The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-03

mental diseases was observed. Tor
which a special name was found-la
fohe obsidionale, siege madness. And
even those who did not at once sue
cumb to mental arrangement suffer
ed lasting injury TO their nervous sys-
TENS"
As pointed out above. mental and
nervous arrangements are already on
the increase. The mere progress Of
civilization is doing il and all this in
times of peace with comparative tran
quillity everywhere. X therefore
stands to reason, aside from Du
Saulle's and Nordau's statistics. that
these times that try mems souls
Will ~unbalance many a mind that I'M
der a usual environment would never
have become so affected. and as the
nations now involved are highly
strung peoples so much the more
heavily will this precipitating cause,
war, operate.
True it is that lu Saulle and Nor
dau are writing of a defeated nation.
france, a nation in fact that possessed
a most marked ego prior to 1870-a
factor in itself tending toward hys-
terra. But If such results obtain in a
war which when compared to the
present one shrinks into insignificance.
1t logically follows that the partici-
pants will all be losers in the end.
and what obtained during the siege
OF Paris will be experienced to a
greater or less degree by every ma
ton. The victors will find their
crown Of laurel full of thorns
The strain of modern warfare on
h body and nerves is very much
greater than in former days. To be
sure, means of transportation food
supplies and manoeuvres are better
marshalled than ever, but that simp-
~ means that whereas formerly an
army could only travel so many miles
a day, now it will have to trave more
than double the former distance.
There may be more rations available.
!. but there are also more mouths to
9 feed. Automobiles may be swift and
!. convenient, but it is also firing to run
them.
The very rapidity of operations per
O hapS makes war more strenuous than
y when hand to hand encounter was the
+ issue. To estimate what nerve rack
V ing experience a campaign is we AVE
r only to contemplate an army when il
is beaten, and how quickly a retreat
may develop into a rout with utter de.
moralizatiOn of the troops. Observer:
! nave stated that at such times sol
diers, perhaps without sufficient waite
: and food, become ObliviOus to every
thing, completely lose their perSpec
tive, act like frightened animals. ant
y become mere creatures of impulse
Stout hearted fellows have beel
} known to cry like babies. Many hav
actually gone mad. It requires great
- er generalship to control an army i
- defeat than one in victory.
4 Again, in former wars, the ravage
er of infected wounds and disease pre-
IL duced by famine and pestilence wer
v frightful. In fact, these were tn
e worst features of war. Infectious an
o. contagious diseases often swept ava
er whole regiments, and the scourge wa
NOT nnnf1na6 fn nrphof9n tc HI
at spread to nOn-cOmbatants as wei
We Then it was a question of the SUI
Sc vival Of the fittest, the weaker one
III succumbing and only the most viril
he living.
on But the European war is "a sanitar
or war. In the first place, the prese1
day bullets, because Of the heat GRE
lie. ated by their enormous velocity, al
'ly practically aseptic, that is, will NJ
create blood poisoning. and muc
a fewer will lodge within the body, b
lie ing driven right through. In the Sc,
he ond place, the medical corps are nov
ci- adayS exceedingly efficient, and mut
time and energy will be given n
A only to preventing the spread of di
lse ease, but even more so to its produ
h ton.
iy, Prophylaxis will be carried {
everywhere. Every doctor and nur
on the American Red Cross ship whit
,ay is sailing to Europe has been vacci
lot ated and each one immuniZed by i
,ut jections against typhoid, and no dou
OIL similar precautions obtain abroa
On furthermore, the nrSt ala Work w
is probably be more thorough than &c
eS- merly, and the medlcal and SurglC
Of technique more expert. But all tt
ore humanitarianism also means tn
more disabled will live, and althoui
they may be patched up better, tn
ldy will still be patched.
for Some hold that the majority
du- mental diseases are directly due
in bodily disorders and others belle
os- that hereditary predisposition is
equally important c~ausative age
ion This applies to both ~psychoses a
all amentia.
al Parents who nave endured oV'
of exertion. have suffered from pc
health and parents of a We;