The Camden chronicle., September 20, 1901, Image 6

About The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current

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HEREDITY AND HEALTH
THE ViEV3 CF FAWILY COCTCRG
AND LIFE INSURANCE t.'.tU,
lie dent Throrl.- n Ui I'oimlMli.y of
Inti?rl!lni: iJl.tMue-Ti,,, Ne,r in.-fln
l!-tiiril Ut TiiIm irulDiUIi.xiinliy W
Not a 1I:m terliil Disease.
I'iKiti few questions Imvc medical
m n been ho ilivHi'il as upon the poi
I'lilty of Inheriting disease. Opinion
on this subject has undergone much
Change within the last fifteen or
twenty years, but even , to-day doc
tors are not unanimous on tho sul
.1ot. Then, again, there Is nnother
class of f:eit!nti!lc people who thco
rlze regarding the phenomena of phys
ical life ami conduct laboratory exper
iments. These men call themselves
biologists, and they are unquestion
ably n learned lot. Yet their conclu
sions are often different from those
reached by tho physicians. In cen
tral. It may be said that biologists
Incline to accept Weisstnnnn's doc
trine that acquired traits cannot be
transmitted to progeny, while medi
cal men, though differing as to details,
have more or less confidence In the
possibility of inheriting physical In
firmities. The discovery of bacteria ns the
cause of most maladies has had a
revolutionary Inlluence upon the old
doctrine of Inheritance regarding tu
berculosis. Once It was believed that
a whole family was hopelessly doomed
If either of the parents died of this dis
ease. "Wo have ripped that notion
up the back," paid the medical ad
visor of a leading Insurance company
the other day. "Phthisis is a contag
ious disease, and results from associa
tion with a victim of that trouble. I
should sooner look for it In the hus
band than In the child of a woman
who was thus affected."
The doctor who passes on the appli
cations made to another company put
tho case less radically. He attached
some Importance to the fact that par
outs had died of consumption. Even
granting that It is purely a contagious
malady, offspring sometimes appear to
inherit a susceptibility or an abnor
mally low power of resistance to It. It
Is asserted that even when the chil
dren of tuberculosis parents are wide
ly separated In their youth, and grow
up apart, a larger percentage of them
develop the disease than that of other
people's children. The preponderance
Is not marked, perhaps, but there are
those who believe that it exists. This
same expert remarked, however, that
formerly his company did not regard
a man reasonably safe from inherited
consumption until he was forty years
old, whereas they would take him now
with little hesitation at thirty-five, If
he then showed no signs of the mal
ady. Both theory and practice are un
degoing slow changes on this point,
apparently.
Insanity is not regarded as a bacter
ial disease, and yet it has a physical
basis. Tho brain undergoes local or
general changes in structure. The dis
order cannot be acquired by associa
tion with other victims of it, but many
experts believe in the possibility of In
heriting a tendency to insanity and Its
first cousin, epilepsy. Doctors recog
nize what they call the "insane dia
thesis" or a predisposition to Insanity,
and then take a good deal of stock in
the notion that this is an inherited
weakness. Most life insurance com
panies discriminate sharply against
applicants whose ancestry exhibits
two or three cases of insanity, or one
of Insanity and one of epilepsy.
Cancer is another aflliction which
was once believed to be transmissible
to offspring, but that view of It is now
almost entirely abandoned. Occasion
ally there are cases of death from
this cause in mother or father and son
only a few years apart. But, sugges
tive as such a coincidence is, doctors
do not all Interpret It alike. One of the
leading life insurance companies of
this country, which puts its terms up
where consumption or Insanity ap
pears in the parents' or grandparents'
history, ignores cancer except In the
applicant himself.
These are the three diseases to which
the most attention is given by these
companies in considering the infirm
ities of parents and grandparents.
Still, it is asserted that lack of long-
pvltv. Brisrht's disease and other
Bigns of weakness appear to be char
acteristic of some families and not of
others. There Is little evidence of the
Inheritance of a predisposition to apo
plexy. Indeed, this trouble, whjch Is
due primarily to a weakness of the
walls of the arteries, has been round
to be about equally characteristic of
persons whose weight is abnormally
great and those who are abnormally
light
A great deal has been written of al
coholism and heredity. Some of the
expressions on this subject are ex
travagant and misleading. It is par
ticularly Interesting to note whether
drunkenness or other moral railings
develop in parents before or after
their children were born, in me lat
ter case heredity would seem to afford
n inadequate explanation of baa nan-
its or disease. Nevertheless, there is
much evidence that in one way or an
other immorality affects offspring. It
.ir,ni co chiefly by impairing me pnyi
cal stamina cf the latter, and rarely
! muslinr nur n i-Hn! ill-, .n In-
iraneo ci .;.'!.! i ay Utile nUi tiM i:
t nb-ohollsm hi the parents of n ; ' 1-
Mills, riot because thev have no fail I:
n Its Inllneiir. ;, but ber -use t IfV can
ecognlze the latter la tmdersizc,
Ight Weight, nervous ueaktiiM or
ther peculiarities of the children.
Such characteristics nerve us a more
Useful guide.
Perhaps the firmest believers In the
Id Mosaic declaration about the "sins
f the fathers" are medical praetltlon-
rs In towns of moderate size, family
ihyslclans who know grandparent?,
Ttrents and children socially as well
a professionally. Their observation
almost Invariably convinces them not
nly that moral Infirmities are trans
a ted Into physical weakness In the
second and third generations, but r.b-o
that maladies which are In no sense
related to Immorality sometimes leave
heir impress on tho young. -Very
often this effect is nothing more than
a predisposition, which, once recog
nized and dealt with in time, may be
skillfully antagonized by diet, exercise
aud environment. New York Tribune.
" BLIND MERCHANT IS HANDY.
Carl Wells Never Saw the Light, Yet Is
Successful Grocer.
There is a small store on the corner
of South avenue and Clover street.
where are sold Ice cream, canned
goods, "package groceries," and the
various other things which go to make
up the ordinary stock of such an es
tablishment. There are hundreds of
other stores in Syracuse exactly like
this one, but It Is unique because of
the personality of the storekeeper, a
young man of twenty-one, who Is to
tally blind.
If you were to see Carl Wells mov
ing briskly about, waiting on custom
ers and never making a mistake In
finding tho right article or In making
change, you would find It difficult to
realize that the world has been dark
to him from the hour of his birth. Al
though his father and mother are both
endowed with eyesight, a strange fatal
ity seems to hang over their children,
for Mr. Wells has a brother and a sis
ter also afflicted with congenital blind
ness In the case of all three, the op
tic nerve is paralyzed, and no light af
fects the retina, so that the blindness
is quite Irremediable.
"There Is a long Latin name for It,
Dr. Brown told me, but I don't remem
ber it," said Mr. Wells to a Herald re
porter. "But then, of course, I don't
miss my eyes as any one would who
had had them and lost them. When
I was a child I made up my mind that
I must learn- to do things for myself,
for if you wait for some one else to
help you, you generally have to wait
a long while, and I am fortunate in
having a strong sense of location. I
always put my own goods in their
places on the shelves and then I don't
have the least difficulty in finding
them. Once I know how the outside
of any special package feels, I know
It for keeps. Of course, If some one
were to disarrange my work and put
things out of place, I should be com
pletely lost." Syracuse Uerald.
Abandoned Schoolhouse to a Ghoet.
A ghost has received official recog
nition in the action of Trustee Jesse
Martin, of Jackson township, of Car
roll County, Ind., when he gave a con
tract for the erection of a new school
building In the Walnut Grove district.
Several years ago Amer Green was
lynched by a mob for the murder of
his sweetheart, Luella Mabbitt, the
hanging Jaklng place at a walnut tree
in the Walnut Grove schoolyard. Since
then the children have been filled with
superstitious terror in regard to the
place, and the once large school dwin
dled to two pupils last winter, and
after a few weeks' effort to get others
to attend, school was dismissed.
Strange stories were told about the
place. Green's ghost was reported to
have been seen, and the teachers re
ported that they heard unexplalnable
sounds about the building. The wal
nut tree, before then a large and
thrifty one, never bore foilage after
the lynching, and stood a bleak re
minder of the tragedy.
No teacher could be found to accept
the school for next winter, and in re
sponse to the Insistent demands of the.
patrons a new building will be erect
ed a short distance away, the old site
being abandoned. Indianapolis Jour
nal. J Carried Kittens "With Ills Teeth.
Stradley is three years old and a
polite young man, as is indicated by
the fact that he gravely doffs his hat
when meeting a woman with whom he
is acquainted. He also believes that
In some things nature's way is the
better.
A family of kittens came to Strad
ley's home, much to his delight. He
carried one of the kittens about with
him and marveled much that the kit
ten should cry.
The other day he saw the mother
cat carrying a kitten in her month,
and a great light broke on Stradley.
That afternoon he walked solemnly in
to the house, holding a struggling kit
ten firmly between his teeth."
"Why, Stradley," said his mother,
"you should not carry poor kitty that
way."
"No?" said the little man, and then
added: "Why, It's mamma does."
New York Mail and Express.
t t i . r . -
X ConijiroiiiUf Sinlljr I.n IiIhk 'I '' He
wnril of riTeernee I'roirlsloiied A
t'si-les Adjunrt-Tlie l.i-on..ll.lllly
Mltilr Airt-lieunl(ii IIojH'ful, lAc.
"Will yon pive me n nti van ya'i.t
W hen 1 tun warned t mi Jack?"
The youth win vine, and. like a shot,
Gave her a little smack!
-Lif.
8adly Lacking,
Baby Swellkld (to friendi-'ilow
awkwardly that common child walks."
Friend "Yes; she has no carriage at
hlir-Chlcago News.
The llewurd of Perseverance.
"Why, I didn't think you Intended to
encourage him."
"Well. I didn't at first, but It was
Impossible to discourage him 1" Puck.
Provisioned.
"Did little Jim tnjoy that children's
party?"
"1 guess so. He wasn't hungry until
the next afternoon at four o'clock."
Puck.
A Cm-lean Adjunct
Ascum "What's the Idea in your
new story V"
Wright "Idea? Why, it hasn't any.
It's a society novel." Philadelphia
Press.
Tho Itcspoiislbllltr
She "Did it ever occur to you what
poor talkers the men are?"
He "Did you ever consider that It
Is the women who teacli babies to say
things?" Boston Transcript.
Midair Apprehension.
Pinching Bug-"Say,' It is 6llly for
you to wear your headlight on be
hind." Lightning Bug "Not at alL I'm aw
fully nervous about rear-cud col
lisions." Hopeful.
lie "Do you suppose we will ever
have enough to get married on?"
She "Surely. Why, Jack, we don't
need a million. A couple of hundred
thousand will do to start on." Detroit
Five Press.
Glad of It.
T read somewhere the other day
that the American people spend $15,
000,000 a year for golf."
"'Good! I'm glad to hear It If
they didn't blow It In that way they
might spend It on fireworks."
Quite Out of It.
Mrs. Bluegore "But they are very
fashionable, are they not':"
Mrs. Swellman "Fashionable? Most
assuredly not Why, they permit the
care of their children to Interfere with
their social obligations." Philadelphia
Press.
None liver Lost.
. "People will find fault."
"It seems Inherent in human na
ture." "The surprising part is so much
fault is found wnen so few seem to
lose any of their faults" Philadelphia
Times.
Helping Illin to Like.
"Yes," he said, with a deprecating
sweep of the hand, "this is a very
small world, after all."
"I know it" she replied; "sometimes
it really astonishes me that you can
back up or turn around on it without
slipping over the edge." Chicago,
Itecord-Herald.
Justified.
"So you didn't think, before we
met" she said, with an arch smile,
"that I was beautiful? Why?"
"I had heard several of your lady
friends say you were 'such a nice,
sweet little thing,' " he replied.
After that she naturally had less
confidence in herself.
. The Price of Knowledge.
"I sent away a dollar," she sadly
said, "to a party in New York who
I offered to tell for that amount how
to make the guests at summer resorts
; love your children."
j "Oil, did you?" her friend asked.
"What do you have to do?"
"Leave them at home!" Chicago
record-Herald. .
j Sclf-Iisteem.
' "Yes," aid the youngster's mother,
"Mr. Bliggins insists that our boy Is
going to grow up to be a wonderfully
intellectual and estimable man."
"That is only a natural parental
pride."
"Perhaps. I am not quite sure
whether it Is parental pride or belief
In heredity." Washington Star.
Well Fixed.
"But, mamma," said the beautiful
Fouth American heiress, "do you be
lieve I will have any trouble In being
received in society in the United
States?"
"I don't see why," answered her
mother. "You have plenty of money
pnd you can make the best of them
look like smail change when it comes
to being a daughter of the revolution."
Indianapolis S':n.
" wiltl TnC rOf1rr fni- r.. I """oettfl-jjiuie 111 TUP Atmmn -
C00D POPULAR J0N CI f.CARCC.
firciit lilt 1 civ Ninml,i j , All time,; t
Music Publishers Are II tit!!ii(;.
"It Is hingular, but true," paid a
music publisher, "that there ate very
few big bits In popular m-ii-i nowa
days, that Is, fiom-s that bae reach id
the million mark In rales, vvu-h as
After the Ball, 'Annie Rooncy.'
'Dalsey Bell.' 'Down Went McGlnty,'
'Two Lllth' Girl In Blue' mid 'Com
rades.' Many songs published slnco
th"n have been very popular, to be
sure, but they cannot be compared
with the old-timers.
"Many dealers have asked me the
cause of this, but thus far I have been
tmablo to explain It satisfactorily. It
Is all the stranger when you take Into
consideration the fact that there are
more slngeis and better facilities for
pushing songs than In former years.
"Years ago a good sung would firce
Itself upon the market. At present a
publisher has to humor the singers and
do a lot of hustling. Some of the top
lint rs require pay to sing songs. In
the old days they were only too glad
to get a good ballad. To cater to the
whims of the singers a publisher must
have at least three pianos In his estab
lishment, employ expert players and
vocalists to teach the songs, print
professional cards and do a thousand
other things. You see the competi
tion is keen, and If you should hurt
the feelings of any singer, especially a
man or woman of reputation, you will
have considerable trouble In making
your songs popular.
"Publishers have to take a lot of
chances, too. For instance, to popu
larize a song you must have slides
made for stereopticon views. This
costs quite a sum. One publisher spent
$400 to take pictures for a set of
slides for the song 'Sing Again That
Sweet Refrain.' He had to employ a
troupe of colored minstrels, a band
ami a' hall. Fortunately the song made
money and he did not lose anything.
There are other things to contend with,
too, such as lawsuits, etc. There was
a dispute over the ownership of one
song, for Instance. After fighting In
the courts for some time one of the
firms concerned compromised by pay
ing the other ?2000 In cash and the
costs of tho suit" Cleveland Tlain
Dealer.
Glrln Wlio Sing Over Hard Work.
Young girls in Japan are employed
to perform a task which cannot be
done In the same time and with the
same ease by any other body of work
folk In the world. They are engaged
at the different ports In loading the
large steamers with coal. The coal
barges are swung alongside the vessel,
from stem to stern of which are hung
a series of platforms, the broadest
nearest the base and diminishing as
they rise. On each of these platforms
a girl stands. Men on the barges fill
baskets containing about two buckets
c" coal each, and pass them to the girl
standing on the lowest platform. She
passes them to the girl above her, and
a continuous and unbroken line of
baskets pass into the vessel from 10
In the morning until 4 In the after
noon.
The girls will handle from sixty to
seventy baskets of coal per minute.
and over 1000 tons of coal a day.
This really arduous toil they perform
as If it were mere play, for they keep
up a running fire of jokes, and their
laughter Is continuous. They often
break into a song, the notes of which
are clear, melodious and stimulating.
Chicago Record-Herald.
I'.atlnc Locusts.
The Filipinos In Manila are having
an unexpected feast. It came to
them like the manna to the Israelites,
being furnished by a swarm of locusts,
which recently flew over the city. To
these people the locusts are a great
delicacy. The insects are served dry
or In a pot-pourri They are also
made into pies and cakes, and in some
instances ground Into powder and
steeped In liquid so as to make a bev
erage. At times catcximg the insects
becomes a very profitable business. In
Manila aud the other large cities they
sell at $2 a sack, gold. These sacks
hold about a bushel. When dried the
locust can be kept indefinitely. The
natives never eat the grasshoppers
green, but they eat them In every
form, dried or cooked. They even car
ry them in their pockets and eat them
as they would candles and other con
fections. When dried the locust Is
nice and crisp, and tastes something
like gingersnaps. Some confestlouers
iress the grasshoppers in various
ivays, serving him up occasionally
with chocolate trimmings and coats
5f sugar. New York Post.
Hare Yon Met This Woman?
Her husband is all right but he Is
so fat!
Her little boy Is all right but he Is
growing so spindling!
Her home Is all right but the paint
is too light!
Did she like the last lecture at the
club? Liked what he said very much
but his hair was cut so short like
i prize lighter!
Her new tailor suit is all right but
Mrs. Zyz has her coat a trifle, the
merest shred, longer, and it's much
better!
Her new hat Is cleg-ant but If that
ribbon was a shade Jarker, now !
Boston Herald.
m jf -.A UMI-V J '-
S CILM I INC b -.i
v ", i I M HI 1ST R 1 A i
) 'rV ' 1
Two French physicians have made
cpciimcnts which, I'd to the v Liiclu
Hoii that a nutritious, meat diet and
absolute bodily rest are the beat means
of nrrestir.g consumption.
Three aluminum electric trnnsmis-
slon lines have recently been Installed
In Italy near Naples. Tho lines trans
mit power fit .UK) volts from thrce-horsc-powcr
turbines tu the valley of
Point II, to Sarno, and to Torre An
numiata. The lengths of these lines
are two miles, nine miles and two
miles, re:-pectlvily.
A sheep raiser in Guadaloupo I
County, N. M., Is shearing his sheep'
with power furnished by electricity.
He haB established a camp on the Rock
Island extension two miles from Juan
Pais and Is there shearing lio.Ooo sheep.
The machine secures about three
quarters of a round more wool from
each sheep than did the old hand
method. One man can shear -00
sheep a day.
The prize of !?200 offered some time
ago by the Association des Indus
trltlles of France for the best insu
lated glove for t'.lectrlclans was won
by Mr. Franz Clouth, of Cologne. The
prize-winning glove had an electrical
resistance of 52,500 megohms and la a
break-down test it withstood a pres
sure of 11,000 volts for three minutes
and 12,200 volts for one minute before
being penetrated. The glove Is of rub
ber lined with tricot
Geologists, after a careful study of
the question, have given It as their
opinion that the new oil belt, which at
present is doing so much to boom
Texas, extends from Beaumont down
the Gulf Coast to the mouth of the
Rio Grande and far into Mexico.
Should this prove true, that country
has before It aperlodof prosperity such
as Its people never before dreamed of.
American prospectors are already ry
work, and are sinking pipe-lines P. j
hundreds of Dlaces in the State oi-
Chihuahua,
M. Becquerel reports to the French
Academy of Sciences that as a result
of carrying In his pocket for several
UlUii lllO Ifc C iLI till UUUl V V A. BUU.l J i. il
metal radium his skin under the pocket
became considerably burned. M. Curie
also reported that the exposure of his
hand to radio-active material six hourr
caused a burn which did not heal up
for several months. In their power
to burn, therefore, as well as In vari
ous ouier cnaruciensucs, me muiuiu
rays show analogy to the X-rays.
Fiber pipes and conduits, made from
tvood pulp and treated with a preserva
tive, are now being put In use. After
the usual grinding the pulp Is washed,
screened, passed through a beating en
gine, then screened again. These op
erations completed, a thin sheet cf the
pulp is wound on a core until the de
sired thickness Is secured. After dry
ing the tube is treated with a pre
servative. Its ends are then finished
In a lathe to any desired form.. It is
claimed that this product possesses
the advantages over bored logs of a
homogeneous material throughout, free
from grain, and thoroughly Impreg
nated with the preservative, thus
avoiding variations in hardness, dry
ness and amounts of resinous matter.
A Clever Tostofllce Horse
There is a clever postoflice horse In
Brooklyn which for some time past
has been getting double rations, and
will probably continue to do so until
the postoflice men discover his trick.
From the sub-station at the corner
of Ninth street and Fifth avenue are
sent out a number of mail collecting ,
carts through the surrounding dis
trict When the horses drawing these
carts come in they are driven up in
front of the station to stand until it is
time for another collection. While
thus standing they are fed. On the
curb in front of each horse is placed
a bag of oats. None of the horses are
tied, for standing is a part of their
business.
This Is when the horse with a double
appetite has his opportunity fl per
form a skillful manoeuvre at each
meal. He waits until all the rations
are distributed, then, paying no at
tention to his own allotment, he be
gins slowly to back. Slowly, but sure
ly he backs into the horse below him,
which In turn pushes back further and
further until in a few moments the
clever horse In front who started the
backward procession Is standing in tho
place of his neighbor la the rear with
his head in that animal's feedbag.
Then he begins to eat ravenously, fin
ishes his neighbor's oats as soon as
possible, and steps nimbly back to
his own place, eats his own oats, and
settles contentedly for a stand-up nap
with a well-fed air of placid Innocence.
But the horse at the end of the line
suffers. That Is no affair of the clever
inventor of th? scheme, however.
New York Times.
A single workman can cut C'JM
watch glasses a day.
!