The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1916-05-31
Long After the Cause Has
Passed Away.
CURIOUS EFFECTS ARE NOTED
By a Philadelphia Physician
Who Served Awhile In a
British Hospital.
MENTAL STRAIN VERY SEVERE

That the horrors of trench war
fare, with its sudden alarms at
night, the bursting of shells and the
burying of men by mine explosions.
have lasting effect on the men
who undergo them is the conclusion
reached by DR.. E. Murray Auer, of
Philadelphia, Pa, who, for some
time was attached to the Twenty
second General Hospital of the Brit
ish Expeditionary Force, ''some-
where in France" says the Medical
Record. "#M{
In paper which was read recent
ly before the Philadelphia Neurolog-
ical Society DR.. Auer gives the re-
suits of his observations.
In practically ali of the cases
which were observed by DR.. Auer
the soldiers received no appreciate
physical injury, the effect being
purely mental. One such instance
a boy nineteen years old This boy
had been for three days under a sus-
tanned and heavy shell fire. At the
end of that time he was threatened
by his sergeant with court martial
for sleeping while on sentry duty.
This led to an examination and the
of hn hnx 10 ha foI
He was in a stupor for ten days. The
same was true of another soldier
who had seen his chum blown to
pieces.
During the time of their coma,
which in some cases lasted more
than week, the soldiers gave the
impression that they again were liv-
ing through the experiences which
had caused the stupor to come on.
This was evidenced by their terrified
expressions. They crouched, started
and stared wildly when spoken to.
One such man rose from his bed in
the middle of the night and recited
in a one-sided conversation his en-
perience of a charge and burial by a
mine explosion. and then relapsed
into a stuporous state.
Another result of shock, accord
ing to DR.. Auer's observations, is
continued shaking of the entire
body, accompanied by various pains
and unusually severe headaches. In
some cases this shaking has been
observed to last several days, and
even weeks, although in most in
stances its duration is few hours.
In one instance this trembling came
after soldier had twice been bur-
led in a mine explosion, had been
through charge and heavy bonn
bardment in a trench and finally was
hit by piece Of rock, which. while
not injuring him. knocked him
down, In his case the tremor of the
head was marked, and lasted for
some time.
Temporary loss of memory is a
common thing with the Men who
have been through some extremely
trying period or who have suffered
a sudden shock. In such instances
the recovery of memory is as sudden
as its loss. One such soldier, after
being near a shell which exploded,
could remember nothing that hap
pened to him until he came to him
self, walking along a lane, some
time later. Another man In the hos
pital thought himself back in the
trenches and became violent, moving
his cupboard about as though it
were a machine gun and pointing it |
at his enemies. When he suddenly |
returned to a normal state he could |
remember nothing of his experience.
One of the most common and at !
the same time most pitiful of the
many mental results of the struggle |
is the inability to sleep soundly and |
recurrence of so-called trench |
dreams. II is not uncommon, DR.. |
Auer says, to see soldiers start from |
their beds in the middle of the |
night. crying out and weeping, their
bodies bathed in perspiration as they
dream of being buried under debris