Judge, 1919-10-18 · page 13 of 36
Judge — October 18, 1919 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "An Aid to Science" - Context for Modern Readers This is a post-WWI story about "shell shock" (now called PTSD). A wounded soldier, Corporal Sammy Dawson, returns from France with two injuries: a healed leg wound and severe stammering caused by shell-shock at the Battle of Courmont. The narrative illustrates a contemporary medical theory: that emotional excitement—specifically romantic attraction—could therapeutically help traumatized soldiers recover speech function. Sammy, assigned to vocational training, encounters Della Deane, a girl he knew before the war who has matured into an attractive woman. The illustration shows their first meeting after his return. The caption hints at the "treatment": Della's mother wants to hear his story, but the couple must be alone together—the implication being that romantic/emotional engagement might help restore his ability to speak. This reflects genuine 1920s beliefs about trauma recovery, blending early psychiatry with Victorian romance conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Mamma Wantep to Hear Your Story,” Saip Dera, as Sue Greeteo Hin, “But Sue Hap an Encacement . . . So We Suatt Have to Be Aone” An Aid to Science By J. A. Watpron - Illustration by Lawrence FeLtows HELL-SHOCKED and gassed doughboys have put diagnostic and remedial science to the test. A neuro-psychiatrist and a layman had been speculating on the subject. “Some of these injuries, as far as results are concerned, have been quite outside of medical experi- ence and knowledge, have they not?” asked the lay- man. “Quite,” replied the man of science, “and the door to experiment has been opened wide. Unaccustomed excitement has been beneficial in some cases, and in others we have to grope blindly. Emotional tension, if it is happy, sometimes works wonders.” Corporal Sammy Dawson came back in bad shape. At Sergy his right leg was cut by shrapnel, but he kept in the fray. Shell-shock at Courmont injured his vocal mechanism. His leg recovered, leaving him with a slight linp, but his tongue would not function properly. He stammered distressingly. At Camp Dix he received incapacity allowance and an assignment to vocational education. In a Trade School he took up architectural drawing. An architectural draughtsman need not be a con- versationalist. But there is some pleasure in life in mere talk, and endless joy—if circumstances contribute —in discourse with the fair. His affliction depressed Sammy every time he encountered a young woman. On his way from the Trade School one evening Sammy met Della Deane. Before he went overseas he had known Della. A year or two makes a great change in a growing girl. Della was sixteen when Sammy started for camp. This evening when he met her for the first time after his return from France she was a young woman. He was amazed at her appearance. She had been pretty. Now she was handsome—fas- cinating.