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/S hypnotism to be part and parcel of medical practice? Judging from zt'hat some of the doctors say, it is so useful an aid to medicine that zve may expect to see it in the near future packed away hi every neatly mono grammed black leather case that accompanies a frock coat. Judging from what others of the doctors say, it> is all one with quackery, with foolery, with fak- Dr. Q. J. Fitzgibbon. Dr. C. Kenz. Dr. C. C. Kenyon. Dr. F. "W. D'Evelyn. Dr. George F. Shiels. "\ It is only the effort to reduce results to a scien tific causation that has attracted so much atten tion to the psychical condition of hypnosis. That this power should have not only a # significance but utility is not an illogical conclusion, arid any Hypnotism will never take the place of an anesthetic. I have not taken much In terest in it because I do no»think It is of any' benefit' In therapeutics, except In cases of nervousness or hysteria. . The immense amount of time it takes to treat by hypnotic influence is one thing against it, and its limitations are another. Dr. J. "W. Thorn. Hypnotism exists and has always done bo. It is coeval with man and the evolu tion of the higher animal forms, as l\ is rot either in its presence or phenomena eciely confined to the former. The weird influence of the Hindoo fakir o\'er the eerpent of the field, or in turn, the subtle fascination of the reptile over Its para lyzed prey, are in fact based upon the same principle as the experiments of a Paracelsus or a Charcot— viz., the elimina tion and concentration of a force or in fluence which pervades life, creating an atmosphere of reflexodism— as palpable as It is universal. ;It is! a 'very dangerous force, and I do net approve of its use cither by physicians or. any one else. When put to -legitimate purpose . it Is not of • any., great''"* benefit either, in medicine; or surgery.. It" could not possibly take the place of an-anes thetic, ¦ although It has ; been substituted for it in mild 'operations -where the pain would not, even ' were \ the .patient con scious, De very severe. [stsrlng Intently': at their reflection- In a i mirror. These cases surely are paralleled: ?by a large and not unfamiliar : class,. who so persistently see "self '%— ever-reflected self— that they finally, rest in the calm and peaceful- hypnosis — that -amidst all- mun dane phenomena they are ever IT. Would it not be cruel to awake them? The use. of hypnotism Is riot a matter of indifference and demands the same -pre cautions as would '.!¦ be : employed in the therapeusis of any potent agent. It is in teresting to. note a certain phase of auto- Infection— of a consolatory- and flattering 'character— not'infrequently found in will ingly hypnotized patients, viz., a power to produce the : hypnotic- state simply by ¦^-•y/v-T" r :.~.~ ¦?:<:*;.: j, ¦"••'* •¦:¦ ¦ ••¦¦•¦•¦-¦¦< ¦ ... ¦ the; '"weak-minded", that are amenable; ¦on' theicontrary, .the mentally strong — pro^ • ' vlded -they ¦ are -passive— often" afford the most profound 'results.- ?; ';' . i Children iare '¦¦ of ten beneficially treated, not <by\ the method . of , direct suggestion, whichin children is apt to produce a feel •Ing 'of .awe j or ' fear, akin I to 'that begotten by. the; mention of a bogyman, but by con centration of the > mind upon some ' phy sical "exercise which throws Into- activity the set ; bf organs— contrary to those eni-' ployed in produclpg the 1 morbid phe nomena. ' .. , , - . . . In • true organic . , disease Its power would essentially be lim- Hed"to the modification of cer-. tain symptoms . associated therewith, e. g.jhraln, sleepless ness," fear. '¦ All persons are not equally.; susceptible,- nor must it be concluded that it is "only Hypnotism has been success fully employed;as a '''/medicinal agent," but its field, probably for the reason above stated, Is at present limited.' If we should define a class of maladies, in which j it .has • proved and will likely prove most valuable, we should say. It- will , be- that of functional ¦ nervous diseases.' • ' J f all „".-£ should j probably be at tributed to. our faulty, interpre tation rather than to > lack -of functional'activlty upon part of the force or bower. • ' ' ; . '¦'.'•*• I have used hypnotism a great deal In my. practice, and yet I consider Its use very limited, almost entirely to nervous and hysterlcalpatlents, and I do not think it' possible for it to ever take the place of an anesthetic because of the length of time it requires, - and also because some are not susceptible to its influence.' No one knows what type of person is the most susceptible, as opposites in charac teristics and temperament prove both sus ceptible and resistant. »I have used hyp notism on nearly, a hundred patients, but it only after all supplemented In a smaller degree medicine. \lt cannot touch organic trouble, and the length of time consumed in' hypnotizing a patient is a great draw back.; I do not thlnkthe morphine' habit can be cured by it; ••"',. . ,' ,--C-' : Dr. A. A. D'Ancona. The salaries of lawmakers In many parts of Europe seem trifling, according to American standards. In- London, for in *stance, there are 150 members in the upper and 250 in the lower branch. The former get no pay at all and the latter but*$300 a And if any session lasts lonser than four months they are paid at the rate of $2 GO a day additional. The Parliament of Holland. comprises 150 members in two -houses.. Members of the Upper House re ceive 54 a day and of the second body $300 a year and mileage. Parliament of Holland costs $300,000 a year. The most ; scantily paid of \ any of the regularly salaried lawmakers are those of Austria. There are two legislative bodies for Aastria, one meeting in Vienna and -one in : Budapest. The total cost is $SOO,000 a year. An Austrian law provides that the members receive 10 florins.' of J2 a THE most expensive Parliament la Europe is that of France, which costs $1,500,000 a year. The French people are very well represented. There are 300 Senators and 5S4 Deputies, a total in excess of £00. Each 'receives a sal ary of S1S00 a year. In the United States the ninety Senators and 3G0 Congressmen are paid $2,500,000 In salaries. The members of the British Parliament serve without salary. The incidental ex penses of this body last "year were but $260,000. The German Reichstag, with its two branches, costs the voters on an aver age S1C0.C00 a year. Russia has no Parliament in the Amer ican or French sense, ao that this item is entirely saved. The legislators In the Italian Parliament receive no salaries, but have free transportation on railroads. The cost of the Italian Parliament last year, nevertheless, was $420,000., ' ' : /,"/•'; . • LAWMAKERS AND THEIR PAY. The evil that could be done with the aid of hypnotism Is practically unllmlte-i and the good eo very limited that on the whole it should better be frowned upon by all, including the medical profession. I have never tried to hypnotize any one, though I have seen something of It. It is not to be depended on and there Is very little to recommend it. Its use is so limited, almost entirely to hysterical patients, and it might assist in nervous trouble. It has no curative qual ities, and I do not think it has made much progress or headway. I do not favor hypnotism. It is a bad agent in the hands of unprincipled per sons, and I think the majority of physi cians in good standing disapprove of It. I know there are some good physicians ¦who favor its use, but they are the ex ception that prove the rule to the con trary. Hypnotism! Why, I really never tried it, and have not even seen much of it, so my opinion on It would not amount to anything. Of course, there Is such a thing, but I always feel like classing it with the work of mediums and clairvoy ants. It is so associated In my mind, though some physicians approve of it. I do not think the majority favor it. Hys terical patients are about the only class benefited by it. Dr. Louis Bazet In some of the Eastern cities of our own United States it is being used in the medical colleges Tlnd in the hospitals. The San Francisco colleges and hospitals have not as yet adopted 1 it, although some of our physicians are using it in Their individual work. What somt of tlie representative doctors think of I the zvhole thing is here given, i Judging from what all of them say, its use, if it have any, is greatest in the curing of nervous diseases. . ,. In Russia a law has been passed making it a criminal offense to hyp notize or to be an accomplice, aider or abettor in hypnotism. Itsad lisability is being questioned in France, and the questioning may end with its being made illegal there. ery. It is not reputable enough- to be considered by any physician. It is, already used to a great extent in Germany,' but physicians are divided in their opinions, some disapproving strong ly of it. while others find it a great aid in the practice of medicine. Suggestion is a great aid, to. physicians, but its,, drawback is the length of time re quired; Some people are very slow" to come under Its Influence. ' It* repeated use does not weaken the Intellect as some suppose; on the contrary in ' the two hypnosis schools of France they claim It strengthens one mentally, f I have used hypnotism to advantage in my own family, curing, after a few treat ments, my little boy of biting his finger nails. Now any one who has a child with this habit, that sometimes clings through life, will realize how almost r wonderful euch a sudden cure Is. . , >To my mind Christian Science Is nothing more^than mild hypnotism. The diseases that I they ! cure can always be cured -. by hypnotism'. But neither Christian Science nor hypnotism can cure organic trouble or malignant 'diseases..-* _ _ It could not, perhaps, cure an organic disease, but it. would be anv assistance In the treatrasnt. Of course, anything in" excess -- Is bad, medicine of any kind or morphine, but hypnotism . cannot possibly hurt the pa tient 4nd really strengthens him mentally. I -'havexured cocaine. and morphine fiends and also the.- alcohol habit, and have used it to advantage In la grippe and accouche ment, while' I find it of great value in nervous trouble. ". . . It 13 surprising the number of peoplo who have absolutely nothing the matter with them and yet think that they are seriously sick. Nothing a physician can say to the contrary will disabuse their minds of the idea. For this class of pa tients hypnotism is a "very good thing; outside of such it is of little use. For genuine sickness or ailments, such as con stitute the great majority of every phy slclan's practice. It is practically useless. I favor hypnotism to,sqme extent, .but Its 'reach is so limited that It really amounts to little or nothing In therapeu tics. It can never take the place of an anesthetic. It is good In imaginary dis eases, and may assist in functional trou bles, L~ut could never be of the slightest use in organic diseases. less dpos some good In cases of morphine and alcoholic habit, but with few great exceptions its benefits are only temporary, and as any one with ordinary intellect and perseverance can learn to hypnotize there is practically no way of controlling Its use. The charlatan can use it as well as theohyslclan. It Is a terrible thing to subject children to treatment* under hypnotic influence or "suggestion" either for their ailmenta or behavior. Each one of us Is endowed with a free will, and we 'are responsible for our own actions, and I do not believe any one should take the Individuality from an other. I approve of it neither In science nor as a parlor pastime. not think u can re£ch such, but in func tional complaints and nervousness I have, had very good results. In my own opinion It cannot hurt tha patient mentally or physically and is per manent In Its good results. I had one case — a little boy— whose mother wa3 heartbroken that her son should be a thief and a liar. This boy was hypnotized and I commenced treatment, which after a few repetitions resulted in the reformation of this child with crim inal tendencies. JHls Improvement was no ticeable at # -er one treatment, and after five or six he was a changed boy, obedi ent, honest and considerate. Imagine his mother's satisfaction at this metamorpho sis! MAGAznvff -SECTION It is claimed the British army surgeons In India have used It In amputations, but those are the only operations of that na ture reported. For the few good things It can be used there are many bad ones, and the evil far outweighs the good. It is certainly very Interesting as a psychological phenomenon. .1 have even seen Charcot, the celebrated hypnotist of Paris, make patients change (or apparent ly do so) complaints. But I object strong ly to the subservience of a person's in dividuality, even though it is for that per son's immediate Dhyslcal benefit. It doubt- There are so few things in which It can be used with efficacy. I really care very little for it, and outside of hysterical pa tients do not think It will ever be used by physicians to any extent. Dr. Beatrice M. Hinckle. I consider hypnotism of great benefit and have used it frequently. I use It wherever practicable In nervous and func tional trouble, but have also found It of great assistance In ac couchement cases. - 1 have ' never treated a patient for the morphine ' habit except tonce, a woman at the Jail who was suffering torture, and she was soon quieted by the hanmotle treatment. I have been' able to hyp notize patients quite read ily, usually In a few min utes, although some require I considerable time and pa ,--'.; tlence. I do not use it at all in organic trouble, for I do day. THE USE OF HYPNOTISM IN MEDICINE SUNDAY CALL