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961 doses of 10 mg. or intramuscular doses of 50 mg. of thiamine might be sufficient to precipitate masked defi- ciencies of other factors, and this may be the explanation of the suddenly increased weakness and ataxia in both cases. At a time when the chemical industry produces increasingly potent synthetic vitamins at decreasing prices, and when both public and profession are becoming more and more vitamin-conscious, it would seem that the interdependence of the several factors-at present mainly demonstrated in the B group of vitamins-deserves greater consideration. London, W.l. Z. A. LEITNER. CORONARY DISEASE SiR,-In support of the possible infective basis of coronary artery occlusion, Dr. G. E. Beaumont (Dec. 14) cites the development of leucocytosis and a raised erythro- cyte-sedimentation rate (E.s.R.) in this condition. Surely it is generally accepted that these are manifestations of the myocardial infarction and the resulting destruction of tissue. I would suggest that any simple aseptic infarct in any site may, if large enough, lead to the development of fever, leucocytosis, and a raised E.s.R., and that therefore such phenomena following an occlusion do not in any way indicate an infective process. Department of Pathology, University of Bristol. M. SYMONS. A MORAL PROBLEM SIR,-The issue is not so much whether the results of the German investigators should be published as whether science can ever truly profit from crime. There can be no scientific honesty without moral courage, and no clear reasoning without freedom of thought. In the atmosphere of crime, lies, and suppres- sion that pervaded Nazi Germany no true scientist could have produced anything worth while. And how could one trust the scientific findings of people so devoid of judgment and reasoning that they believed their govern- ment’s propaganda that Poles, Russians,’ Frenchmen, and Jews were criminals who should die an abominable death because of their race ? No doubt some points in their findings might be of use to investigators. But there is a far more valuable lesson to be learnt from publication-namely, that with all their unheard-of facilities these Nazi criminals could make few observations of importance. Mitcham. MAX B. KLEIN. SiB,—Perhaps it is fortunate for Mr. Mellanby that the slaughter of prisoners is not yet British custom. He has thus been spared decision in that moral dilemma which he finds so perplexing. , If the Germans obtained- important information from their investigations he would think it right to use their findings. In fact, however, we have no reason to believe that anything of value was ever discovered by the Germans by these methods. The privileges of study in the prison camps were granted, in the main, as rewards for faithful service, to Party officials and S.S. men, and to leaders of the Hitlerjugend and Hitlermadel. By 1939 repeated purges of the medical profession had ensured that its surviving members should be honoured con- federates in such company. The experiments consisted largely in elaborate sexual assault. The atmosphere of pseudo-science in which the proceedings were staged, to the accompaniment very often of the music of Wagner and Beethoven, was no more than a ritualistic addition designed to lend piquancy to the occasion. These things are not widely understood. Mr. Mellanby cannot be expected to assess with justice circumstances of which, by implication from his letter, he has no conception. Nevertheless, in appearing to discern dignity in monstrous evil, he does some small further injury to the outside world’s already sufficiently feeble appreciation of what it is that has been destroyed in Germany. Dartford, Kent. I. McD. G. STEWART. Public Health Rag Flock, Bedding, and Upholstery THE bedding and upholstered articles on which people spend about a third of their lives should be clean. The Interdepartmental Committee on the Rag Flock Acts point out 1 that this country lags behind some others in the legislation and precautions adopted to ensure that the filling materials are free from infection and dirt. They received evidence that rag flock, the commonest filling material used, is still being made from dirty rags. One witness said that some of this material is collected by rag-and-bone men who go round from house to house with a barrow or cart and collect from tips and dumps. These men are usually employed, or paid for what they bring in, by dealers. No material, however dirty, is refused. " It calls for little imagination," said the witness, " to realise that most of these rags must of necessity contain much infection, filth, and excreta." In the factories where the rag flock is made the cleansing processes vary within fairly wide limits according to the facilities available and to the zeal and scrupulousness of the manufacturers. The provisions of the Factories Act as regards health and cleanliness apply of course to registered factories. In some places the rags are steeped in cold water, and sometimes hot water with or without detergents is used. In others the rags are subjected to agitation while being steeped, the temperature of the water being raised by steam under pressure. A number of rag-flock factories, however, have no washing plant and presumably the rags are not washed at all. To make rag flock the dried rags are disintegrated by passing them over a rapidly revolving cylinder studded with steel teeth. This is a dusty process, the dust being con- trolled more or less effectively by exhaust ventilation. Sometimes the rags are sprayed with small quantities of oil to reduce the loss of fibre in the dust, but the use of oil has the disadvantage of binding some of the dirt into the flock. The present legislation dealing with the manufacture and use of rag flock is contained in the Rag Flock Act, 1911, and the regulations made under it in 1912 ; the Rag Flock Amendment Act, 1928, and the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, sec. 136. The latter section re-enacts the provisions of the previous Acts and regulations in substantially the same form. The Act of 1911 makes it an offence for any person to sell or have in his possession for sale flock made from rags or to use it for the purpose of making upholstery, cushions, or bedding or to have it in his possession unless it conforms to a prescribed standard of cleanliness. This standard was prescribed under the regulations of 1.912 and consists of what is known as the " chlorine test," by which the amount of chlorides removed by washing under specified conditions does not exceed 30 parts of chlorine in 100,000 parts of flock. The duty of administering the Act and regulations is placed on the local authorities. The 1928 Act defined the term " flock manufactured from rags " and limited its application to material produced from woven, knitted, or felted materials. RECOMMENDATIONS The committee could find no direct evidence that disease or ill health is being transmitted by unclean filling materials used in bedding and upholstery, but they think it safe to presume that disease might arise from the use of such materials. It is possible that the use of unclean filling materials is a contributory cause of certain respiratory ailments in which the sources of infection are not known. In any case the development of the public-health services is based on the attainment of cleanliness. The committee regard the present legis- lation dealing with the making and use of rag flock as inadequate to protect the public. In their opinion there should be a statutory prohibition against the sale of unclean rag flock intended for use as a filling material. All premises on which rag flock is made or stored or is used in making bedding, upholstery, or other household 1. Cmd. 6866. London: H.M. Stationery Office. Pp. 36. 9d. The committee was appointed in 1938 with Lord Merthyr as chair- man, and its medical members were Dr. W. G. Clark and the late Dr. G. H. Pearce.
