The hypnotic effect usually comes on in from one-half to one hour after administration and continues from four to eight hours. The sleep produced is quiet and restful.

Doctor Hills reports in detail twenty cases in which he has used hedonal as an hypnotic and in addition to finding satisfactory results so far as the production of sleep was concerned, says: "All of these cases have been watched for any unfavorable or disagreeable effect which the drug might produce, but nothing whatever has been noted-no drowsiness, heaviness, or subjective sensations of cranial discomfort have been experienced. Neither has there been any digestive disturbance. The respiration and heart action have in every case been unaffected."

EDITORIAL COMMENT.

THE NEW ORLEANS MEETING.

CONTRARY to expectation the attendance at the fifty-fourth annual session of the American Medical Association at New Orleans, May 5-8, 1903, was very large, numbering more than two thousand, and the climatic conditions were exceedingly comfortable. Those who remained. at home in dread of the weather and possibly crowded hotels may well nurse their disappointment. All the hotels were filled to the utmost but there were no complaints of uncomfortable accommodations.

The meeting opened with addresses of welcome and responses thereto, which were especially felicitous, after which the chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, Doctor Isadore Dyer, made his report. Those who have had experience in the preparations for such gatherings know well the difficult character of such stupendous undertakings, and all can only feebly express their own gratification at the completeness of the arrangements made. The meeting places for the sections, the exhibit hall, the pathologic exhibits, the receptions at the Saint Charles and at the homes of Mrs. Cartwright Eustis and Mrs. Maurice Stearns," the section dinners and smokers, the fête champêtre in honor of the President of the Association, Doctor Frank Billings, the tours in and about the city for the entertainment of the visiting ladies, and finally the river excursions, indicate the generous and solicitous feelings of the profession of New Orleans for the comfort and pleasure of the visiting members.

The president's address, the orations on surgery, on medicine, and on state medicine, and in fact the papers and discussions rendered in the work of the several sections were as a whole unusually interesting. and practic, and were relieved and enhanced by other informal occurrences. Portraits of two ex-presidents of the Association, Doctor T. G. Richardson, of New Orleans, and Doctor Hunter McGuire, of Richmond, were fittingly presented respectively by Doctor Edmond

Souchon, of New Orleans, and Doctor W. L. Rodman, of Philadelphia, and accepted by the Association for its Hall of Fame. A loving cup was presented to Doctor Alonzo Garcelon on his ninetieth birthday in token of the veneration of his many friends.

One feature for which the meeting will long be remembered was the abandonment of the old "Code of Ethics" and the adoption of the "Principles of Medical Ethics." From the new viewpoint, the County Medical Society as the unit in the whole organization was made legatee and executor of this matter. The "Principles of Medical Ethics," which the House of Delegates adopted for the Association, is a document with broad, liberal views, suggestive and advisory toward the state and county organizations.

The meeting was a good test of the new mode of doing the Association's business. The section work was not compromised for the old general sessions, and yet the immense amount of business carried over from year to year and springing up with each year, was dispatched with fair consideration. The officers and delegates necessarily sacrifice much time from the section work, for which they are considered to be recompensed by the honor and responsibility attached to their appointments.,

Incidentally the occasion was both pleasurable and educational. As one of the older cities having historic associations connected with our own history and stretching back even to Spanish supremacy, as one of the old centers of southern national life before and during the war, and as the metropolis of the south, New Orleans presents features full of genuine interest. Contact with her hospitable people for even the short while of the meeting could not but arouse a mutual sympathy, making us of the north more generous toward them and inspiring them with a renewed hope of brotherly feeling.

THE SMALLPOX PARASITE.

THE report of the discovery of the so-called smallpox parasite is destined to create much interest, but because of the experiences of the past regarding certain cell inclusions which were thought to be living organisms and the cause of cancer, and which have since been proven to be of no significance in the etiology of the disease, many are lead to regard with great reserve the reports of Doctor Councilman and his associates, notwithstanding the high esteem in which this investigator is held and the valuable contributions to medical science he has made during the past decade.

Gaylord's somewhat exciting reports of the discovery of the socalled cancer parasite, which spread like wildfire over the land, is an example of a house built upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

It is certainly not the wish of Doctor Councilman's friends nor of any scientific worker that his beautiful theory should meet such fate. Noth

ing could evoke greater appreciation from the medical world than the solution of the etiology of this detestable malady, which, it would seem, has close relation to other infectious diseases whose nature is as yet unknown. However, the age is one that encourages skepticism and we are at least safe under its guardianship pending further developments bearing on the etiology of cancer.

CONTEMPORARY.

D. M. C.

CONCERNING "SCHOOLS" OF MEDICINE.

[SAINT PAUL MEDICAL Journal.]

THAT there exists in the minds of very many persons in all communities a prejudice against, and an antipathy to, rational, scientific medicine cannot be denied, and yet many of these same persons would admit-do constantly admit, that humanity owes more to modern medicine than it does to any other department of human knowledge. Why is this so? We believe that it is largely because the majority of people still cherish that old delusion that all medicine is dogmatic and sectarian. That there are "schools" and "sects" among some of those who practice the healing art, is unfortunately true, and this fact makes it hard for the people to understand that all physicians do not belong to, or believe in, some of these "schools." Those who founded and who still profess to believe in the homeopathic delusion have done much to reinforce and to maintain this belief in schools of medicine. We hear on all sides, men talking learnedly of "homeopathy," "osteopathy," "hydropathy," "vitopathy" and "allopathy." The first question asked concerning a physician is apt to be "what school does he belong to?"

The misconception has been so firmly rooted that even some physicians who do not belong to any of the actual schools of medicine which do exist, will permit it to be said of them that they belong to the "regular school" or even, though more rarely, to the "allopathic school," which does not exist. Imagine a sectarian engineer, astronomer, mathematician or electrician! Scientific medicine is none the less founded upon truth, none the less abhorrent of sects and schools than are the other sciences, and yet while the absurdity of a sectarian astronomer, mathematician or engineer would be at once apparent, people do not see the absurdity of a sectarian practician of medicine. We even hear of homeopathic surgeons and homeopathic oculists; whether osteopathic oculists have yet come into being or not we do not know. Can anything be more absurd than the sectarian fitting of glasses or performing of surgical operations? It surely ought not to be impossible to make the individual of average intelligence understand that medical science, while not an exact science, is a true science, and that an established fact in medicine is a truth which has been demonstrated by scientific methods and that it belongs to no school or sect, but to the whole world. When the people thoroughly understand these things, "schools" of medicine will cease to exist, and there are not wanting

many signs that "schools" are passing rapidly. We should be glad to see some broad, influential newspaper discuss this subject intelligently, for medical journal and medical society discussions do not reach the people.

MEDICAL NEWS.

THE DEMISE OF DOCTOR KLEIN.

DOCTOR PETER KLEIN, a pioneer German physician of Detroit, and a well-known resident of this city, died on the 15th of last month in the ninetieth year of his age, having been born at Oermingen, canton of Saar-Union, department of the Lower Rhine, Alsace, France, September 12, 1813. He immigrated to America with his mother and stepfather in 1828, consuming eighty-eight days en route from Havre de Grace. They settled on a farm near Buffalo but Peter was not disposed to continue the pursuit of agriculture, and soon proceeded to the city, where he elected the vocation of physician. After four years' study he practiced medicine in Buffalo, Rochester, and Saint Catharines, Ontario. In 1844 he matriculated in King's College, Toronto, and two years later was graduated from the medical department of this institution. From this date (1846) until within a few years of his death he was a successful practician of Detroit. In 1847 he was physician to Wayne county, and from December, 1863, to May, 1866, he rendered service in the United States army, being surgeon-in-charge of the barracks at Detroit. In 1869-70 and 1875-6 he was a representative in the legislature from Wayne county. He was instrumental in establishing and shaping the policy of the Michigan Volksblatt, the organ of the German Democrats of Detroit, which was launched in 1854. A widow and several grandsons and granddaughters survive him.

THE GIFT OF AN AMBULANCE.

THROUGH the liberality of the professional and business contingent of Traverse City, Michigan, the Common Council of that municipality lately became the recipient of a handsome and finely-equipped ambulance. These enterprising citizens subscribed five hundred dollars, and the hospital carriage, which is one of the best Studebaker manufacture, was presented to the city with a clear bill of sale. It was purchased from Doctor Hurley, who was about to move away, and in consequence of the expected change was procured at a great bargain. The Elks of Traverse City resolved at a recent meeting to maintain free of cost to the city the interior furnishings, equipment, and appliances necessary for the ambulance during the first year. Blankets, cots, stretchers, bandages, splints, et cetera are contemplated in the resolution. The new acquisition is expected to be in readiness for public call, and in accepting the gift the city obligated itself to render prompt service.

GUARDIANS OF PUBLIC HEALTH.

THE regular meeting of the Michigan State Board of Health was held in Lansing, April 10. Honorable Frank Wells, of the capital city, was reelected president of the board for two years, a position he had filled for a decade. The term of office of two members of the board had expired and Governor Bliss appointed Frank Wells to succeed. himself and C. M. Ranger, of Battle Creek, to succeed Doctor Belknap, of Benton Harbor. The secretary, Doctor Henry B. Baker, announced that two sanitary conventions and a conference of health officers had been held during the year, the former at Cheboygan and Pontiac and the latter at Ann Arbor. The board held three meetings for the examination of embalmers who sought license to ply their vocation, applicants being examined at Lansing, Escanaba, and Battle Creek. Doctor Vaughan rendered a report as a special committee on rabies, stating that the malady was very prevalent among cattle, hogs and other domestic animals in the lower peninsula of Michigan. Many dogs and children had been bitten and one child succumbed to the disease at SagiSix persons were being treated for hydrophobia at the Pasteur Institute of the University of Michigan. The course of treatment requires three weeks. Residents of Michigan are treated gratuitously, but room and board are not supplied free by the University.

SOME CONSEQUENCES OF TUBERCULOSIS. ACCORDING to two French phyiscians, Doctors Anglade and Chocraux, tuberculosis is a cause of insanity, idiocy, epilepsy, et cetera. In a recent contribution they declare "that tuberculosis occurs in an excessive proportion in the antecedents or present condition of persons affected with mental or nervous diseases." Some time ago Doctor Henry B. Baker, Secretary of the Michigan State Board of Health, wrote a paper on "Sanatoria for Consumptives," in which he anticipated the statements of the French investigators in the following sentences: "Nearly every state institution for which large sums of money are appropriated would be influenced by a measure which would restrict tuberculosis. Every asylum for the insane contains inmates having tuberculosis, and I believe that some of the inmates are insane through influences connected with past or present tubercular disease in some parts of their bodies. Many of the insane, the deaf and dumb, and the feeble-minded are thus helpless because of tubercular meningitis and other forms of tubercular disease. And a sanatorium for consumptives would do much toward making such other state institutions as I have mentioned unnecessary."

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EYE DISEASE IN SCHOOL CHILDREN.

AN idea of the prevalence of eye disease in New York may be gained from the estimate that in the district embraced in the lower east side of the city, from twelve to fifteen per cent of school children have trachoma. Nearly two thousand pupils have been excluded from the