Evening star., 1926-05-02
BY REX COLLIER.

Hysteria, developed by so many
American people under certain condi-
tions, has become so threatening an
enemy to the Nations prosperity that
Government officials have been forced
to give 1t grave consideration.
Probably every American. at one
time or another. has complained that
he is "a bundle of nerves" The re-
mark always is laughed off by those
within hearing distance, but Uncle
Sam, as watchguard Of the country's
business. has learned that the nervous.
ness of his nieces and nephews is not
always imaginative.
So impressed Is he with this fact, in
deed, that he has taken great pains to
see that nothing he may say or do
will tend to precipitate financial or
other runs" on American industry.
He has learned to take care In such
matters through experience.
The boycott last year afectlng the
oyster industry still rankles in his
memory Some one ate some oysters
in a Midwestern city and caught ty-
phoid fever Some one put two and two
together, justifiably perhaps. and at
tributed the one to the other. Maybe
this somebody was right in his hypo.
thesis-so far as those particular BIZ
valves in the Midwestern city were
concerned. 1t was never dreamed,
however, that a Nationwide indict-
ment Of the lowly oyster by the con-
suming public would be the indirect,
but very poignant, result.
Hysteria Became General.
Yet that is just what happened. De-
spite the frantic appeals of the oyster
men. the emphatic reinsurance OF Dac-
teriologists and physicians and the
steadying influence of Government
agencies, the buying public and the
oyster just naturally parted their ways
for nearly the remainder of the season.
The oyster induStery was paraiyzed
all along the line. Dredgers, whole
salers. retailers. oyster house pro-
prietors and every one else connected
with the sea food business felt the
staggering impact of the blow. Some
are not vet fully recovered from the
effect.
1t was just one of those recurrent
attacks of hysteria.
II is the same disease that makes
men riot and women faint under
stress of exciting circumstances. 1t
dates back to the gray days When
our caVeman ancestors ned into ma
ing at the first rumble of the earth.
quake or DeIOTG IHc osdhlpSuS VI
monsters from the steaming jungle.
Saber.toothed tiger or oyster, the
principle Is just the Same.
Arsenic Scares Cited.
That this stampeding tendency is
something for the Government to
worry about was brought home, anew.
as q result of the recent "arsenic
scare" in British fruit importing
circles.
It seems on this occasion that some
one discovered traces Of arsenic spray
ing matter on some good old American
apples shipped into the British ports.
1t should not have been on those
apples. of course. 1t was there be-
cause of the carelessness of some
fruit growers. perhaps In spraying
his trees too late in the season. The
rains he expected to wash off the
poison did not materialize. Some of
the dired spray remained. despite the
processes Of picking, cleaning and
packing.
Press dispatches to this country
carried long accounts of the scare
in England. Only the knowledge that
the food inspection service of the
Department of Agriculture was
rigidly supervising the fruit indus
try and guarding against any such
contamination in the United States
served to prevent an outbreak of