as acne, furunculosis, various chronic skin affections, diabetes, certain forms of renal disease and numerous other ills due to defective or perverted metabolism.

But valuable as yeast has been found to be in certain well-defined conditions, it is not a cure-all, and careful, discriminating physicians have learned that the product must be prescribed with intelligence and caution, not only to secure satisfactory results, but to avoid doing actual harm. In other words, experience in the use of yeast, and observation of its action and effects, have shown that while it is a very potent remedy under certain conditions, it may prove exceedingly dangerous and injurious under others. For instance, in various stomach and intestinal ailments, yeast, with its highly active ferments, may set up or aggravate certain very serious processes. In the presence of gastric, duodenal and intestinal ulceration it may do great harm. In certain cardiac troubles complicated by gastric disorders, in which the sudden and extreme formation of gases in the stomach may seriously jeopardize a patient's life, yeast is to be avoided. Various other conditions, which observing medical recognize as contraindicating the use of yeast, might be given, but the foregoing are sufficient to show that a physician's knowledge and judgment are absolutely necessary for the safe and proper use of this important and useful remedy.

The exploitation of the medicinal virtues of yeast to the public is most regrettable, therefore, for it presents in a very positive way many of the dangers, if not the evils, of lay medical advertising. The advertisements we have seem thus far have been conservative, truthful and in accord with the facts. It is true that each advertisement recommends consulting a physician. A warning suggestion is also given to those troubled with gas to kill the yeast ferment with hot water before taking it. But few if any other precautions are given, and no advertisement however well prepared could tell the layman when he should, or should not, take yeast. No advertisement can give the knowledge of diagnosis, or the ability to recognize obscure bodily conditions that are essential to decide when it may be used and when it should be avoided. As a consequence, these lay advertisements mean the widespread promiscuous use of

yeast. Many will be benefited, but not a few will suffer serious harm. The people who have chronic ailments and are always looking for new remedies, will take it with avidity, no matter what their trouble, nor how little they know concerning the pathologic conditions in their stomach and bowels.

If they fail to get the results they seek and anticipate, or the effects are unsatisfactory, or worse, they immediately condemn yeast as a remedy, and do all they can to discredit its use, even when ordered by a competent physician.

of

This very thing has occurred in two instances that have come under the writer's personal notice. One was a case duodenal ulcer, and the other a case of chronic gastritis complicating a mitral lesion of the heart Both used yeast "without rhyme or reason" on the suggestion of the newspaper advertising we have referred Both suffered grievously, and dangerously, from taking yeast as directed, but with no exact realization of their conditions or the contraindications to the use of this product. Instead, however, of blaming their lack of judgment and common sense, the onus was placed entirely on the yeast.

to.

In conclusion, we believe that the majority of physicians will agree that we have fairly stated the reasons why the medical profession is so opposed to the advertising of potent internal remedies to the laity, with its constant invitation to self-medication.

It is the public that suffers the real injury, not the profession. The doctor has nothing to fear, but he does hate to see the ignorance of the public taken advantage of.

Finally, there will be especial regret felt by medical men generally concerning the advertising that forms the basis of this discussion, for it will be a shame to have a product as valuable as yeast has promised to be, when wisely and properly used, discredited by being employed by laymen who will use it promiscuously and under conditions which make it unsafe and not infrequently extremely harmful.

Telephoning the Dead.-The press of the world has leaped to the bait of Edison's announcement that he was perfecting an instrument which would decide definitely

whether there was such a thing as a spirit world and whether it was accessible to us humans. But perhaps for the first time in the great inventor's career, the press has failed to deal with proper dignity and respect an announcement from the great man who has produced so many modern miracles. The press has preferred to deal with the matter in a humorous vein. This is perhaps due in a large part to Edison's unfortunate choice of a medium for communicating with the dead-a telephone instrument. No man can refer to that instrument, after the experiences of the past year or two, without treating the subject humorously in order to escape the tragedy of it. Thus, a French paper publishes a cartoon showing a man with a broad mourning band on his sleeve. and a tragic expression in his face. "Isn't it just my luck," he says to a friend. "Just as I was congratulating myself on getting rid of my mother-in-law at last!" But, however unfortunate such a means of communication may be for the living, it would be infinitely more disappointing to the dead. Imagine the departed, their spirits calmly swinging from sphere to sphere, enjoying the calm that has come to them after the wearing trials and tribulations of life on earth, grateful for their escape from terrestrial noise, odors and ugliness. Imagine them suddenly roused out of their calm by the tinkling of a telephone bell-the last abomination they could expect to follow them to their new abode. To those departed who shook the dust of the earth. from their garments only recently, memories. of earthly agony over their telephones would cause them to flee to the farthest corners of the illimitable ether to escape a response. No celestial page would ever be able to find them, and the earthly communicant would have to be satisfied with the message: "Not in, sir."

So that it is more than likely that one will never know whether Edison has succeeded or not. His instrument may be perfect, but its unpopularity, on earth as well as in heaven, will work against its success. The wizard has announced that if his invention fails to get a response from the spirit world, he will feel convinced that there is no spirit world. That, we fear, is a too hasty conclusion. It is more than likely that the celestial service is as bad as the service in New York. "Many are called,

but few answer," is perhaps as good a motto for spirit as well as earthly telephone systems. Edison may ring, the spirits may even be willing, but how will he surmount the insurmountable obstacle of a central operator absorbed in the reading of an astral "penny dreadful" and too interested. even for a polite, "Line is busy"? Operators are the same the world over, and ethereal operators are not likely to be an exception. Their flirtations with young male spirits in far off spheres will not be interrupted merely to satisfy the curiosity of an inquiring scientist on earth. And then, if they do respond at all, they are more than apt to give you the wrong number. It's that way in every-day life. And it won't be different in death. Why, therefore, the telephone, of all instruments? And just now, too, when there is every prospect of a substantial increase in telephone rates.

Boys Will Be Men.-A Scandinavian scientist estimates the total loss of life during the war at the appalling figure of 35,000,000. Of these, 15.000.000 were either killed or died of wounds. Among the rest, the largest loss of life is comprised in the fall in births in the various countries. Such a course in estimating the loss of life as a result of the war, by computing not only the positive but the negative element, is entirely justifiable. If this figure, one of the largest yet offered, comes nearer being a correct total than any hitherto ventured, it is because it takes into account the element of human desiderata and débris which is generally neglected. But no estimate can be complete without an effort to compute the havoc spread by the war among the children, a vast proportion of whom may ultimately come to figure in a list of losses. Starvation, inanition, impossible living conditions have put in jeopardy their physical, spiritual and intellectual growth and no small number of them are destined as a consequence to become merely a burden on the community, without offering it any contribution. Here lies one of the most vital sources of human loss. The boys of today will be the men, the citizens of tomorrow. What kind of men will they be, with this heritage of suffering and hardship stamped upon their stunted bodies? It is one of the

heartening aspects of this otherwise distressing situation that Europe is fully aware of the menace of this element of loss and is making prodigious efforts to shift the item from its debit to its credit column, to make these children an asset rather than a liability. A study of a recent report issued by the American Red Cross on conditions in the Near East shows, that while hospitals, dispensaries and other institutions are inadequate in number and imperfectly organized and equipped, the orphanages everywhere are numerous, are in many cases excellently conducted, and present almost model living conditions for the children. It would appear from this report that the authorities everywhere are aware of the importance of the reclamation of the children and, where means are at a minimum, are giving their maximum toward that end. And it is to the credit of the Red Cross that it is bending all its energies and giving all the moral and material aid at its command to encourage this most vital aspect of reconstruction, even placing it before hospitals and feeding-stations in point of importance.

Nullifying the Vote?-In every election there is a considerable proportion of the voting population which does not go to the polls. This element has always been the despair of conscientious citizens who regard the vote as a sacred institution and duty. Many of these non-voters fail to respond to their duty and privilege from indifference. No small number fail to exercise their privilege from sheer despair. They are the pessimists who have succumbed to the disheartening conviction that democracy is a farce and they will have none of it. Statistics of the current election, particularly in New York, will be sure to show an increase in the number of those who remained away from the polls because of this pessimism, a pessimism which has been more than justly accentuated by the latest outrage in Albany. Five men, regularly and lawfully elected by their constituents to the legislature, were ejected by their colleagues. All the five were reelected. Three of them were a second time ejected, the other two resigning as a protest. against the treatment accorded their comrades. This, too, in a state and a country the laws of which have been adroitly de

signed to protect the spirit of democracy and to preserve the healthy element of a dissenting minority. Democracy has never we believe, received a more deadly blow, and it will be a long time before the stain of this abominable and inexcusable act will be removed. At the time of the first ousting of the five Socialist members from the Assembly, the best spirits of the country protested, rebelled, remonstrated with the perpetrators of the outrage. Even the most conservative elements in the community saw the danger of such a precedent and warned against such an outrageous violation of the spirit of democracy, of political decency. Their warning remains unheeded and once. more the five men are without their seats, once more a large group of Americans are without the representation to which they are lawfully entitled. Once more a small group of men without vision and without ideals have added their contribution toward the demolishing of a great institution of free government which its original founders so carefully and so splendidly conceived. The principle of democratic government is one long step farther removed from its original conception.

We do not agree with the political principles of the ousted members, but we should not consider that just ground for their removal. The Democratic and Republican elements are not as one, but that is not sufficient ground for the ousting of the one by the other. But is it a long step from the ejection of the Socialists to the ejection of any minority? The men were not removed because of inefficiency. Their reelection, besides, proved beyond cavil that they were loyally representing the wishes of their constituents, that they were expressing their views, executing their orders. And the will of the people is (certainly it should be) inviolable. They are entitled to whatever representation they elect. That is one of the inescapable fundamentals of democracy. But there is no question here of fundamentals of government. Unfortunately, the issue is much more trivial—and much more distressing-than that. non-partisan reports of the activities of the ejected members in the Assembly show that they have been extremely active, extremely conscientious in the discharge of their duties, which they have taken seriously. And their zeal, their energy, their incor

All

ruptible devotion to the interests of their constituents have been a source of constant discomfiture to their colleagues. About two years ago an effort was being made in an up-State town to consolidate several gas companies into a single corporation. The lawyer for this enterprise was a member of the legislature and he presented the bill, urging its acceptance on the ground of economy, such a consolidation removing competition and making possible a cut in the price of gas. One of the ejected members fought this project bitterly, scenting a monopoly and an increase in the price of gas as the ultimate object. After several weeks of such opposition, a gentleman in a top hat and smoking an expensive cigar called at the office of the opposing member and frankly acknowledged his interest in seeing the bill go thru. "Every man has his price, Mr. W," he said. "We're practical men. What's yours?" The assemblyman thought a moment. "Yes," he said, "I have my price, like every man." "Well, what is it? Five thousand, ten thousandmention your figure." "My price," said the ejected assemblyman, "is this: turn the gas property over to the people."

This incident, which is authentic beyond any doubt indicates perfectly how uncomfortable such a stubborn, unbusinesslike, unpractical member of the legislature must be to his more practical colleagues. Such bad politics is naturally intolerable. Such a lack of pliancy is insufferable in a man of the world. There is no place in the Assembly of a great state for such a man.

Our Cover Picture.-The illustration on our front cover depicts the care and attention being paid nowadays to the mouths and throats of school children. Too much credit and commendation cannot be given to our school teachers who are inculcating the principles of personal cleanliness and health in the minds of the children, under their care. Knowing today all that we do concerning the relation of clean mouths and normal throat conditions to the prevention of disease, we cannot help but see a constant improvement in the health of our nation as a consequence of the emphasis being placed on these matters in our public and private schools. Every medical man should support this line of work and go

out of his way to keep in touch with the advances that are being made in school hygiene in his community.

Psychopathia Commercialis or Just Plain Greed?-In some parts of the world it is a common custom for a wealthy man to sell off any of his wives that he finds he can dispense with to advantage to himself. In certain African circles this is a usual occurrence and doubtless in those countries there is much to be said in its favor. But society will hardly allow it to become a regular procedure in Occidental countries. Now and then a man may show a commercial instinct so perverted or overgrown that he will look on everything, even his wife and progeny, from the standpoints of barter and trade. A recent case of this "psychopathia commercialis" occurred in Chicago where a man, according to the Urologic and Cutaneous Review (Aug., 1920), sold his wife and two children with his furniture for $75.00. He had lost all interest in housekeeping and offered his furniture to two men who suggested he throw his wife and children into the bargain. This he did. He tired of his bargain and consulted the police. The wife, who had gone willingly, returned to him. with the children.

Selling of wives is not uncommon in the British Isles. It forms the motif of Thomas Hardy's novel, "The Mayor of Casterbridge." "The common usage prints its lessons so deeply in the common mind," remarks Jefferson, "that centuries are powerless to obliterate them. The practice of bartering wives, a practice traceable to marriage by purchase or at least to obvious deductions from that mode of matrimony, taught our commonality to imagine the husband has a right to sell his wife provided the sale were made openly and his wife sanctioned the proceeding by silence. He might not, it was imagined, dispose of her by a secret sale because in that case, there would be no satisfactory evidence of his wife's consent without which their partnership could not be dissolved. But if she accompanied him to market voluntarily and allowed herself to be sold with a halter around her neck, no injury was thought to be done her, since her acquiescence in the proceeding declared her readiness to part with her proper husband and become the conjugal partner of her purchaser."

OUR HERITAGE.

BY

WILLIAM P. CUNNINGHAM, M. D.,

Consulting Dermatologist to the Misericordia Hosp. Associate Visiting Dermatologist to the Children's Hosp. and Schools, Randall's Island,

New York City.

This subject might be discussed from many viewpoints. The aristocrat might dilate upon the distinction of his family name with its long line of noble exponents. The landed proprietor might boast of his wide acres and numerous tenements, accumulated by the thrift of prudent forebears. The artist might descant upon his inherited temperament; the woman upon her inherited pulchritude. The citizen of a great republic might be excused for his boisterous appreciation of the matchless gift of freedom won by the heroism of sturdy predecessors. When the Englishman sings "Rule Britannia" he is expressing the same sentiment. When the physician, however, speaks of "Our Heritage", he has in mind. a broader conception of the acknowledgment we owe to our lineage. He goes back of the social and racial differentiations and arrives at the common source of humanity's physical weal or woe. This may be summed up in two words: protoplasm and propinquity.

The Primal Cell and Its Environment. -Whether we be patrician or plebian our bodily health, and in a great degree our spiritual expansion, depend upon the reaction of that protoplasm to its propinquity; upon all the influences exerted on it, during all the ages of its reciprocal pressure against inimical forces. As we stand today we are the product of the bruising struggle for existence, imposed, as the theologians say by the fall of Adam from the state of perfection; imposed, as the evolutionists say, by the painful progress of man from a lower to a higher degree of development. Whatever be the truth of this, the essential fact stands out that we today are that protoplasm modified beneficially or injuriously by the qualities acquired from the moment of its creation to the moment of its transmission to us in the womb.

This is Our Heritage. We are the product of the remotest cave man. We are the

product of the most recent intellectual. We

are a mixture of the grossest barbarism and the finest civilization. We are all gradations between. Depending upon our own reaction to our environment we display the tendencies that are our particular inheritance. We become the torturer or the martyr! We play the hero or the poltroon! We descend to the infamy of German Kultur or rise to the sublimity of its wonderful opponents. Man has been called the microcosm. More appropriately were the term