Dr. R. M. Griswold, of Derby, Conn., in his statement before the committee of the present legislature of Connecticut on Humane Institutions, presented the following figures in reference to the results of "Keeley Cures:" Of 34 cases from Danbury, Conn., which have been treated by Keeley methods within the last three years, he has found 13 relapses. Of 17 cases from the towns of Derby, Ansonia, and Seymour, he has found 7 relapses. Of 94 cases from Norwich, New London, Rockville, Willimantic, Putnam, Windsor Locks, and Providence, R. I., he has found 42 relapses.

Several other reports of a similar nature from physicians who have had Keeley graduates under their treatment are presented.

The statement of Dr. B., who was a patient at the Retreat and a graduate of a Keeley institute, is extremely interesting:

He says that during the four weeks while he was under treatment there was no time when he could not take liquor, and that several of the thirty-five patients who received treatment with him did take liquor every day, procuring it in the village. Patients were marshaled together in a line and given the "shot" four times a day, and "a tonic mixture" every two hours, except at night. The physician who was in charge at the time was himself a graduate of one of the institutes. He afterward abandoned the Keeley Cure business, and resumed the practice of general medicine, but within a year began again to take alcohol, and became "a mental and physical wreck."

He further states that of thirty-eight patients who were treated with him, fourteen relapsed within a year, and of these three died of Bright's disease. He knows nothing of the subsequent history of the others, the larger portion of whom came from other sections of the country.

A letter from another physician who had also received the Keeley treatment is of a similar tenor, and contains the statement that of the 33 patients whom he knew, and who were taking the cure when he did, 20 had relapsed into their old habits, some of them after taking the cure twice and even three times. The concluding paragraphs of the report contain a refutation of the Keeley methods and statistics so fair and forcible that we can not refrain from quoting them in full:

It should, however, be stated that the above statistics are of very little value as accurately presenting the whole per cent of relapses of the so-called cures. The conditions are such that this can not be ascertained. Neither those who have relapsed nor their friends are forward, or indeed willing to advertise this fact. They rather desire as far as possible to conceal it, while only those cases which have become notorious are reported. Imperfect as they are, however, they serve to indicate that the claim that 90 per cent of drunkards are cured by Keeley methods is without foundation; and also how preposterous is the petition that the legislature should become responsible for the treatment of inebriety by secret remedies.

The course pursued by Dr. Keeley in keeping the nature of the supposed cure a secret proves very conclusively that he has little confidence in it himself. He does not dare to make it public, but rather prefers to trade upon the desires and hopes of credulous families and legislatures and the unfortunate weaknesses of inebriate brains. If he or any other person should discover a remedy for chronic inebriety which would effect a cure in 90 per cent of all cases in four weeks, and make its nature

public for use by all physicians, he would be hailed by men everywhere as one of the great benefactors of the race, and both wealth and honors would be showered upon him.

In view of these revelations the editor says wisely:

The theory upon which Keeleyism is founded, namely, that these elements of the nervous system can be suddenly forced back into normal action by the influence or shock of a violent stimulant or poison of another character introduced into the system for a few days or weeks is at variance with medical experience in this and all other forms of disease of long duration.

The claim of Dr. Keeley, and the syndicate representing him, that 90 or 95 per cent of cases of inebriety can be cured in a space of four weeks has not been substantiated by facts, and efforts to secure legislation making the employment of this treatment compulsory in State institutions, especially when we consider the fact that the nature of their remedies is kept secret, are as absurd as if the proprietors of any secret remedy should endeavor to compel the use of their nostrums in public hospitals.

The claim that the Keeley patients who have been discharged as cured are in reality so is far from proven. There are no reliable statistics with regard to the percentage of cures in Keeley patients, as the patients are received and treated by thousands, and little or nothing is usually known of their subsequent history. A slight contribution to the records of these patients is made by Dr. Henry P. Stearns, since of the 52 patients affected with toxic insanity admitted to the Hartford Retreat for the Insane, within the last four years, 18 have been graduates of Keeley institutes. Several of them have been suicidal when admitted, and two of them committed suicide after they were prematurely removed from the Retreat by their friends.

From the above and many more studies like it that have been or may be made in any section of this country it is clear that Keeley and his coadjutors are no more entitled to the respect or support of the medical profession than is any other maker, vendor, or manipulator of patent or secret nostrums. While the attempt to make, through legislative enactment, such treatment compulsory in State institutions is an insult to rational medicine, and should be resented by every reputable doctor in the land.

THE STATE SOCIETY.

The recent meeting at Harrodsburg was in every way a full success. The papers and discussions were at the high tide of excellence, and the executive features of the session were above criticism.

We are happy to present, in this issue, our readers with the full text of the President's Address. It is an able effort, and will be read with great interest.

In our next and subsequent issues we expect to publish a full report of the proceedings with the majority of the papers read. We here tender our best thanks to the many authors who have kindly placed their papers at our disposal. The compliment of the presidency was bestowed upon Dr. John Lewis, of Georgetown, a practitioner than whom none in Kentucky is better or more favorably known. Our genial and accomplished friend, Dr. H. H. Grant, of Louisville, was elected vice-president. Lebanon is to be the next place of meeting.

PROF. T. H. HUXLEY.

The death of this great man removes from earth and things mundane the apostle of science and of modern philosophy. Though a specialist in natural history, there was no department of science or philosophy and little of literature with which he had not considerable acquaintance and which his writings and lectures did not enrich or

ornament.

Medicine owes him much, and among its votaries are many of his disciples. When his admirers and beneficiaries shall raise a monument to his memory the sons of Esculapius should make an offering worthy of the occasion and of the man.

Notes and Queries.

To the Editors of the American Practitioner and News:

A CONVENTION EPISODE.-At the recent meeting of the American Genito-Urinary Association at Niagara Falls, two staid married members from the City of Brotherly Love, by their manner and conversation gave the writer a mild sensation on the afternoon of the last day of the meeting. They were standing on the balcony of the Clifton House in a state of nervous expectation, when the following conversation took place: "Have you heard any thing from them?" said one. "No," said the other; "and they were to come down from Buffalo on this afternoon's train, sure." "Wonder if the train is in yet," said No. 1. "Yes, half an hour ago," said the hotel porter standing by. "Well," continued No. 1, "it's plagued strange. They ought to be here at the hotel by this time, sure. One thing is certain, if they don't come I sha'n't stay the several extra days I had intended to spend here." "Nor I, either," said No. 2. To say that I was worked up, inflamed with a burning desire to see these charmers who were coming down, and that, too, right to the convention headquarters, is putting it mildly, and so, as a moment later one of my friends exclaimed with delight, "Ah! here they come!" I quite naturally looked quickly in the direction of Suspension Bridge, only to see two messenger boys each trundling a bicycle. What a craze bicyclomania is indeed!

E. R. P.

"HYPNOTISM" EXPOSED.-A certain well-known prestidigitateur while performing a particular piece of sleight of hand used to tell his audience that he would take them into his confidence and explain to them the modus operandi. "There are several ways of doing it," he would say; "some do it one way and some another, but I have no objection to telling you-strictly in confidence, mind-that I do it the other way." This in effect was exactly what Mr. Dale told a private audience who assembled in the South London Music Hall to witness "a complete exposure of the supposed hypnotic trances."

At the outset Mr. Dale said he was going to prove that he could do to his subjects in the waking state exactly what so-called hypnotists could do to their subjects while entranced. In response to a request that some medical men should closely watch the proceedings two gentlemen took up a position on the platform. Two subjects (male and female) were then introduced, who placed themselves upon improvised beds consisting of boards resting upon trestles and covered with some kind of drapery. A "professional hypnotist" then entranced the subjects, and their insensibility to pain was tested by thrusting a large darning-needle through the arm. They were

then awakened, and Mr. Dale proceeded to thrust a needle through one of their arms, while one of the medical gentlemen did the same in the case of the other. Neither subject showed any evidence of feeling pain, and in the case of the lady there was no blood drawn, but in the case of the male subject a little blood showed itself. The "Professor" now came forward and triumphantly stated that he had proved his case, namely, that hypnotism was a sham. To this there were cries of, “You have proved nothing,” and a running fire of questions and answers between the dramatis persona and the audience was kept up for some time. The replies of the former were, however, very incoherent, and no direct answer could be got from either of the subjects as to whether in the first instance they were only shamming sleep or whether they were really hypnotized. The "hypnotic professor' stated that up till now he believed that the subjects were under his control, and even now to a certain extent he believed that to be the case. He expressed his surprise, however, at what he had seen. The lady stated that she was hypnotized to a certain extent," and "to a certain extent" she knew what was passing around her, and that her hearing "was intensified." Many questions were put, but the now stereotyped answer "to an extent" or "to a certain extent" was all that could be elicited.

A Mr. Marshall was now brought forward, and stated that he was one of the subjects entranced at a recent exhibition of this kind. The trance was only a sham, however. The medical men were here invited to run a needle through Marshall's lip, but they very wisely declined to have any thing to do with it. Mr. Dale then thrust a needle through the lower lip of the subject, others through either ear, and six needles were hammered into the top of the skull, the subject afterward coming among the audience and conversing with them with the needles in situ.

We can only express our strong disapproval of the exhibition, not only because we hear it is to be continued, but because it proved absolutely nothing, and the cause of science was not in any way advanced. Granting the existence of the hypnotic state, about which there can be little doubt, no proof was adduced to show that the subjects on Saturday were not still under control, although apparently possessing their own consciousness. This is, however, a theory we are not inclined to accept, although some color is lent to it by the fact that a gentleman in the audience who wished to apply some tests in this connection was rudely told that no one but a medical man would be allowed to touch the subjects. The most probable explanation of the phenomena is one that did not seem to suggest itself to the audience, and even if it had we do not see how it could have been proved under the existing conditions. We refer to local anesthesia, however induced. The explanation of the subjects themselves is that they are trained to bear pain. This, however, we doubt. Had the needle been applied to other parts of the body the subjects might have told a different tale. Those who are acquainted with sleight of hand well know how easy it is in many cases to make a person do exactly what you want him to do while