The Cordova daily times., 1915-01-12
INSANITY CLAIMS
 BRITISH FIGHTERS
Numerous UnWOund0d Return
 ing 10 England Crazed.
BAD TEETH, TOO, DISABLE.

Cold and Dsmpness In Trenches Cause Neuralgia and Put Soldiers Out of
 Business-Dsntists Being Sent to the
 Front as Fast as They Can Be Re-
 eruited to Treat the Defective Molars.
 Insanity and nervous prostration are claiming large numbers of the British who have lain for weeks under Ger. l man fire In the trenches about Ypres. according to n Southampton dispatch The insanity wards in the big govern ment hospital at Netley, England, are 1lled to overdowing, and all the hos pltnls In the south of England have many patients who have suffered nerv. ous collapse and have been sent back for treatment.
 Most of the cases show decided Im- provement us soon as the men get into new surroundings and have quiet Many of the patients suffering with nervous afliictlons said when they left Belgium that they could never endure further service under the fire of heavy guns. but nevertheless they clamor to return to the field of action as soon as they get a grasp on their nerves
 large number of invalldcd soldiers have never been touched by bullet or Il shell nnd show no physical signs of disability. Some of the most desperate cases are men who were terribly shocked by shells exploding near them.
 boy of eighteen. who recently left Netley to visit his relatives in Man. chester. was hurled through the air for tifty feet by the force of m exploding shell. not fragment of which touched him. Both ear drums were broken, and he was unconscious several days. His brain was so affected thnt he was un- able to see anything for weeks in case he became the least excited When he left Netlcy hospital he still walked un. steadily and complained that dark spots frequently appeared before his eyes.
 Shoot Own Hands aad Feet.
 As Is the case in nearly all military action. soldiers are OF r;,re occasions found shooting their own hands and feet or exposing their arms and hnnds 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 occusionui courts martial fin cases where there Is reason to believe that cOwardlce In spired such notion.
 Bad teeth are playing havoc with the English troops exposed to cold and dampness in the trenches. As fast as they can be recruited dentists are be- ing sent 10 the front to treat defective teeth, which have caused neuralgia and disabled men otherwise sound
 Recruiting officers were at first very particular about the teeth of appli- cants for admission to the army, but it soon became necessary to let down the bars. As the middle md lower class people of England take indiffer- ent care of their mouths and seldom have their teeth treated, dental trou- bles have been numerous.
 "I am not going to bite the Ger uunS' WIS tIte pTOIeSt UT uU EupilSh- man turned down at the opening of the war because of defective teeth But the developments of the last three months have shown that no soldier is any better than his teeth Inability to masticate the coarse army fare prop erly has incapacitated large numbers of soldiers who were not actually forced to leave the front because of aching teeth and swollen jaws, aggra- vated by standing for days in wet trenches.
 It Is not unusual to see new 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 re- cruiting officers in England were to demand the sound teeth required for admission to the American army they would get few recruits.