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Lieutenant William Bain, from the 2nd London Bearer Com-pany, Royal Army Medical Corps (Volunteers), to be Lieu-tenant, with precedence as in the Volunteer Force (datedApril 1st, 1908).

3rd South Midland Field Ambulance : Cyril ClaudeLavington to be Lieutenant (dated Jan. 15th, 1909).For attachment to Units otherr than Medical Units.—

Surgeon-Major Alfred Rees, from the Severn Division(Electrical Engineers), Royal Engineers (Volunteers), to beMajor, with precedence as in the Volunteer Force (datedApril lst, 1908). Surgeon-Captain and Honorary Surgeon-Major Richard Charles Maron Pooley, from the 5th Middlesex(West Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps, to be Captain withthe honorary rank of Surgeon-Major, with precedence as inthe Volunteer Force (dated April 1st, 1908). Captain andHonorary Surgeon-Major Richard C. M. Pooley to be Major(dated April 2nd, 1908). Major Charles Averill to be Lieu-tenant-Colonel (dated May 19th, 1908). Lieutenant RichardW. Brimacombe to be Captain (dated Feb. lst, 1909). CaptainJames Malpas to be Major (dated Feb. 25th, 1909).

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Rifle: 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment :Honorary Assistant-Surgeon Alfred Pern resigns his com-mission (dated March 31st, 1908).

DEATHS IN THE SERVICES.

Captain Frederick Hallam Hardy, R.A.M.C., at Aden onMarch 8th from sleeping sickness while on a voyage homefrom Nyassaland. In 1898 he went to British Central Africaas a civil surgeon, and served in the Southern Angonilandexpedition (medal with clasp). In 1900 he became a

lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and waspromoted to captain in 1903. In 1901 he took part in theexpedition up the Gambia (mentioned in despatches).

THE CONQUEST OF MALTA FEVER.A Daily Mail telegram, dated Malta, March llth, states :

"The triumph of the military authorities here over the’Mediterranean fever ’ of Malta was celebrated yesterdayby a ball given by the Army Medical Corps in the MilitaryHospital of Valetta, which was formerly the Hospice of theKnights of St. John....... There is not now in the whole

hospital a single patient suffering from the fever."

Correspondence.

THE SECTION OF ANÆSTHETICS OF THEROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE AND

THE PROPOSED GENERALANÆSTHETICS BILL.

"Audi alteram partem."

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-I am desired by the staff of the Incorporated DentalHospital of Ireland to send you the subjoined resolutions

adopted unanimcusly at a meeting of that body held inDublin on the 8th inst. I may inform you that the hospitalstaff composes 25 dentists (eight of whom hold additionalmedical qualifications) and 11 medical men, anaesthetists.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,GEO. M. P. MURRAY, Hon. Sec.

THE RESOLUTIONS.

That the members of the staff of the Incorporated Dental Hospital ofIreland, having had under consideration the General Anaesthetics Bill,1908, as submitted by the Privy Council to the General Medical Council,do approve the general principles of the Bill, but are of opinion that theclauses relating to registered dentists should be modified.They would respectfully point out that dental students, before they

present themselves for their final examination, are required to produceevidence of having received instruction in general medicine, surgery,and physiology, as well as in the administration of anaesthetics; theyare consequently of opinion that if the course of instruction in thelatter subject were made identical for medical and dental students, thesame privileges could with perfect propriety be extended to dentists asare given to medical men by Clause I. of the Bill. In order to giveeffect to these proposals they would suggest the following amendmentsto the Bill;-

(1) That Clause 1 should read as follows : That any person other thana legally qualified medical practitioner registered under the MedicalActs, or legally qualified dental practitioner registered under theDentists Act, 1878, who shall wilfully administer or cause to be adminis-tered to any other person by inhalation or otherwise any drug orsubstance, whether solid, liquid, vaporous, or gaseous, and whether pureor mixed with any other drug or substance with the object of producinga state of unconsciousness during any medical or surgical or dentaloperation, act, orprocedure, or during childbirth, shall be liable on con-viction before a court of summary jurisdiction for such offence to apenalty not exceeding £10, and in the case of a second or subsequentconviction to a penalty not exceeding E20, provided always that aperson shall not be liable to a penalty under this section if in conductingsuch administration he was acting under the immediate direction andsupervision of a legally qualified medical or dentaL practitioner, or if thecircumstances attending the administration were such that he hadreasonable grounds for believing and did believe that the delay whichwould have arisen in obtaining a legally qualified medical or dentalpractitioner would have endangered life.

(2) That Clause 2 be amended as follows : All licensing bodies in theUnited Kingdom recognised by the General Council of Medical Educa-tion and Registration of the United Kingdom shall require that allcandidates, both medical and dental, before presenting themselves fortheir final examinations shall have received thorough theoretical andpractical instruction in anesthetics, and shall have personallyadministered anesthetics, under the supervision and to the completesatisfaction of their respective teachers.

(3) That Clause 3 be deleted.That no legislation which does not deal with local anæsthetics will

adequately meet the mischief against which the General AnaestheticsBill is aimed.

____

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—The discussion as to the propriety of a dental

surgeon administering an anæsthetic is one that must be

largely guided by environment; necessity knows no law, andwhile in large centres an anesthetist may more or less

readily be found, such a luxury is, of course, out of the

question in more remote districts. Few qualified dentists(by that is implied one who has taken a diploma on the’basisof a curriculum) would care to administer a prolongedanæsthetic such as ether save in a case of great necessity,but, putting that on one side, personally I should prefer tobe anaesthetised by nitrous oxide under the care of theaverage dental practitioner than of the average medical man.Doubtless my dental confreres have had a similar experience,but I have frequently been asked by surgeons to administerfor them nitrous oxide where the period of anesthesia re-quired was brief, the operations ranging from the opening ofan abscess to the re-fracture of a badly uniting humerus.Once or twice in the last 25 years I have had rather

curious experiences when associated with the patient’s" own medical man," who, apart from the confidence heinstils into the mind of his client, is of little use and oftena good deal in the way. A lady on one occasion arrived, ’having bargained with her medical attendant that he was toadminister the gas. When it is explained that he wastotally ignorant of the apparatus he was about to use (anordinary Clover face-piece) the success of the performancemay readily be imagined and his absence would have beena benefit to all concerned, for, as was to be expected, thegas and not the man was blamed. Anyone who has beenfortunate enough to have escaped accident in association withanæsthetics cannot be too grateful, and it is in this spiritthat I recall the only moments of discomfort ever experiencedwhile a patient was under the influence of nitrous oxide.Her own medical adviser was present, but beyond taking thepulse he took no active part in the administration of the gas.After the operation was completed and before the period ofrecovery had begun the patient’s tongue slipped back suffi-

ciently to interfere to a considerable extent with herbreathing, so much so that a prolongation of the conditionwould ultimately have led to serious results. The medicalmentor, who had up to this time been practically passive,struck the patient one or two resounding blows on the sideof the head, recalling to one’s mind a speedy and dangerousform of correction, and while he was meditating a secondattack a pair of tongue forceps speedily brought relief. At a

subsequent visit the patient informed me that she did notlike gas as it had given her a violent headache !No doubt single-handed administration, coupled with

operation, has great disadvantages, but, great as they are,the comfort, if not the safety, of the patient is best obtainedwhen the administrator is familiar with his work and knowswhat he should not do. Nitrous oxide has been adminis-tered millions of times by qualified dentists in the past, andthere is no reason why the practice should not continue, asexcellent instruction is, or ought to be, given in all our

dental hospitals and schools. One learns with astonishmentthat the medical student is not similarly equipped, but this

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must surely be the use and wont of hospitals far out of dateand that therefore require that grandmotherly attentionwhich some of your correspondents seem to be so anxiousto bestow upon dentists.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,OSWALD FERGUS, L.D.S., F.R.S.E.

PS.-In using the words "single-handed administration" "the presence of an attendant is, of course, implied.—O. F.THE THERAPEUTICS OF RADIUM.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—In your leading article on the Radium Institute in ]

THE LANCET of March 13th, p. 773, you give the im-pression that radium has no curative effect on deep-seated ior deeply extending growths. I hasten to correct this idea,for recent work in France has shown that by suitable filtra- ttion deep and extensive growths can be influenced. I have (

seen a case in which a large recurrent scirrhus of the breasthad completely disappeared after treatment with filteredradiations and I have under my care’ at present a similar casewhich is rapidly improving with the same treatment. I iwill mention another recent case in my own practice, ithat of a man with an epithelioma of the larynx of ,slow growth, which was preventing the patient fromswallowing, so that for a fortnight he had to be fedby a nasal tube. A tracheotomy had become neces- (

sary some time before. An application was given to theskin over the tumour of 50 milligrammes of pure radiumbromide, encased in a silver tube of 0 - 6 millimetre thick- (

ness, which was placed in two different positions during thetreatment. Three and a half days after the application wascommenced he began to swallow liquids, and now, one weekafter, is beginning to take solid food by the mouth, nasalfeeding being entirely discontinued. Beyond a little red- ’dening of the skin there is no sign of any superficial action.It is too early as yet to say anything definite in this case ; Imerely mention it to show that radium has a deep action ifproperly employed. This action at a depth is obtained byusing large quantities (from 50 to 100 milligrammes or more),filtering out all the less penetrating radiations and givinglong exposures. The question whether a tumour will yieldor not seems to depend more on its structures and clinicalcharacters than anything else. It has also been found thata growth on which 20 milligrammes had no effect yielded to50 milligrammes, and it seems probable that those growthswhich we cannot cure at present will be amenable to stilllarger quantities of radium.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,N. S. FINZI.

Welbeck-street, Cavendish-square, W., March 13th, 1909.

A DISCLAIMER.To tlte Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—I have recently written certain articles on themedical aspects of accident insurance for the "AccidentYear-book," published by the Insurance Publishing Com-pany. I regret to see that in their advertisement of thebook in certain insurance journals the publishers haveadvertised my name and mentioned my connexion with alarge insurance company. They have done this without myknowledge or consent and I should be greatly indebted toyou if you would publish this letter to free me from thesuspicion of being a party to what might be regarded asa very objectionable form of advertisement of myself.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,ARTHUR S. MORLEY.

PRESENTATION.-The members of the GlasgowUniversity Club, London, have presented to Dr. C. 0.Hawthorne a study table and microscope in recognition ofhis services as honorary secretary of the club during the pastseven years. The presentation was made by Dr. A. CummingGrant on behalf of the subscribers, many of whom werepresent. The company was entertained by Dr. and Mrs.P. H. Abercrombie who kindly placed their house at thedisposal of the committee.

THE CHICAGO STOCKYARDS REVISITED.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL SANITARY COMMISSIONER.)(Concluded from p.795.)

THE INCREASED NUMBER OF INSPECTORS.—HOW VETE-RINARY SURGEONS ARE MADE TO "SPEED THE PACE."-WANT OF DIGNITY IN THE PROFESSION.-DEFECTIVEBUT SLIGHTLY IMPROVED SLAUGHTER FLOORS.-THEABOMINATIONS OF THE QUARANTINE STATION, THE

PENS, AND CATTLE-RUNS.To analyse the new laws that have been enacted in

response to the agitation against the Chicago stockyardswould take much time and space and is not withinthe design of these articles. I am anxious to record

my personal impressions on revisiting the stockyards nowthat better laws exist and improvements have beeneffected. But laws are not of much use unless there isan effective machinery for putting them into force. Atthe commencement of the year 1906 it was publicly statedthat the Federal Government of the United States employedin the packing-houses of the entire country a total of 411inspectors, and it was then calculated that if these inspectorswere on duty for eight hours during 300 days in the yearthey would have to examine 105 animals per hour. Dr.A. D. Melvin, chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, lastOctober very courteously wrote to me, saying :-

I also take pleasure in giving you the following figures concerningthe Federal meat inspection: This inspection is conducted at 338establishments at which animals are slaughtered. The total forceemployed numbers 2290, of whom 702 are veterinarians. The force atChicago numbers 344, of whom 108 are veterinarians. These figures donot include clerks.

This simple statement of fact is eloquent and shows thatmuch has been accomplished in a short time. Neverthelessand in spite the increase of the staff I could not but feelscandalised when I saw the manner in which the veterinariansand inspectors were made to work. The dignity of a scientificprofession is entirely sacrificed to the necessity, or imaginednecessity, for speed, and it is difficult to do good professionalwork under completely faulty conditions. Highly qualifiedmen of science are made to hustle along in semi-darknessthrough filth and slush, ever " speeding the pace, " the victimsof a spirit of rush by which some efficiency must belost. The giant engine is concealed in the darkness belowever churning and churning, turning hundreds of fly-wheels,transmitting its power to thousands of little wheels on whichanimals both dead and alive are suspended and moveforward among the butchers, the dressers, and the skinners.While these animals, as they travel along, are being killed,flayed, and cut open the veterinary surgeon follows and

inspects. So that this inspection shall not occasion anydelay the labour is subdivided. The glands of the neck arehastily felt as the animal passes the first inspector ; theviscera as they are cut out glide down a slope in front of asecond inspector ; and, finally, the carcass is looked intoafter the viscera have been removed as it passesthe third inspector. The viscera of pigs have to beexamined with such rapidity that a relief veterinarianstands behind the inspector to help him in case ofexhaustion and delay. There was something so degrad-ing about this unseemly haste that I could not helpreflecting on the old condition of slavery in the SouthernStates, and wondering whether stricter servitude could havehappened there and then. It was only necessary to place aman with a whip behind some of the veterinary inspectors tohave a picture of slavery worthy of °‘ Uncle Tom’s Cabin."That ignorant immigrants should be driven to earn theirliving in revolting circumstances is as deplorable as it isinhuman, while every country has its way, or more than oneway, of oppressing the hungry operative. These, alas, cannothelp themselves. But surely such is not the case with membersof a learned profession who have the honour of representing,as government functionaries, the wealthy United Statesof America. It is high time the veterinary surgeonsin the employ of the United States Government should insiston being treated with due consideration, should refuse to behurried in the way that they now are, or to do their work indark, crowded, unclean places. They should insist on havingall the leisure necessary to pause and to deliberate over anydoubt that may arise in their minds, instead of having, as at