The San Francisco call., 1910-07-31
a III

ant1v be,nr the court of last resort we
will follow the pOliceman's example.
Under the trees at JEFFERSON square
is the central emergency hospital
Within its walls are many surgeons,
stewards. nurses, internes and a pro-
nouneed odor of anesthetics- III 1t 10
the court -of last resort. while any
member might be prepared, nay, un-
doubtedly would be prepared, to settle
the question oThand. 1T is best 10 80
to the. chief justice at once ana tns
presence of Chief Surgeon E. s Howard
is sought with:
When is a man drunk
do you know my boy, that Is
question that has often occurred 10
me,S was the disconcerting response
"A man isn't drunk when he Is drunk
and he Is drunk when he isn't drunk
IL all depends on your point or view
on your bump of charity; and on your
knowledge of human nature A man
tongue is drunk while his legs are nor
NAL: his legs are half seas over anu
his tongue is so eloquent that Demos
themes would have cause to sit up and
take notice; his fingers refuse to write
his own name but his hand controls the
steering wheel of a racing car with
grip of steel and a touch fine enough TO
shave the paint off every vehicle ne
meets. \ mans brain may be locked
in an alcoholic Stupor and yet the prac-
ticed muscles perform unerringly the
accustomed tasks of his daily vocation.
That may not all be In the books, but
IL is the result of long observation,
young man.
'Oh. you want from me what is in
the books eh? You say the police
can't answer the question. and as they
come to the surgeon for enlightenment
you come also. Well alcoholism shows
itself in a dilation of the pupils OF the
eye; products of opium show their
presence in a contraction of the pupils
to pin points. When a man Is brought
here unconscious the surgeon on duty
first notes the condition of the pupils
of the eye and governs himself Accord
ingly- OF course. there are other
symptoms. for the condition OF the
pupils might in either case be due to
something else. There are plenty Of
things 10 look for. but it is an estab-
lished rule in the hospitals under my
charge that a man brought IN uncon-
sciOus, even if every symptom points to
alcoholism. is kept under observation
until he RECEIVERS consciousness. That
is for his own protection as well as for
our own. Any further symptoms are
noted and acted upon as they appear.
IF he is drunk. the hospital is the
best place for him. anyway. He needs
protection. How much he needs it the
hospital records often show. One night.
connected with the institution, there
was a Frenchman in Stockton street
rooming house who had taken a lot
more absinthe than was good for him.
He thought the duke of Wellington or
some one else was after him, and. re-
gardlsss of the fact that his room was
two floors up from the street. he dived
head first out through the window The
top of his head hit the sidewalk first
and he was stunned. They hurried him
to the emerg gency hospital His head
had given up raising hair years before.
and right on the crown Of that bald
dome was a slight abrasion and few
drops of blood. There was no depres-
sion of the skull and a minute after
he had been laid on the operating table
he was sitting up with just as much
appetite for the green as ever. He was
kept under observation for two days.
much against his will. and finally dis
charged. for the most enthusiastic In
terne could find no more symptom of
fractured skull than the most expert