions by environment, the same as other cells, and so far as their metabolsm is concerned are under the same natural laws Notwithstanding this there are mental phenomena not explained by his tologic or pathologic evidence. Hence the difficulty of treat ting and training abnor- malities. The laws of nature as they re- late to the organic constitution of brain cells are the same in the idiot as the most precocious The method aside from the nutrition is wholly psychic. The prin- ciples employed are the same as in the physical nature, to-wit: exercise and pas- sivity; that is to say, suggestion and re- straint, and special cultivation of the weak faculties of the mind. Children with organic or functional nervous dis eases are a group to themselves and should be specially regarded and treated.
 Methods of Applying Principles.
 There is but one way, the supervision of school system by a competent medical staff It is at once suggested that this is paternalism. The answer to that is that the public school system itself is paternalism and the method proposed Is simply a means to an end, a detail which does not add an iota to governmental pa ternalism of the school system itself. The object of the public school system, main tained by taxation, is to make better citizen as a unit of society; otherwise there is no excuse for taking the money of one person for the education of an- other. Admitting the premise of the equity of public school system, it fol- lows that the employment of the best methods is logical and right No method Is good that treats all children alike. Only that method is right which takes coni- sance of the inherent and acquired differ ences of children and applies to each child the particular method that it's inherited and acquired potencies and tendencies and It's environment demand. This can only be done by competent and educeced medical supervision The additional cost would be more than compensated for by the great increase in the results, to-wit: the development and preparation of men and women to be useful, self-sustafning and contributing members of society-the only excuse for public education