The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-03-12

try. These are variety OF stable
doors that are seldom IL ever attended
to in time. -
THOSE POISONED NEEDLES"
Popular beliefs on scientific sub,
jects apparently run in waves. Many
will remember the interest in hypno-
tism which followed the publication
Of '"rrilby." Svengali with his "hyp-
motto eye" at once became q real and
possible parsonage in the public imag-
ination. The newspapers were full OF
stories OF girls and women who had
suddenly been fixed and paralyzed by
the hypnotic gaze of some mysterious
stranger with piercing black eyes and
who had been compelled by his will
to fantastic acts which they were
powerless to prevent. Fiction writer's
took up the idea, and stories center
ing around hypnotic influence became
common. 1t was used as a plea In
criminal cases, various culprtts alleg-
ing that they had been hypnotized
and compelled against their will to
perform unlawful acts All this 'oc-
Cured in spite Of the fact. frequently
stated and known by every scientific
man, that the limitations Of hypno-
tism are definite and we'll recognized,
that no person can be hypnotized UNI
knowingly or against his will, and
that few persons are SO susceptible as
to be capable OF being compelled to
perform acts beyond their own Volt
ton and knowledge.
Another popular fiction which later
on took the place of hypnotism was
that of instantaneous anesthesia.
Stories appeared in the newspapers Of
women who had been accosted by
strangers and, under some pretext,
had permitted a cloth or a handker-
chief to be pressed momentarily over
their mouth and nose. Immediate
inconsistencies was said to have fol-
lowed, resulting in u period OF insen-
sibility and irresponsibility, varying
from a few minutes to hours or even
DAYS. Chloroform sprayed into an
open window by means OF an atc-
mizer, anesthetics tied to a rag on
the end Of a pole and thrown into a
bedroom, instant unconsciousness fol-
lowing the administration of drugs
unknown to physicians and pharma-
cists. were some Of the variations of
this idea. In the minds OF physicians
and nurses who see every day the adj
ministration of anesthetics. such
stories only excite mirth. Any one
who knows the difficulty and labor OF
securing Inconsistencies through the
use Of anesthetics, even under the
most favorable conditions and with
every possible means of restraining
and controlling the patient. knows
how absurd such stories are.
A latter-day variation Of these pop
ular beliefs, says The Journal OF the
American Medical Association. may
be found in the poisoned needle"
stories which have been going the
rounds of the press recently. A wo-
man goes to a moving picture theater.
enters a crowded elevator. a street
car or elevated train, or is caught in
the press of crowd. Suddenly she
sees, close beside her, our old friend,
the mysterious stranger" with the
piercing black eyes and the compell-
ing manner. At the same time, she
feels a sting and knows that she has
been stabbed with a poisoned needle.
She Immediately becomes uncon-
scious, dazed or irresponsible for a
greater or less period of time, during
which she experiences a number of
marvellous adventures or hair-breadth
escapes.
1t is not possible to say that no wo-
man was ever without her knowledge
given a drug hypodermically which
produced Inconsistencies. 1t can.
however, be said very positively that
there is no drug known to scientific
men which could be administered in
the manner or which would produce
the effect described in recent newspa-
per reports.
One Of the laws of hysteria is that
when any peculiar phenomenon is re-
ported, similar instances Immediately
appear throughout the country. We
may now expect a spring crop OF
magazine stories and popular novels
based on the poisoned needle as a mo-
tive. Scientifically, the thing is as
ridiculous and impossible as hypno-
tism of an unwilling subject or in
Simultaneous anesthesia. Popular be-
liefs travel in waves, and hysteric and
excited imaginations help them along
The history of popular decisions
from Salem witchcraft to present-day
vagaries, is full of such instances.
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ACTION.