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CONGRESS OF ALIENIST PHYSICIANS AND NEUROLOGISTS OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

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590 Huddersfield, and Scotland for its tweeds, are great centres of the textile industries. No immediate orders are expected, but there are patriotic motives at work and indirect efEects may be anticipated. It is by such action that we have recaptured the place we should never have lost in these international exhibitions. The Exhibit of the Britis7t Home Office. !’<. Though not so attractive as a show, still of even greater importance is the magnificent and extensive exhibit of the British Home Office. This brings us to questions directly concerning this journal. In the main the exhibits deal with life- and health-saving processes, and it is very gratifying to see that in this respect there is much to show. Further, and so that the lesson shall not be lost, the Home Office has had the excellent idea of printing and posting on each exhibit a fairly lengthy and explicit explanation of its purpose, and this not merely in English but also in French and in German. As Belgium is a great coal-mining country the Home Office has very appropriately devoted a large proportion of its space to making a "mine section." Thus there is a model of the first gallery erected in Europe to train miners in rescue work. This was built at the Altofts Collieries, Yorkshire, in 1901. It is 150 feet long, can be closed hermetically and filled with poisonous gases. Inside are stones, timber, all sorts of obstructions to imitate a mine, so that miners find there ithe dangerous con- ditions that prevail in a mine when an accident has occurred. They can then within easy reach of rescue practise working with the heavy life-saving apparatus and masks for breathing the compressed air they carry with them. The "Weg," the I I Aerolith, and I I Salvator breathing apparatus are shown. With the latter, for instance, there are two steel cylinders containing 5 cubic feet of oxygen gas compressed 1 to 120 atmospheres, and the breathing-bag can be so supplied 1 that the wearer can work in a poisonous atmosphere for two hours. At the Aberaman rescue station in South Wales, I serving 15,905 colliers, 60 men have now been fully trained, and here they are made to walk long distances over broken ground while wearing the heavy breathing apparatus. Then they are taught to go on their hands and knees, to push or pull heavy loads. Thus, when an accident does occur they will be quite accustomed to the sort of physical efforts needed. They will also be familiar with the breathing apparatus they wear and the telephone which they carry suspended round their necks. Thus they will be better able to rescue the victims of accidents, and be less likely themselves to become the victim of an accident. There are also such training rescue stations at Wath in Yorkshire and Howe Bridge in Lancashire. Besides models and breathing apparatus, there are numerous photographs showing the work that has been done. What is now needed is the spread of this good example so that there should not be a single colliery that is not within easy reach of such a rescue station. After coal-mining come such dangerous industries as steel- grinding and the manufacture of earthen or china ware. In both cases it is a question of exhaust ventilation so as to remove deleterious dust. The difficulty, especially in regard to steel-grinding, is that the preventive measures, in whatever form they are adopted, invariably increase the cost. Many workmen hire a bench, but, if there is a hood over the revolving grind-stone and a fan working in connexion with this hood to draw away the steel dust produced by the grinding, the hire for such a grinder’s bench will be higher because the cost is greater. The grinder who works by the piece will earn less in proportion to the higher rent he has to pay for the use of the bench. Therefore it is easier to devise good methods than to persuade the independent piece- workers and the smaller employers to use them. There are on exhibition excellent working models of dust and fumes eghansts applicable to work in the Potteries, together with apparatus for ascertaining the amount of dust that is present in the air of workrooms. By means of one such apparatus it was found that in 10 cubic metres of air there were 1114 milligrammes of dust in dry rough glazing of metals after grinding, but 5862 milligrammes were the maximum in leadless processes. A number of other models, drawings, and photographs illustrate what, in carrying out the Factory Acts and similar legislation, the Home Office does to prevent accidents and to preserve the health of the workers. Never before has the beneficent action of the British Government been so well set forth and placed within the easy understanding of the crowds that visit exhibitions, and it goes without saying that such a national effort will have its effect on our continental neighbours. By the side of these collective exhibits there are, of course, many private exhibits, but it is the action of the Government and of the chambers of commerce that has done most to raise the position of Great Britain, and therefore I mention these pieces of collective organisation first. POSTSCRIPT.&mdash;Just as our Special Correspondent had sent us this account of the new and promising departure made by the British Government to ensure an adequate representa. tion of British science, art, and industry at international exhibitions, the news came that the British Section, among other parts of the Brussels Exhibition, has been swept away by fire. The whole of the British Section, except the machinery hall, and the whole of the Belgian National Exhibit have perished. The loss to many exhibitors, how- ever far they may be recouped in money through insurance policies, is very heavy, as some of the things which have perished can never be replaced. (To be continued.) CONGRESS OF ALIENIST PHYSICIANS AND NEUROLOGISTS OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) THE Twentieth Congress of Alienist Physicians and Neuro- ogists of France and the French-speaking Countries was leld in Belgium-namely, in the cities of Brussels and Liege, ’rom August 1st to 8th. The present was the second occasion m which this Congress has met in the Belgian capital, and this time it coincided with the Brussels Exhibition. Although French was the only language of the Congress, many nations have contributed to the membership, for Swedes, Spaniards, Roumanians, North Americans, Czechs, Germans, Russians, Australians, and English have not only been present but have taken no inconsiderable part in the business of the meetings. King Albert and the Belgian Government have favoured the Congress with their patronage, and at the inaugural meeting the King was represented by Count d’Arschot, with whom were also M. Velghe, director- general of the Ministry of the Interior; and M. de Latour, director-general of the Ministry of Justice. The delegates of the French Government were M. Granier, representing the Ministry of the Interior ; Professor Simonin of Val de Grace and Dr. Binet Sangle, representing the Ministry of War; M. Bertrand, Inspector-General of the Naval Medical Service ; and M. Beau, French Minister in Brussels. There were two presidents, one of whom was a Frenchman, Dr. Klippel, physician to the H&ocirc;pital Tenon in Paris, well known for his investigations into the histology of the nervous system. The other president was a Belgian, Dr. Jean Crocq, the accomplished organiser and general secretary of the last congress and celebrated for his neurological and psychiatric work. Proceedings at Brussels. The opening meeting was held on August lst in a room on the ground floor of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville, Brussels, when an out- line of the subjects to be dealt with was given by the presidents and the delegates of the Governments, some of them being questions of national importance, such as sleep- ing sickness and diseases of which drowsiness was a feature, the systematisation of trophic lesions in mental and nervous diseases, and the connexion between alcoholism and crime. In the afternoon Professor VAN CAMPENHOUT (Brussels) read a paper on Sleeping Sickness, a disease caused by trypanosomata, parasites living in the patient’s blood. On the following day the learned professor of diseases of hot climates showed kinematograph pictures illustrating the evolution, propagation, and development of blood parasites as well as the behaviour of the blood corpuscles towards them ; the red corpuscles were repelled and moved away, whereas the white corpuscles absorbed the parasites by the process of phagocytosis. These pictures, obtained from films which M. Comandon had prepared by means of the ultra- microscope, illustrated very clearly the phenomena of trypanosomiasis and of some other diseased conditions caused by intestinal parasites.
Transcript
Page 1: CONGRESS OF ALIENIST PHYSICIANS AND NEUROLOGISTS OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

590

Huddersfield, and Scotland for its tweeds, are great centresof the textile industries. No immediate orders are expected,but there are patriotic motives at work and indirectefEects may be anticipated. It is by such action that we haverecaptured the place we should never have lost in theseinternational exhibitions.

The Exhibit of the Britis7t Home Office.!’<. Though not so attractive as a show, still of even greaterimportance is the magnificent and extensive exhibit of theBritish Home Office. This brings us to questions directlyconcerning this journal. In the main the exhibits deal withlife- and health-saving processes, and it is very gratifying tosee that in this respect there is much to show. Further, andso that the lesson shall not be lost, the Home Office has hadthe excellent idea of printing and posting on each exhibit afairly lengthy and explicit explanation of its purpose, andthis not merely in English but also in French and in German.

As Belgium is a great coal-mining country the HomeOffice has very appropriately devoted a large proportion ofits space to making a "mine section." Thus there is amodel of the first gallery erected in Europe to train minersin rescue work. This was built at the Altofts Collieries,Yorkshire, in 1901. It is 150 feet long, can beclosed hermetically and filled with poisonous gases. Insideare stones, timber, all sorts of obstructions to imitatea mine, so that miners find there ithe dangerous con-

ditions that prevail in a mine when an accident hasoccurred. They can then within easy reach of rescue practiseworking with the heavy life-saving apparatus and masks forbreathing the compressed air they carry with them. The

"Weg," the I I Aerolith, and I I Salvator breathing apparatusare shown. With the latter, for instance, there are two steelcylinders containing 5 cubic feet of oxygen gas compressed 1to 120 atmospheres, and the breathing-bag can be so supplied 1that the wearer can work in a poisonous atmosphere for twohours. At the Aberaman rescue station in South Wales, I

serving 15,905 colliers, 60 men have now been fully trained,and here they are made to walk long distances over brokenground while wearing the heavy breathing apparatus. Then

they are taught to go on their hands and knees, to push orpull heavy loads. Thus, when an accident does occur theywill be quite accustomed to the sort of physical effortsneeded. They will also be familiar with the breathingapparatus they wear and the telephone which they carrysuspended round their necks. Thus they will be better able torescue the victims of accidents, and be less likely themselvesto become the victim of an accident. There are also suchtraining rescue stations at Wath in Yorkshire and Howe

Bridge in Lancashire. Besides models and breathingapparatus, there are numerous photographs showing the workthat has been done. What is now needed is the spread ofthis good example so that there should not be a single collierythat is not within easy reach of such a rescue station.

After coal-mining come such dangerous industries as steel-grinding and the manufacture of earthen or china ware. Inboth cases it is a question of exhaust ventilation so as

to remove deleterious dust. The difficulty, especially in

regard to steel-grinding, is that the preventive measures, inwhatever form they are adopted, invariably increase the cost.Many workmen hire a bench, but, if there is a hood over therevolving grind-stone and a fan working in connexionwith this hood to draw away the steel dust produced by thegrinding, the hire for such a grinder’s bench will be higherbecause the cost is greater. The grinder who works by thepiece will earn less in proportion to the higher rent he hasto pay for the use of the bench. Therefore it is easier to devisegood methods than to persuade the independent piece-workers and the smaller employers to use them. There areon exhibition excellent working models of dust and fumeseghansts applicable to work in the Potteries, togetherwith apparatus for ascertaining the amount of dust that ispresent in the air of workrooms. By means of one suchapparatus it was found that in 10 cubic metres of air therewere 1114 milligrammes of dust in dry rough glazing ofmetals after grinding, but 5862 milligrammes were themaximum in leadless processes. A number of other models,drawings, and photographs illustrate what, in carrying outthe Factory Acts and similar legislation, the HomeOffice does to prevent accidents and to preserve the healthof the workers. Never before has the beneficent actionof the British Government been so well set forth and

placed within the easy understanding of the crowds thatvisit exhibitions, and it goes without saying that such

a national effort will have its effect on our continentalneighbours.By the side of these collective exhibits there are, of course,

many private exhibits, but it is the action of the Governmentand of the chambers of commerce that has done most toraise the position of Great Britain, and therefore I mentionthese pieces of collective organisation first.

POSTSCRIPT.&mdash;Just as our Special Correspondent had sentus this account of the new and promising departure made bythe British Government to ensure an adequate representa.tion of British science, art, and industry at internationalexhibitions, the news came that the British Section, amongother parts of the Brussels Exhibition, has been swept awayby fire. The whole of the British Section, except themachinery hall, and the whole of the Belgian NationalExhibit have perished. The loss to many exhibitors, how-ever far they may be recouped in money through insurancepolicies, is very heavy, as some of the things which haveperished can never be replaced.

(To be continued.)

CONGRESS OF ALIENIST PHYSICIANS ANDNEUROLOGISTS OF FRANCE AND

THE FRENCH-SPEAKINGCOUNTRIES.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

THE Twentieth Congress of Alienist Physicians and Neuro-ogists of France and the French-speaking Countries wasleld in Belgium-namely, in the cities of Brussels and Liege,’rom August 1st to 8th. The present was the second occasionm which this Congress has met in the Belgian capital, andthis time it coincided with the Brussels Exhibition. AlthoughFrench was the only language of the Congress, many nationshave contributed to the membership, for Swedes, Spaniards,Roumanians, North Americans, Czechs, Germans, Russians,Australians, and English have not only been present buthave taken no inconsiderable part in the business ofthe meetings. King Albert and the Belgian Governmenthave favoured the Congress with their patronage, andat the inaugural meeting the King was represented byCount d’Arschot, with whom were also M. Velghe, director-general of the Ministry of the Interior; and M. de Latour,director-general of the Ministry of Justice. The delegatesof the French Government were M. Granier, representingthe Ministry of the Interior ; Professor Simonin of Val deGrace and Dr. Binet Sangle, representing the Ministryof War; M. Bertrand, Inspector-General of the NavalMedical Service ; and M. Beau, French Minister in Brussels.There were two presidents, one of whom was a Frenchman,Dr. Klippel, physician to the H&ocirc;pital Tenon in Paris, wellknown for his investigations into the histology of the nervoussystem. The other president was a Belgian, Dr. Jean Crocq,the accomplished organiser and general secretary of the lastcongress and celebrated for his neurological and psychiatricwork.

Proceedings at Brussels.The opening meeting was held on August lst in a room on

the ground floor of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville, Brussels, when an out-line of the subjects to be dealt with was given by thepresidents and the delegates of the Governments, some ofthem being questions of national importance, such as sleep-ing sickness and diseases of which drowsiness was a feature,the systematisation of trophic lesions in mental and nervousdiseases, and the connexion between alcoholism and crime.

In the afternoon Professor VAN CAMPENHOUT (Brussels)read a paper on Sleeping Sickness, a disease caused bytrypanosomata, parasites living in the patient’s blood.On the following day the learned professor of diseases of

hot climates showed kinematograph pictures illustrating theevolution, propagation, and development of blood parasitesas well as the behaviour of the blood corpuscles towardsthem ; the red corpuscles were repelled and moved away,whereas the white corpuscles absorbed the parasites by theprocess of phagocytosis. These pictures, obtained from filmswhich M. Comandon had prepared by means of the ultra-microscope, illustrated very clearly the phenomena of

trypanosomiasis and of some other diseased conditions causedby intestinal parasites.

Page 2: CONGRESS OF ALIENIST PHYSICIANS AND NEUROLOGISTS OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

591

Dr. LHERMITTE (Paris) read a paper on the Symptomato-logy of Sleep, and on various diseases of nervous or organicorigin in which it was observed, examples of this kind beingsupplied by hysteria, epilepsy, diabetes, and albuminuria.

Trypanosomiasis, whichhas been imported into Europe fromthe colonies, is difficult to diagnose in the early stage whenthe patient is excited or demented. If he has committed acrime the question of his responsibility for his actionsremained for consideration and was of importance in a

medico-legal point of view.Professor BLANCHARD, Professor Bucis, Dr. GASTON

MARTIN, and Dr. LINGENBOSCH discussed some points inthe parasitology of the trypanosoma.M. SANO (Antwerp), well known for his researches on the

anatomy and pathology of the nervous system, read a paperon Trophic Lesions found in the Living Subject and atNecropsies.M. HENRI MEIGE described a case of tremophobia, his

remarks giving rise to a discussion on the pathology andtreatment of this condition. ;

Dr. FOVEAU DE COURMELLES mentioned the case of a I

printer who suffered from tremors and neuritis soon after hislittle finger had been crushed, and who derived no benefitfrom treatment. On the other hand, patients who believedthat they suffered from lesions of the bones recovered fromtheir sensations when radiography proved that the supposedlesions did not exist. This form of suggestion was oftenuseful.

Dr. WILLIAMS (Washington) showed a New Thermo-sesthesiometer.Professor MEDEA (Milan) mentioned some clinical details

relative to Cerebral Tumours and their Surgical Treatment.A visit was made to the old colony at Gheel where the

principle of "the open door" " has been followed forcenturies and where the insane patients who are not

dangerous live in families; they work as agriculturallabourers and have reclaimed much land which was formerlyunproductive. There is an infirmary for the reception ofdangerous, impulsive, and restless patients.

Dr. CHAUMIER, Dr. JOURDAN, Dr. PARHON, Dr. LALLE-

MANT, and Dr. HAMEL here read papers on delirium,psychoses, and other subjects. It was said that some insane

persons who belonged to various nationalities and had cometo the end of their resources in the United States of Americahad been deported from that country to Havre, where thelocal authorities were in some doubt as to the propriety ofsending them on to their native countries. If that were doneall the European nations would become interested in thesolution of the question.

Proaeedings at Liege.On the following day, Thursday, August 4th, the Congress

met at Liege.Dr. LEY (Brussels) and Dr. BENE CHARPENTIER (Paris)

each read a paper on the social problem of the connexionbetween alcoholism and crime. This problem was one ofurgent importance for the whole world. How many acts ofviolence, how many crimes of all kinds, offences againstboth person and property, were traceable to alcohol ? 7 Inacute alcoholic intoxication, the intoxication with hallucina-tions of Garnier, the delirium (described by Lasegue andRegis) might continue for several days, after which theindividual might return to his normal condition. Dr.

Charpentier discussed the management of an attack of dipso-mania and the question of secluding the individual if he wasdisposed to escape from his home. In cases of chronic alco-holism criminal acts were frequent, because the mental

powers were weakened and no longer had a restraining influ-ence on the inebriate, who was, moreover, liable to attacks offear and to hallucinations of sight and hearing, and mightbecome dangerous to others. Dr. Ley and Dr. Charpentierquoted statistics for Belgium, France, and other nations,clearly demonstrating the simultaneous increase of alcoholismand crime. They also described the measures employedin various countries for restricting the sale of alcohol,including total prohibition as adopted in Iceland. It often

happened that an inebriate committed a crime under the influ-ence of fear due to hallucination Experts were sometimesat a loss to determine whether responsibility was diminishedor not.Various motions and recommendations for future legisla-

tion were now proposed and subsequently adopted by theCongress.

Various medico-legal questions were discussed by M.GRANJUX, M. JUDE, M. JUQUELIER, M. FILASSIER, !M.BINET, Professor SIMONIN (Paris), and others. Professor -

REGIS said that among inebriates the birth-rate washigh,although alcohol caused sterility in the lower animals.

Miscellaneous subjects connected with anatomy, physio-logy, therapeutics, and psychology were in the next placediscussed by M. PARHON, M. DIMITRESCO, M. HALIPRE,M. HERCOUET, M. RAOULT-DESLONGCHAMPS, and others.The question was raised whether neurasthenic patients:oughtto be isolated for the purpose of treatment or whether theycould be treated while living at home and following theiroccupations. Some divergence of opinion was evident, butmany facts proved that it was not always necessary toisolate such patients for this purpose. Another subject ofinterest was the treatment of cases of facial and sciaticneuralgia in which all remedial measures had failed ; withregard to the last-mentioned disease Dr. FOVEAU DE CouR-MELLES said that continuous electric currents, light, X rays,and radium were sometimes beneficial and ought to be triedsuccessively. He said that chronic neuralgia, whether facial,intercostal, or sciatic, which are the most frequent forms,often resists all kinds of treatment, both medicinal andoperative, and recourse is had in the last resort to physio-therapy, which has to vary its methods. The galvaniccurrent, which is within reach of all practitioners, if appliedin its continuous form with the positive pole over the

painful region, gives good results and is well tolerated if itis quite constant and if the electrodes are good. Thefaradic current and vibratory massage are less useful.Blue light, whether solar or electric, with blue glasses is

helpful; ultra-violet rays are more powerful ; the Roentgenrays are still more so ; radium has an extremely well-marked sedative action, as he showed at the meetings ofthat Congress in 1903 and 1904.

L1’xc2c.sions and Entertainments.

Dr. CROCQ, the Belgian President of the Congress and theprincipal organiser of it, had arranged a number of excursionsand amusements. The visit to the colony at Gheel onWednesday was followed on Friday and Saturday by a two-day excursion into the Province of Liege, the means of con-veyance being either railway train or motor vehicle, accord-ing to individual preferences. At the numerous banquetswhich took place during the Congress wine was drunk butnot spirituous liquors ; many of the speakers, while acknow-ledging the usefulness of wine, recommended moderation,but there were very few who argued in favour of totalabstinence. Visits were made to Spa, to the cascade of Loo,to the celebrated caves of Rochefort and Han, to Dinant, toNamur, to the banks of the Meuse, to the Ardennes, and toseveral other places. On Thursday and Sunday entertain-ments were given by the municipalities in the Hotels de Villein Liege and Brussels. Finally, for those who were fond oftravelling there was, from August 9th to 18th, a well-

organised excursion on a large scale into Flanders andHolland.

______ _______

MANCHESTER.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Medwal Inspection of School Children.THE medical inspection of school children for the

Lancashire county council has been going on for morethan 12 months. This, the first complete survey, was begunearly in January, 1909, and was completed at the end ofApril, 1910. The number of children of all ages examinedwas 61,883, of whom 31,162 were boys and 30,721 were girls.In speaking on the report from the medical superintendentat the meeting of the council on August 4th, Sir HenryHibbert said there were 158,000 children on the books intheir elementary schools, 61,883 of whom had I een examined.In various ways 39,042 were more or less ailing, but "only10,788 were affected with diseases likely to interfere seriouslywith their progress in life." But even this number, and whenthe examination of the remainder is completed it may be

increased, is sufficiently serious. If similar health conditionsobtain in other counties the total number of those more orless incapacitated, and therefore a burden on the country,will be sufficiently formidable.


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