New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-04-12
CANCER PENALTY
OF CHILDLESSNESS
DR.. Finney Says Mothers
of Big Families Rarely
Have 1t.
RADIUM NO CURE,
SAYS DIR. SPARMANN
Nav Make Disease Worse, He
Savs-Brooklyn Surgeon Tells
of Sewing Broken Bones.

.Childless women suffer more from
.,.src diseases that lead 10 cancer than
.o,,en who have had children" said DR..
M T. Finney. OF Baltimore. at the clos
ing session Of the annual convention Of
-, American Surgical Association yester-
aav AT the Hotel Aston.
The disease is a protest against mod
,-n civilization. and is a growing peril
7, Is most prevalent among childless
won,en and among women who have one
A. two children. but did not nurse them
Mothers who have reared four or FIVE
children and nursed them all rarely have
H."
This declaration by DR.. Finney that
nature revolts against race suicide and
,snaIizes II divided honors for interest
with the address OF DR. Richard Spar
mann. OF Vienna. who announced that
radium as cure for cancer was prac-
ticay useless.
Instead Of curing cancer. radium often
aggravated It. he said. In forty-two cases
which he treated six improved, fourteen
were aggravated. five showed no effect
and seventeen died under treatment
We have come to the conclusion" he
said, that cancer has sometimes been
fastened by irradiation. and the recur-
renee OF malignant tumors has been
fastened by post-operative irradlation.
Radium has only local effect and can
never take the place of the knife
DR.. sparmenn was opposed by DIR. Rob
srt Able, Of this city. who contended
that radium was OF great value. but 50
little was known Of it that proper appli-
cation could not be made. DR.. Abbe's
treatment OF Congressman Bremner, Of
New Jersey. with radium attracted wide
attention, but the Congressman died.
While Or. Able cited cures he had made
Or. Cparmann listened stolidly. When
Dr.. Able finished he said: "a single in
stance Of cure. II true. proves nothing.
Radium is effective only specifically"
Or. II. Beeckman Delatour, Of Brook
lyn. who has been experimenting for
twenty years, described his method Of
sewing broken bones together. He treated
i0l broken kneecaps in this way. he said,
and every operation was successful. leav-
ing the patient without stiffness. OF the
Joint DR.. Delatours system is not new,
having been tried by many surgeons, hut
none was so successful as he
Dr. Delatour said that when a bone in
the knee is broken ligaments intrude be-
tween the splinters and prevent perfect
healing Sewing the bones together, he
said. held them in position as no cast
could do.
In the morning the election Of officers
resulted in these officials being chosen:
President, Dr. George E. Armstrong,
Montreal; vice-presidents. Or. Lewis 6.
Pitcher, Brooklyn, and DR.. Frank f.
Butts. Cleveland; secretary, DR.. Robert
G. lie Conte. Philadelphia: treasurer. Dr..
Charles L. Gibson. New York: recorder,
Or. Archibald MacLaren, St. Paul: coun-
cl-Dr. ". j. Mayo. Rochester. MINI.
Dr.. a. G. Gerster, New York, and DR..
Charles 4. Powers, Denver.
Next years convention will be held In
Rochester. MINI.
me fourth congress OF the Interna-
tonal Surgical Association will convene
Monday in the Hotel Astor. Opening adj
dresses will be made by Surgeon General
". C. Gorgas, L. s. A.; Dr. W. J. Mayo,
Professor Charles Willems, chairman OF
the International committee; Professor A
Depage, president Of the congress, and
Dr.. Lewis /. Macarthur, chairman OF the
American committee.