Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-11-19

IVY ASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. 15.-War has
W. left the civilized world a sinister
heritage of nervous and mental dis
order, which affects not only the fighters, but
the civilian population as well.
One of the great scientific problems Of re-
construction is to understand and cure these
disturbances, which have in some degree
affected the minds and nerves of millions, and
the office of the surgeon general is now en-
gagged in a study of the problem.
The nervous and mental damage done by
war ranges all the way from the specific shock
of noise and suffering in the soldier, to the
subtle effects which an atmosphere filled with
hatred, fear and change have upon the minds
Of whole nations. The shell shock" of which
one reads so much is a small phase of the mat
ter Some Of the larger and more important
psychic effects of war are seen in Germany,
where the German populace, famous as the
most peaceful and docile in the world, has en-
gagged in a carnival of loot and murder as a
result of the strain to which it has been sub
jected.
The point il that war generates great dis
contents, stirs emotions that have lain unused
through the years of civilized peace. Many OF
these discontents and emotions are healthy;
they are the yeast of progress. But they are
too strong for all but the strongest. HI
balanced minds give way under them; weak
and diseased nervous systems collapse. All
sorts of criminal tendencies, most of which are
caused by nervous and mental troubles, break
loose from the bonds of habit and circum-
stance that have held them in check.
This problem has special significance for
America. Some scientists have claimed that
this country has a psychopathic heredlty by
reason of the great number of criminals and
detectives sent here in colonial times. Fur
thermore it is far behind the leading coun-
tries of Europe in the handling of its criminal
insane (Which includes nearly all criminals).
Whereas other nations have learned to 1den-
tify and isolate psychopathic cases, American
cities and states have allowed them to go at
large and multiply. After our Civil war we
had a period of crime and brigandage that
lasted a quarter OF a century-the heyday OF
the James and Younger brothers-and the
psychic effects of that war are still apparent
in parts of the south. The problem faced by
American physicians and PSYCHOLOGISTS, tnen'
is to prevent, as far as possible, the recur-
renee of such an era of crime and insanity by
intelligent handling of psychic cases, in the
army and out of it. And this study should
form the basis of a more intelligent handling
of all crime and insanity in America.
The war neuroses and the war psychoses
are not new, or peculiar to this war. Ac-
counts of the interludes between the Punic
wars give evidence of wholesale insanity. 1t
is said that az the close of the Thirty Years
war more than fifth of the population left
in Germany was temporarily or permanently
deranged
Scientists believe, however, that the nery-
GUS shock of war need have no lasting effect
on the population provided the readjustment
from the mental life of war to the mental life
of peace can be made quietly and scienti1cal-
w. On the other hand, a slipShod read
justment may cause no end of trouble.
An example of this is furnished in Canada.
The Dominion was not prepared for the sud
den influx of disabled soldiers which was
forced on her by the overcrowding of English
hospitals. It is stated that more than ninety
per cent of Canadas returned soldiers suffer
from some form or other of mental disorder
Fortunately, most of the cases are durable,
but all are serious if not taken Immediately in
hand. Hundreds of disabled Canadians are
drifting over the country, not only in Canada,
but in the United States, sometimes causing
disorder and violence. In Toronto and other
large cities they have broken up political
meetings for and against the government,
seemingly without discrimination. They have
stormed restaurants. the proprietors of which
they accused of having cheated them, and
have got into rows with civilians. These dis
ner not warranted to help the soldiers regain
a nervous and mental equilibrium.
Many of the soldiers, convinced Of having
"done their Bit refuse to work and expect
the state to support them. Idleness, bad
enough for normal persons, breeds the very
worst sort of mischief in neurotics. Relief
work in Canada has been volunteer, and
therefore, largely amateur. OF the failure of
this system to cope with the problem of
psychic readjustment, Robert G. Dexter, gen.