Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-19
Forces Of the Allies Reported
to Be Suffering From Nerv-
-. GUS Prostitution,
TROOPS FOR MANY WEEKS
UNDER THE GERMAN FIRE
Disastrous Results Of Conclusion
Bad Teeth Also Incapacitate Sol
diers for Duty.


claiming large numbers of the allies
who have lain for weeks under Ger
man fire IN the trenches about Ypres.
The insanity wards in the big govern
ment hospitals q. Net4ey are niled to
the south Of England have many pa
tents who suffered absolute nervous
collapse and have been sent back to
England for treatment.
Most Of the cases show decided inn
provement as soon as the men get
into new surroundings and are afford
fering with nervous Affections and who
they could never endure further service
under the fire of heavy guns clamor to
return to the field Of action as soon as
they got a grasp on their nerves
An amazing number OF invaded SOL
diers have never been touched by a
bullet or a shell, and show no physical
desperate cases are men who were ter
near them.
His Eardrums Broken.
One sergeant, a boy of eighteen, who
recently left Netley to visit his rela-
tives in Manchester, was hurled through
the air for fifty feet by the force of an
exploding shell, not a fragment of
which touched him. Both of his ear
drums were broken and he was I'M
conscious for several days. His brain
was SO affected that he was unable to
see anything for weeks if he became
ho he of hA
Netley hospital he still walked some
what unsteadily and complained that
dark spots frequently appeared before
his eyes.
Physicians send such patients away
from hospitals as speedily as possible
that they may be more free from mill
tary surroundings and reminded less
frequently of their experiences in the
field.
AS is the case in nearly all military
action, soldiers are on rare occasions
found shooting their own hands and
to the fire OF the enemy that they may
get wounds which will relieve them
from service in the trenches. This is
attributed to shattered nerves in many
cases. although there are occasional
courts martial in cases where there Is
reason to believe that cowardice in
spired such action. In engagements
where the fighting is at such close
GUM it is simple matter for a SOL
der to expose his hand or arm and
catch a bullet from the enemy's
trenches.
Trouble From Bad Teeth.
Bad teeth are playing havoc with the
English troops opposed to cold and
danpness- in the trenches. Many dem
lists have been sent to the front to
~lAHo
neuralgia and disabled mon otherwise
sound.
Recruiting officers were at first ex-
treme1y particular about the teeth of
applicants for admission to the army,
but it soon became necessary to let
down the bars. AS the middle and lower
class people OF England take indiffer-
ent care of their mouths and seldom
have their teeth treated, dental trou-
bleS have been numerous.
Il am not going to bite the Germans"
was the protest of an Englishman re-
Jected at the opening of the war be-
cause Of detective teeth. But the de-
yelopments of the last three months
have shown that no soldier is any bet
ter than his teeth. Inability to masti-
cate the coarse army fare properly has
incapacitated large numbers of SOL
leave the front because Of aching teeth
and swollen jaws aggravated by stand
ing for days In wet trenches
Are Carefully Treated.
1t is not unusual to see recruits who
have part Of their front teeth missing
and others badly decayed. But such
men are turned over to the dental
corps as rapidly as possible and given
careful treatment. If recruiting Off
GERS in England were to demand the
sound teeth required for admission to
the American army they would get
few recruits.
The public schools in London and
other large cities are having the teeth
of pupils examined and encouraging
proper care of the mouth, but the
movement is SO recent that the general
public has not been thoroughly aroused
| to the necessity for oral sanitation.