The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-14
CORK MAYORS FAST
WIDELY DOUBTED
Medical Opinion Here Scepti-
cal of Reports to the
Contrary.
NO PRECEDENT FOR CASE
Few Say Enthusiasm May
Sound Unknown Depths
of Energy.

Medical opinion from all over the
country is coming to the support of
the conviction expressed by New York
physicians in THE HERALD Yesterday
that MacSwiney Is being fed. This is
the sixty-second day in the hunger
strike Of the Lord Mayor of Cork.
He has been reported as living with
out nourishment OF any kind since his
fast began. But prominent physicians
here and in other cities, some of them
specialists v the science of nutrition.
unite with scarcely dissenting voice
in saying that no man can live sixty
days with no nourishment whatever.
The fast of the Lord Mayor OF Cork
is being followed with the keenest IN
terest by medical men everywhere.
They all say that the case is without
precedent In the history Of medicine.
With very few exceptions they regard
the statements that he has been given
absolutely no food with the strongest
scepticisnl.
Those few doctors who are willing 10
put any faith In the stories of Nc
Swiney's unbroken fast base their at
titude upon the belief that through his
zeal for cause he may be sustained
by sort of spiritual exaltation which
is sounding unknown depths Of energy.
They say that very little is really known
about this form of auto-hypnosis
The following New York physicians
add their opinions with regard to the
McSwiney case to those already printed
in the Herald:
DR.. 3ohn p. DAWN: "AIacSwncy must
be fed. SO far as medical experience
goes man can't last sixty days with
out some form of sustenance. Whether
the inspiration of the Sim Fein cause Is
enough to keep the spark of life alive
for go long a time | don't know. Per-
haps It's a new form of spiritual exal-
tation. We do know that people can be
sustained by mental vitality when their
bodily condition points to collapse. A
man with a purpose can live longer thar
man without one. But IN the whole
] think that medical opinion, within the
bounds Of its experimental knowledge.
must lead TO the conclusion that Mac
Swney had received nourishment.''
DR.. W. GIL NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. coulo
not have lasted this long simply on
water. ! think 1t probable that he has
been fed through tube. 1t takes very
Lltie 10 susldlH IKE LOT COuslueTdDle
period where there is no expenditure of
physical energy properly prepared milk
nothing more solid than that--ad-
ministered every three hours would be
sufficient TO keep alive almost indef-
nitely a person abstaining from all other
food, provided of course that he is IN
normal health otherwise
DR.. Emanuel Baruch-"The Mae
Swiney case is a very unusual one. I
can't make any definite statement as to
whether 1t is within the bounds OF posi-
bilty for him to have lived sixty days
without food, because each case Of that
kind must be judged individually. +
remember the case OF DR.. Tanner and
remember my father. an eminent physi-
clan of those days, saying: I've no
doubt DR. Tanner has tasted forty days,
and ] haven't much doubt that he was
fed forty nights l don't wish. how
ever, to imply anything similar In this
case. VIII power and concentration
must be taken into consideration. Be-
cause cases are exceptional one cannot
very well say that they are inpos-
sible.''