The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-07-30

French armies. says that his data, COW
ering the first 10 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
France are quite as few in proportion
as those in Germany and offers the fig
ures as a refutation of the theory OF
German specialists that the Teutonic
race Is showing greater nervous reSiS-
lance than the Latin.
DR.. Dumas report covers 1883 cases
of arrangement of which only 31a per
cent were cases of general paralysis,
while in most 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 development 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 war
color to delfrium that would have ex-
listed under normal circumstances but
in different form.
Horror, inspired by battle scenes,
sometimes works directly on the ner-
vous system, developing such as hys-
terra, speech1essness, deafness, loss II
the sense of feeling, fit of mental con-
fusion or paralysis, not always accom-
panied by Authorizations or deliriums.
Optimism of the most exaggerated type
is the dominating note in the hallucina-
tons OF the paralytics and DR.. Dumas
considers it a wonder that officers dc
not In fits of exaltation, give absurd or
ders that lead to disasters.
In one case lieutenant who declared to
the doctor that he had Cleaned out a
German trench with two machine guns
that he had carried on his back from q
point several miles in the rear" had re-
maind in command of his section until Is
hours before 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 radi-
cal fit Of exaggerated optimism
DR.. Dumas reports II cases Of what he
calls reasoning Madness" in which the
fatigues and connections of war have had
no influence, but in which Authorizations
previously existing were applied to the
war. An artilleryman who, before the
war, ina gined that he was charged with
the defense of the radical and socialist
members Of Parliament against what he
considered the calumnies Of the royal
lists and nationalists Of the right" was
brought to a hospital suffering from a
tumor. He Immediately divided the nurses
of the hospital into two parties, the left
and the right, and would have nothing te
do with the latter, while he began tc
fall in love with one after another Of
the nurses on the left.
The mentally debilitated are largely
represented in the statistics. OF 1856 cases
ITO were sent to the rear as being per-
manently inapt for further armed service
and IS who presented symptoms of de.
lirium were interned. Several of these
DR.. Dumas says, owe their mental condi-
ton to fatigues and connections of war
and all of them derive their themes OF
delirium from their experiences at the
front. There are among them Messiahs
come to announce the final victory, mes
sengers designated by Joan Of Arc te
show the way to success spiritualists
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 been remarkably
few. In August, 1914, 131 cases We're
brought to Val de Grace of which 81 were
suffering from alcoholism in another hos
pital there were 80 out Of IS. OF these Sc
cases Is had delirium tremens, and II
Of them died. They were all confirmed
drinkers who had exaggerated their pro-
pensities during the exciting days of the
mobilization.
The number diminished rapidly after the
first month. not a single case of alcohol
ism being reported during September from
one of the most fortified places, and only
l62 developing in an entire army dur
ing the first 10 months Of last year. All
of the 1852 were reservists. and insofar as
their history could be learned were old
drinkers. Nearly all of them resumed
their service after taking the milk cure
The tendency of the alcoholics was to
dream of battle and to see Germans
everywhere. One Of them took detach-
ment Of his comrades for the enemy and
charged them with fixed bayonet.
The proportion of cases of mental de-
preston among the 1888 was large There
were 224 in 10 months-mostly officers
with besetting nations Of professional
shortcomings and difficulties. The ma
jority of these men realized fully about
1t though unable to overcome 1t.
II am no longer able to give an order
without Immediately cancelling IT," said
the officer. II cannot help Weighing to
an exaggerated extent every eventuality
and mans - imaginary consequences.
always fc - the worst possible issue
to every mo ement-am paralyzed by the
anxiety to do the right thing and have
become nothing but indecison and con-
tradiction''
A man who rose from the ranks to