Life — March 26, 1914 — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

aEIREAE What Do You Think? We are Constantly in Receipt of Important Letters Which are Too Long for Our Limited Space. Brevity is Desirable. Memphis Protests Lire Pustisuine Co., Gentlemen: As a Lire reader for many years, I am venturing to ask that, as an article of genuine interest, you mention that, according to a map prepared by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and published in the New York Herald, the most prosperous section of the whole country is that of which Mem- phis is the center—Tennessee, Missis- sippi, Northern Louisiana, Northern Alabama, Southern Kentucky, Southeast Missouri and Eastern Arkansas. I thought that perhaps you might be interested to know that Memphis is cele- brating its prosperity with a “ Prosperity Dinner", and that a number of promi- nent New York, New England and Chi- cago bankers and railroad presidents will be with us on this occasion. I am prompted to make this request because of the wide publicity you gave recently to the Memphis death rate as prepared by the government statisticians. The Census Bureau in computing the death rate for Memphis makes no allow- ance for the large number of out-of-town people who are brought to Memphis for treatment and who die here, although their homes are elsewhere. Memphis, because of its healthful condition, cli- mate, water, and perfect sewage system, has been chosen by many religious de- nominations and charitable organizations as a great hospital center, and hither are brought from hundreds of miles around all of the sick and the lame and the halt. Memphis is different in this respect from almost any other city. It is the only city in the great lower Mis- sissippi Valley between New Orleans and St. Louis. It occupies the only high spot in the delta, and because of its location and because of its superior hospital ac- A CONTESTED WILL commodations, it is the center—really the receiving station—for the sick for several hundreds of miles, Many of those brought here die, and that is what makes the death rate appear to be so high on a population basis, Yours very truly, Joun M. Turuzn Mempuis, Tenn. January 14, 1914. A Lingering Humbug Eprror or Lirs, Sirs I think I can answer some of the questions asked by the lady who has been bitten by a dog and under the pressure of friends has taken Pasteur treatment, Whether hydrophobia is the result of nerve irritation or of a specific poison is a point disputed by different authorities, but there are two things concerning it that are beyond dispute. First, it is very rare, so rare that pound-keepers in cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver and others, have all declared that after hand- ling thousands of stray dogs every year for many years, and having been bitten scores, and in some cases hundreds, of times, they have never seen any such thing as hydrophobia either in man or animal, while many reputable physicians have testified that after twenty or thirty years of practice they also never saw any such case, and some of them have gone so far as to deny its existence as a specific complaint. Second, when the condition that goes under the name of hydrophobia does occur, it is perfectly easily cured by what is known as the Buisson Method, which consists simply in a course of sweating in a vapor bath such as may easily be carried out in any Turkish or Russian bath establishment. This has been demonstrated over and over again in this country, in France, in Eng- land, and in India, and has never failed to cure even advanced cases. The announcements that have been so frequently given out for years past that the heads or carcasses of dead dogs had been examined at various laboratories and the animals found to have died from rabies are thus seen to be pure nonsense, especially as it is only within the last few months that-anyone has even pre- tended to identify the germs of rabies, while the only result of the establishment of a Pasteur Institute in any part of the world has been an enormous increase of cases and deaths reported to have oc- curred from hydrophobia, and the one country where there has been no single case reported for years {s England, INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES’! MEANS US” THAT where, thanks to the protests of the anti- vivisectionists, there is no Pasteur Insti- tute to play upon the credulity of the ignorant. I have myself the names of over three thousand persons who were reported to have died from hydrophobia after having been ipoculated against the complaint at various Pasteur In- stitutes, Yours truly, Cuas. W. Harrison, East Liverroot, O., Our Own Eprror or Lire, Dear Sir: I cannot understand how a paper like Live can be so narrow-minded and prejudiced as you are in regard to the wonderful discoveries that are being made to-day in the different branches of medicine. Why are you so unprogres- sive? Do you know that it is either ignorant, uneducated people or idiots who do not believe in vaccination, the Pasteur treatment, and operations? Since I have started out to tell you your faults, I am going on to tell you that after all these years you ought to have intellect enough to sce the good that woman's suffrage would do the coun- try. Did you ever inquire into the suf- frage question? I think if you would go and find out how successful it has been where they have it, and try to understand the question, you would not publish the cartoons that you do. You are against child labor; do you know woman's suf- frage would abolish it? Lire, do wake up and try to acquire some progressive ideas. With best wishes for your mental advancement, from A Surrractsr. icions Camarivce, Mass., February 2, 1914. comichooks.