The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-12
BY WALTER vOCDEs.
r.nan,nnu,nIitam News service.

ginning Oh = NOuS CA1AaAGs - -
poweIl Club. -.
Twenty.six sufferers waiting Ior
a miracle to happen, Waiting L0r s
hope and strength to CONQUER 0ls
ease and 20 on living. Twenty-slx
men and women, boys and girls, with
pain-racked faces, many with 1altn
already IN their eyes.
What Is going. to happen.
1t is d small, Informal lecture ROOM
with yellow lights against pIO W.
rafters. The street noises urlIt
through In q dull, pleasant monotone;
against long line Of yellow cur
tains moving figures in the street are
silhouetted.
COue's Entrance.
The twenty-six walt patiently ana
their glances flit to the CLEAN 81
brass samovars on mahogany caDl-
nets and the friendly fireplace.
Al woman enters, followed BY Coues
who is alert and smiling. mis- y
M'sieur Coue," she says. and fades
from the scene.
Coue has entered from behind the
twenty-six; he r now in front as they
rise in unison.
"Sit down. he says abruptly. This
first act opening Of the Coue drama
is repeated each time with exactl-.
tude.
Cone Is q little man. dressed en-
tirely I'm black and white. Black
coat and waist coat, black. baggy
trousers and q neat little black bow
tie above his stiff, white shirt front.
He has small, deft, very white hands.
His hair, mlistache and beard are
snowy white, the beard trimmed to
q Van Dyke point. The lower part
of his face juts cut somewhat az
excessively; obviously he is q man OF
determination and magnetism. But
the aggressiVeness is count
by his quick smiling eyes.
Coue looks around the semi-circle
Of patients swiftly and every move
he makes is carefully timed and
positive. His manner indicates ne
would sweep every negative element
from the room. At once he begins
to build by word and action an at
mosphere of faith.
The semi-circle ID worth studying.
There is one old woman in q costly
gray fur coat, q crippled boy with
his legs in braces q girl of sixteen
with a nervous, tWitching face, q
gaudily dressed blonde woman Of
thirty with stony, staring eyes. The
clinic, while private, reQHires no fee.
imagine COue can come very near
to knowing in that first glance
around the semi-circle which of these
patients he may help. The cripple
boy. no; the girl with the tWitching
face, perhaps.
Coue steps to one end of the line.
Magic Formula.
what is your froubIe?" he asks
middle-aged woman in black.
She turns timid eyes up to him.
my arm, doctor. have neuritis.
I can't raise 1t.
.'The pain will go" COue's tone is
decisive. He raises her arm gently
and passes his other hand up and
down the helpless member. rapidly
and lightly.
Ca passe, ca passe, ca passe," he
says, repeating the formula so rap
idly that the words are reduced to a
continuous buzz.
"You must say many times, It is
going" I,
He has reached the next patient,
an elderly man. you were here yes
terday. You are better; yes, you are
better"
The man., who has big, bald
head, mods slowly. "I-am-much-
better.
Admirable! cries the little French.
man.
Behind this old man his daughter
stands. She explains that he has
had much trouble with yawning,
which developed into a nervous at
Fiction. For a long period he had
averaged fifteen yawns an hour.
But since his first Coue treatment,
A~~~n = - IL fAm
frequently brought his average down
to one yawn an hour.
"Splendidp' Coue's face fairly
beams and he skips nimbly on to the
| next patient, passing by the crippled
boy with the phrase: you will get
| better"
In a flash his manner changes
with the following patient, a middle
aged, Well-dressed man of the banker
type, who leans forward and whiS-
pers into the Coue ear.
Change Of Tactics.
Come, come, you must brace up"
says Coue, almost sharply, and sIaps
the man on the back. Hold your
hands before you. Clasp them tight
ly, as tightly as possible. Now think
with all your strength, I can't uh-
| clasp them You see, you cannot.
If your mind held to that thought all
| the time, you would have to go
around with your hands claSped.
But-think that you can unclasp
your hands and it is easy. So, think
you are getting better and you will
get better"
The blonde woman, who is gaudily
dressed, steps forward and whispers
to Coue in French.
you, madame, have been to me
before. How do you feel?''
II am no better"
| You will improve"
II believe" Her stony eyes are
fixed on his black tie.
Good"
COue Never Falters.
Within twenty minutes Coue has
passed around the semi-cricle with
his preliminary examination. 1t is
an adroit performance, without a
faltering move. Now he repeats the
examination, hits time selecting GER.
tain applicants for concentration and
rejecting others. Perhaps the ones
he selects are patients he believes
he can help, while the other cases
| he knows are beyond him..
But he is too wise to say this;
| every word he utterS is optimistic.
And on this round he is asking the
patients to repeat his famous rhyme,
reminiscent of the. nursery:
Every day, in every way,
~ am growing better and better. !.