The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1910-12-01
FOWL BROTH SACRED.
Doctor From China Tells How Ma.
tNes Revere Chicken Soup.
Used by Chinese as Panacea for All
Human Ills and Symbol of
Strength and Medium to
Good Health.

Chicago.-How chicken soup Is used
by the Chinese as panacea for all
human Ills. and how he himself by
means OF joking statement In
creased the faith which the Chinese
place in the chicken as a symbol of
strength and medium to good health
was told In Chicago the other day
by Or. w. Il Park. who for rs years
has been at the head of Soochow hos
pital in Soochow, China.
THE chicken. according to the Chi.
nese. is the bird of strength" ex-
planned Doctor Park, land the faith
which those people place In 1t Is won
derful When child is afflicted with
measles. with a fever or with the
dreaded smallpox, its mother immedi-
ately brews strong connection OF
chicken broth. This she literally
pumps into the youngster In the belief
mat the strength thus taken from the
chicken will aid the child In the fight
against the disease and prevent its
recurrence. The stronger the brew
tan be made the more good the moth
er thinks It will do
Why, once had a mother bring
her babe to me suffering with lupus,
most dreaded disease and It de-
veloped that as a cure the woman had
led the child soup which she had
made from a setting hen.
"Urconsciously | myself added to
the conviction that the chicken was
the sure cure for anything in the line
Of ailments to which the Chinese is
heir. had just vaccinated child
ior its mother, and knowing that the
belief In chicken soup was so strong
| jokingly remarked to the woman
that after four days she feed the
child cup of broth. | said after four
days because knew that In that time
the vaccination would have taken
and wanted to see II the woman
would attribute 1t to the soup.
She most certainly did, and after
her baby's arm had healed che spread
the news that | was the greatest
soup doctor in the land. Her friends
came to me and then they told their
friends, so that almost before | knew
1t ! could not vaccinate a child with.
out including In my prescription of
treatment stipulated day on which
chicken soup should be administered.
Then in some way 1t became a gen.
sral custom for the rich as well as
the poor to bring their children to me
on their lucky days designated in the
Chinese almanac for vaccination and
soup prescription.
But to change the subject" con-
anued the physician. China is years
and years behind in the medical pro.
sutton. and those doctors Who q do sp prac
tise there are content to rely simply
upon the old books which have been
left by their ancestors. AS diagnosti-
clans those doctors are all right. but
they know nothing OF anatomy, Of
physiology or OF chemistry. The
younger generation is anxious to learn
and there are some Americans, inclu-
ding myself, who are doing their best
TO teach them.
American dentists In Shanghai are
getting wealthy" DR.. Park added
China is a country of bad teeth and
the cuffering among inland natives,
who have to endure the inhuman
treatment of the travelling quack dem
lists is terrible: They have no means
of treatment except to soak the gums
With decaying fluid and then extract
The tooth with their thumb and fin
yer. American missionaries who go
.nto the country do a great work by
IMPLYING themselves with forceps
md pulling teeth for the natives.
There is great field there for pro-
esssonal dentists"