Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-07-18
WAR MADN ESS
WAS EXAGGERATED
But the Great Artillery lombard
rao7ts and Battle De Cause Mental
Trouble.


Paris, July 1.-THE war has not
driven mad so many persons as vas
anticipated in the early stages. Sta
tisttcs thus far show that the first
reports of men going crazy under the
Internal fire Of modern artillery We're
exaggerated.
Dr.. c. Dumas who has treated all
the cases Of mental trouble in one Of
the French armies, says that his data
covering the first ten months of 1915,
agrees with the reports Of German
doctors concerning madness among
cOmbatants.
He finds the cases OF insanity caused
directly or indirectly by the war in
French are quite as few in proportion
IS those in Germany and offers the
figures as a REPUTATION Of the theory
Of German specialists that the leu
tonic race is showing greater nervous
resistance than the Latin.
Dr. Dumas report covers 1883 cases
of arrangement of which only IL
per cent were cases Of general paral
ysis while / nmOst asylums in time of
peace the proportion is Is per cent.
This he takes as conclusive evidence
that the fatigueS and connections of
war have no influence upon the de-
VelOpment of this form of insanity.
General paralytics however, when
they become deliriOus, rave about the
war, the same as cases in which the
symptoms are quite different, and DR..
Dumas concludes that the life of the
COmbatant often simply gives Il war
| color to delirium that would have ex-
listed under normal circumstances, but
in a different form.
Horror, inspired by battle scenes,
some times works directly on the ner-
vOus system, developing symptoms
such as hysteria, speechlessness, deaf
ness, loss of the sense of feeling, fits
of mental confusion or paralysis, not
always accompanied by Authorizations
or deliTiUm.
satht. ...aq tn ou1hnow is the time 70
Optimism of the most exaggerated
type is the dominating note in the hal
fluctuations of the paraIytics and DR..
Dumas considers it a wonder that Of
fiCers do not in fits of eXaltatiOn give
absurd heroic orders that lead to dis
aSters.
In one case a lieutenant who de-
ciared to the doctor that he had
cleaned out a German trench with
two machine guns that he had carried
on his back from a point several miles
in the rear had remained in COM
mand of his section until 4S hours be-
fore he was examined A few days
later a captain was brought to DR..
Dumas, fresh from the command of his
company, suffering from an equally
radical fit Of Exaggerated optimism"
DR.. Dumas reports II cases of what
ne calls reasoning IlauQ6SS IN winch
the fatigues and connections of war
have had no influence, but in which
Authorizations previously existing
were applied to the war. An artillery
man who before the war imagined
that he was charged with the defense
of the radical and socialist members
of parIinlanet against what he con-
sidered the calumnies of the Toyalists
and nationaIists of the fright" was
brought to a hospital suffering from a
tumor. He Immediately divided the
nurses of the hospital into two par
ties. the Left and the Right and
would have nothing to do with the lat
ter while he began to fall IN love with
one after another Of the nurses of
the Left.
The mentally debiIitated are largely
represented in the statistics. OF 1876
| cases, 10 were sent to the rear as be-
ing permanently inapt for further
armed service and So who presented
symptoms of delirium were interned.
Several of these, DR.. Dumas says, owe
their mental condition to fatigues and
commitions Of war and all of them de-
rive the themes of their delirfum from
their experiences at the front. There
are among them Mssiahs come to an
nounce the final victory, messengers
designated by Joan Of Arc to show the
way to success .spiritualfsts who have
acquired occult knowledge of the plans
| of the enemy.
Alcoholics were numerous in the
! first month of the war among the de-
ranged soldiers, but have since been
remarkably few. In August, 1914, 131