With that he seized a heavy agate inkstand and threw it at the Grand Vizier, who was the offending party, with such deadly accuracy of aim that that worthy received it full in the eye, to his great discomfort. His Majesty, with his face still swollen with passion, tenderly felt his caudal appendix to see if any bones were crushed. He then carefully wrapped it around his waist thrice, for its better protection, and resumed his former occupation. Several diabolical courtiers covertly chuckled; it was so devilishly amusing. This diversion was very ill-timed and unfortunate for the unhappy doctor, for it undeniably put His Majesty in a dreadful temper. Very shortly after this the Deputy Examiner appeared with the newly arrived aspirant for infernal honors in his charge, and presented an inventory of the results of his examination of the doctor's character. "Hum, hum, much the same as the last," muttered Satan as he cast his eye over the list; it read as follows: CONTENTS OF THE BRAIN BOX. Four purges, rather cloudy about three of them. Four kinds of anti-toxin serums, rather wabbly on two of them. Thinks that vaccination should be performed on everybody at the point of the bayonet, and repeated every year. Rather vague on what good it does. Thinks that Quinine is good for seven-eighths of all diseases and Morphine for the rest. Rather misty on how it does it. Convinced that mankind would be better off without the vermiform appendix. Rather foggy on why it was put there. Etc., etc., etc. CONTENTS OF HEART AND SPLEEN. Strong dislike for all other doctors. Much hate for Homeopathy and homeopathic physicians. Strong liking for surgical operations and for attractive lady patients. Enormous greed for money, fame, reputation, etc. Great admiration for himself. Etc., etc., etc. "What would you recommend for a too free indulgence in Antimonial Wine and Arsenical Pie?" asked Satan rubbing his stomach with a soothing hand. The Distinguished Physician had very few clothes on and endeavored, with very mediocre success, to assume a pompous air; he replied, however: "I would recommend your Highness to take a laxative dose of Phenophthaline, and an injection, under antiseptic precautions, of Antistreptococcus serum "Stuff," interrupted Satan, scowling fiercely, "that treatment is no good: have tried it." The Deputy Examiner caused the Distinguished Physician some concern at this moment by testing the point of his pitchfork on his thumb, and then looking steadily at him with an anticipative air. "The same old story," growled the Devil, "the last ten thousand consignments of doctors have exhibited as little variety as one would find in a quart of peas. "I wish we could get a homeopath once in a while, but they all seem to go to Heaven. "Put him in Pit No. 2,829,322 and set him to mixing sulphur and molasses." SANITARY IDEAS IN COURT.-We learn from the press that in the Lambeth police station of London witnesses will no longer be required to kiss the Bible as a token of the truth of their statements. This is a custom we trust may become extended, not for the purpose of decreasing the reverence to be felt for the Scriptures but rather as a rcognition of a hygienic law. UNUSUAL HEROISM.-The New York newspapers have recently made public a case of unusual heroism by the awarding of $20,000 each to John McGlynn and Orlazus Jude in their suit against the Pennsylvania Steel Company. This company is now building the new bridge from Manhattan to Long Island City. During the construction these two men were engaged in putting into position a heavy steel plate more than 100 ft. up in the air. On account of some error the plate began to slip. The men, seeing that if it fell it would undoubtedly destroy a number of their fellow-workmen, each put a hand into the crevice beneath the plate and prevented it falling. As a result their hands were so seriously injured as to require immediate amputation. In 1906, Dr. John H. Edwards, president of the British ElectroTherapeutic Society, published an appeal to his colleagues, in the British Medical Journal, for some remedy to relieve him from a dreadful X-ray dermatitis which was causing him untold agony, and which threatened soon to end his existence. He writes: "I have not in more than two years experienced a moment's freedom from pain, which is at times so severe as to render me incapable of work, whether mental or otherwise. The pain cannot be expressed in words." In 1900 he went to South Africa, where he labored with the X-ray, locating many a bullet for the wounded soldiers of the Boer war, and laid the foundation for a subsequent life of the most extreme suffering. His left arm has been amputated since the publication of his appeal. and his great fears are that he will not survive until the publication of his book on the subject which has been the cause of his suffering and impending doom. In 1903, Dr. M. Radiguet, of Paris, who experimented extensively with the X-ray, became afflicted, and died after two years of suffering. In 1904, Dr. Blacker, of St. Thomas' Hospital, died from the same effects. In 1906, Dr. L. Weigel, of Rochester, died after repeated amputations, first of the fingers of the left hand, then of the elbow, and finally of the shoulder. In 1905, Mr. Wolfram Fuchs, of Chicago, died from X-ray destruction, after submitting to five operations, involving removal of fingers from both hands and subsequent removal of the right pectorals. Added to these names may be that of Miss Bertha Fleishman, of San Francisco, an assistant in the laboratory of Edison, who also paid with her life for repeated exposure to these rays. "What means of torture has medievalism devised comparable to those which these sufferers have willingly anticipated and endured? The muscles begin to fail; without premonition the color of the hands and face changes; swelling ensues; bran-like scales appear, then itching papules, pustules, ulcers, cumulative lesions; irritation of the cutaneous nerves becomes progressive until it is permanent, and then the pain becomes cruel and constant. Betimes there is inflammation, disintegration, intense itching, successive crops of sores, until there is honeycombing of small, indolent, perhaps confluent, ulcers, with sanious malodorous discharges; then destruction of the skin, which has - become glossy, of the nails; alopecia, dreadful disfigurements-scars, pits, pigmentations, cicatrices, drawing down of the angle of the mouth, impaired vision." Such lessons ought to teach the average practitioner the folly of monkeying with an X-ray apparatus. It is a dangerous propositionat least has been in the past-and better be left with those who are capable of handling the dangerous agent with little risk, if such a process is possible. The time is past when the neophyte, with such examples before him, ought to waste money on an expensive and practically useless X-ray outfit. This is not saying, however, that it is not a real benefit to those who seek to locate foreign bodies and pathological entities.-Eclectic Medical Journal. NEW SURGEON-GENERAL FOR THE NAVY.-In February the surgeon-general, P. M. Rixey, voluntarily retired from his official connection with the navy. As a successor Dr. Charles F. Stokes has been nominated. Dr. Stokes is a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, and for several years was Professor of Surgery at the Naval Medical School in Washington. BILL FOR REGISTRATION OF NURSES.-A bill has been introduced into the present legislature that provides for a board of registration in nursing. This board is to consist of five persons to be appointed by the governor and his council, three of whom shall be graduates of different training schools and with at least eight years' experience in actual nursing. One shall be a superintendent of the hospital having a training school for the nurses and the fifth shall be secretary of the board of registration in medicine. Anyone may appear before this board for examination who is 21 years of age, shows evidence of good moral character and pays the examination fee of $5.00. Those passing the examination will be entitled to the term "Registered Nurse," and others using this term will be liable to a fine. For those nurses already busy in their vocation provision has been made. The bill seems to be one that should appeal to the profession as a desirable advance. MEDICAL SUPPLY DEPOT BURNED.-The medical supply depot of the United States army, situated in New York, was destroyed by fire on February 4th last, and resulted in a loss of nearly one million dollars. The loss is of particular importance on account of the fact that a large consignment was stored here prior to its shipment to the canal zone. This was entirely destroyed, and it is feared that possibly much inconvenience and delay may be caused before the supplies can be duplicated. OFFICIAL ROUTE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF HOMOEOPATHY, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. The Transportation Committee of the American Institute announce the following as the selected official route for the California meeting at Long Beach in July: Burlington-Chicago to Denver, with stops at Omaha and Lincoln. Missouri Pacific and Union Pacific-St. Louis and Denver, via Kansas City. Colorado Midland-Denver to Salt Lake, with stops at Colorado Springs, Leadville, Grand Junction and Salt Lake. Salt Lake-San Pedro Route-Salt Lake to Los Angeles. This road is at present out of commission, but we have the assurance of the general passenger agent of this road, as well as of the general passenger agents of several other roads, that the line will absolutely be in commission of July 1. The itinerary will be about as follows: Leave Chicago in the evening. Arrive Omaha early in the morning; Omaha two hours. Arrive Lincoln about noon; Lincoln two hours, where Dr. Bailey and others will entertain us during that time. Arrive Denver early in the morning. Will stay there all day. For those who wish to be entertained by the local profession, arrangements have been made to see Denver and its environmnts. For those who wish to take the Moffat trip, arrangements will be made so that they can spend the entire day seeing the scenery. Colorado Springs late that afternoon and evening. Day scenery Colorado Springs to Grand Junction, with an hour at Leadville and another hour at Glenwood. Glenwood good place for rest, luncheon, bath, etc. Natural cave stream; Turkish baths there if wanted. Grand Junction an hour toward dusk. Fine fruit valley. Chamber of Commerce actively interested in our coming, and will entertain us. Arrive Salt Lake City next morning; stay there three hours, see the city two hours, and spend on hour at the Lake. Only stop in California will be one hour at the Insane Hospital at Patton. Arrangements will be made Sunday morning so that we can get to Long Beach by noon for memorial services that afternoon. The Burlington will take us through a very attractive part of Illinois, Iowa, to Omaha, thence through Southern Nebraska and Northern Colorado to Denver, with brief stops at Omaha and Lincoln. The Union Pacific has been very friendly to us and helped the committee much in getting the round-trip rate, and runs through one of the best parts of Kansas, through the central region, and we trust the profession of the South and Southwest will avail themselves of this route. At Denver the special Institute train from Chicago, those from Kansas City and St. Louis, and others, will unite and join our Institute special the balance of the way. At Colorado Springs a stop of a few hours will be made for the purpose of visiting the city, Manitou, and the Garden of the Gods; and if we have time, those who wish to ascend Pike's Peak can do so on the Cog Railway. The Colorado Midland goes through the mountains high up, the scenery is gorgeous, Marshall Pass being the highest point of the Colorado mountains reached by a railway, and the whole scene through this section of the country is very attractive. The committee has decided this as the official route after careful investigation of the various lines, with a view to two things: First, having the coolest possible route for those traveling, which is essential in a long journey; the other being that we can do much good to the members of the various cities en route, as well as much propogandistic work on the way. We have then, a cool route, splendid scenery, and an opportunity of doing good for the Institute as well as the profession in the local cities, which we think will be for the good of all. We trust everyone will join us in our endeavor to make this special train a success. The equipment will be the finest obtainable. We will have our own Pullmans, both sectional and compartment cars, an observation car and through diner. We have already made arrangements for the diner through to Salt Lake, and we have a guarantee of the Salt Lake route to have a diner in readiness for us at Salt Lake City, so that we will not be handicapped in that particular. Much good can be accomplished, too, by the profession getting together on this journey, meeting each other and making the acquaintance of each other, and outlining the best plans to meet the local profession everywhere, and gathering them into the Institute. We ask the profession to support the committee in its choice, because the committee has acted for what they believe to be the best interests of all concerned. They have favored no special road, have selected the route largely because it could attain in that way the idea that they set out to accomplish, viz.: to aid the Institute in furthering the cause as we go along. The Secretary of the Transportation Committee would be pleased to have communications from all those intending to go, and will be glad to place them on the list and make reservations for them at any time. Those wishing compartments will please make application early, because the number will, necessarily, be limited. C. E. FISHER, Chairman. T. E. COSTAIN, Secretary, 42 Madison Street, Chicago. It is not the purpose of this paper to go over the familiar ground of pathology and clinical aspects of arteriosclerosis, but rather to enquire, very briefly, into the etiology and the economic aspect of the disease in the light of modern research. In this way it may be possible to bring to your attention a few thoughts that will throw light on a vexed question, or stimulate others to clinical observation and discussion that shall lead to valuable results in the future. Arteriosclerosis is a disease of the arterial system which has been described as: "A condition of thickening, diffuse or circumscribed, of the intima, consequent upon primary changes in the media and adventitia.”—(Osler.) We are prone to think of arteriosclerosis as an accompaniment of age. As physicians, we are more frequently called upon to deal with the results of the disease than with the disease itself. To see a patient presenting himself for treatment, voluntarily, for arteriosclerosis, is a somewhat unusual thing, yet the care of cases of apoplexy, aneurism, heart disease, etc., resulting from diseased arteries, forms a moderately large percentage of the work of almost every busy practitioner. This would seem to point the need of a better understanding of the conditions leading up to the dire results mentioned, in order that the public may in some manner receive a greater measure of protection than has yet obtained. Of some of the early causes preceding the actual presence of hardening of the arteries we have knowledge. It is well understood that undue consumption of alcohol and tobacco hasten the process. Furthermore, it has been found that a certain form of arteriosclerosis can be produced artificially in animals, by the injection of andrealin or nicotin into the tissues. (B. M. J. 1906.) The relation of food to the causation of the disease has not until recently been so clear. Some authors have included overeating among the causes, others mention only certain groups of food products as being at fault. On the whole, there seems to have been very little united understanding of the subject. It is fairly well set *Read before the Massachusetts Homoeopathic Medical Society. |