The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-07-15
BATTLE SCENES
DRIVE men MAD
War Horrors Affect MentalitieS
in Various Ways.
Less Insanity Among French
Soldiers Than German.
EXPERT EXAMINES 1883 CASES
Finds Hysteria, Paralysis, Rea-
sOning Madness, EgOism.
In Delirium Some Assert Divine
Inspiration for Victory.


driven mad so many persons as was
anticipated in the early stages. Sta
tistics thus far show that the first re-
ports of men going crazy under the
Internal fire of modern artillery Were
exaggerated.
DIR. G. Dumas, who has treated all
the cases of mental trouble in one IF
the French armies, says that his data,
covering the first ten months of 1915,
agree with the reports of German
doctors concerning madness lmt og
combatants.
He finds the cases of insanity
caused directly or indirectly by the
war in France are quite as few In pro-
portion as those in Germany and Of
fers the figures as a refutation or the
theory of German specialists that the
Teutonic race is showing greater ner-
vous resistance than the Latin.
Doctor Dumas's report covers 1,lSs
cases of arrangement of which only
3n per cent were cases of general
time of peace the proportion Is Is per
cent This he takes as conclusive evil
dence that the faigues and commo-
tions of war have no influence upon
the development OF this form OF IN
sanity.
DeIiriums Given War Color.
General paralytics, however. when
| thew become delirious, rave about the
war, the same as cases in which the
symptoms are quite different, ana
Doctor Dumas concludes that the NE
of the combatant often simply gives
war color to delirium that would nave
existed under normal circumstances,
but in a different form.
| Horror inspired by battle scenes,
sometimes works directly on the her-
yous system, developing Iymptoms
such as hysteria, speechlessness. dear
ness. loss of the sense of feeling, ITS
of mental confusion or paralysis. not
always accompanied by hallucinatiohs
| or deliriurn.
tvne is the dominating note in the
| hallucinations of the paralytlcs ana
| Doctor Dumas considers 1t wonder
| that officers do not in fits or exaita-
ton give absurd heroic orders thai
lead to disasters.
Vivid Imagination.
In one case a lieutenan. who de-
clared to the doctor that he had
| CLEANED out e. German trench witr
two machine guns that he had carried
on his back from a point severai miles
to the rear had remained in commane
of his section until forty-eient hours
later a captain was brought to Doctor
| DUMAS fresh from the command OF
his company, suffering from an equal
ly radical fit of exaggerated opti'
,nism."
cases of what he calls reasoning mad
ness in which the fatigues and com
motions of war have had no influence
but in which Authorizations previously
| existing were applied to the war. Ar
ertilleryman who, before the war
imagi that he was charged with
the defense of the radical and socialist
members of parliament against what
he considered the caiumnies OF the
royalists and nationalist5 OF the
right" was brought to a hospital suf-
fsring from tumor. He immediately
divided the nurses of the hospital into
two parties, the Left and the Right
| and would have nothing to do with
the latter while he began to fall In
love with one after another of the
nurses of the Left.
Fatigue Causes insanity.
The mentally debilitated are largely
represented in the statistics. OF 1876
CAGES, 10 were sent to the rear as be
ing permanently inapt for further
armed service, and SIS who presented
symptoms of delirium were interned
Several of these, Doctor Dumas says
owe their mental condition to fatigues
and connections of war and all OF
them derive the themes of their de-
| llrium from their experiences at the
front. There are among them Mes
siahs who come to announce the final
victory, messengers designated by Joan
| of Arc to show the way to success, spi-
ritualists who have acquired occult
| knowledge OF the plans of the enemy
| Alcoholics were numerous in the
first month of the war among the
deranged soldiers, but have since beer
remarkably few. In August, 1914
131 cases were brought to Val de
Grace of which 81 were suffering
from alcoholism; in another hospital
there were SO out 70 65. OF these
SO cases IS had delirium tremens and
Ii of them died. They were all con-
firmed drinkers who had exaggerated
their propensities during the exciting
days of the mobilization.
Milk Cure for Alcoholism.
The number diminished rapidly af.
ter the first month. not a single case
of alcoholism being reported during
September from one Of the most for
titled places and only 1872 developing
in an entire army during the first ter
months of last year. All of the 1s2
|