Evening star., 1941-09-10
By THOMAS r. HENRY.

Between 300 and 400 mental and
nervous cases are being referred
by the Army and Navy to Govern
ment hospital centers each week
for observation, treatment or dis
charge from the service.
Most of these cases are from the
Army. Although no statistics have
been kept. psychiatrists believe that
the majority are recent volunteers
and smaller number are seleetees
who have not been able to adjust
themselves to military discipline or
who were victims OF mental and
nervous weaknesses which escaped
the attention of draft boards and
the physicians at induction centers.
In many cases, it is adiuitted,
these weaknesses never would have
attracted attention in civilian life
but become intolerable when the
men must live in close association
with their fellows.
The flood of mental and nervous
cases has developed in spite of far
more strenuous examinations for
this type of defects than obtained
during the World War.
Most Could Be Cured.
There are no great number of
raving maniacs among them, it is
learned. Many are men who never
have outgrown the childish habit
of bed-wetting. Most of these
probably could be cured if there
was time, but under present con-
ditions they are considered unfit
for military service. Some are ad- |
mittedly malingerers and after
examination can be sent back to
their units. Others have in some
way aroused the suspicion of their
officers but, on. examination. prove
to be essentially sound ard fit for
military duty.
There remains, however, con-
siderable number of unqueStionable
psychotics and the majority of these
belong to the class of catatonic
sehizophrenics-me whose reaction
to the unaccustomed discipline is to
draw into their shells and become
completely unco-operative. They
will not move or speak, but they
are subject to occasional outbreaks
of extreme violence. During such
spells they are likely TO kill.
Few Have Been Under Treatment.
A few, it is found on checking
their records, actually have been
under mental treatment in the past
Most, however, in civilian life would
fall into the class of schizophrenic
personalities-lonely, moody, uncom-
municative boys who might get
along well enough if left alone and
handled with kid gloves by their
fellow workers and employers. The
actual schizophrenia germs which
were present in their minds, might
never develop unless they were sub
iected to extraordinary stresses
and in the course of time the ten
dency might be outgrown.
Nearly all schizophrenics have a
bad reaction to discipline which in
terferes with their highly self-cen-
tered lives They sometimes make
brave soldiers in emergencies and
may contain good officer material
Adolf Hitler is sometimes placed
In this classification.
Have Cost U. S. Billion Dollars.
Once the condition develops into
o psychosis it is extraordinarily diff
ficult to treat The most successful
treatments developed in recent years
are long and strenuous and the
probability Is that such a person,
once admitted to the Army. will be-
come q charge on the Government
for the rest of his life. They and
their kind, arising out of the World
War. have cost the Government
close to a billion dollars in the last
20 years.
There are very few feeble mind
ed who cannot grasp the rudiments
of soldering. Very few of the large
class of psychotics known as manic
depressives have been found Ma
mic Oppressive personalities often re-
act we'll to discipline, but are very
dangerous during violent episodes.
Government psychiatriSts who are
aware of these statistics are unable
to account for them.
One theory is that in the World
War there was definite goal to
military service which might satisfy
the emotions even of the extreme
schizophrenic. There was always
before him the possibility of dis
tinguishing himself in action and
thus attracting public attention.
This time, with no actual war SO
far as the United States is con-
cerned, this possibility Is extremely
remote-in the minds of most of
the men