The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 3, 1901, Page 8

THE SUNDAY CALL. Q_W (Copyrighted.) AUSES—There is no ill m which the public Is more instruction han or catarrhs, the n ailment which afflicts md yet the people know 1g of their real causes ( ns presént. An ex- position of these causes and frac- of prevention and abor- t suited to the populay ore be found of con- tance. place we must correct the popular idea that “colds” are taken by breathing cold air, for no catarrh of the nose, throat or lungs was ever caused by the circulation of cold air through them. In the second place, wee must impress wupon the public mind the fact that “colds” are contracted from a gene- ral chilling of the-body, or a severe chilling of the emtire lower limbs. When this fact is well realized by the people a great stride zwill have been made in the path of progress and toward the prevention of this 50 common ailment. The following shows how the ca- tarrhal process takes place -and its causes: Cold contracts the skin, and by so doing drives ‘the blood away from the parts exposed, and. sf the exposure be prolonged or the cold wery severe the tissues be- neath the skin will be affected in the same way. The mass of blood thus driven inwérdly causes the internal organs to become congested, that is, verfilled. - If this condition be pro- longed without reaction the tersion causes the capillaries : (minutest blood wessels) to rupture at the weakest spots. --Some blood ‘then oozes out of the circulatory system and stagnates in the tissues, twhich condition is- termed “inflammation -_mmm - - - & CUSTOM OF FLORAL OFFERINGS TO THE DEAD. In Turkey and certain parts of Asia, e Mahometans. abound, & Mussul- rave mever is opened again in . says an article in Meehan's To avoid the least attempt, the aves are huddled together, and imme- diately after -the funéral a cypress is planted on the grave, so that their cem- eteries rese 4 of Timor funerals often are rctard- ough the necessity of coliecting or the funeral fets. As.scon as the mbie a sort of forest.. In the > | i ! | » At this juncture, and for the sake of comprehension, we | must state, however, that the capil- y | laries are under the control of the | nervous system and that they rup- |ture omly when the wvasomotor | nerves are in a weak condition. Hence we find that the debilitat- b | ing influence that the long summer heat or conmstant living in warm rooms exerts upon the nervous sys- tem is the predisposing cause to this disease in the fall and winter, and that a prolonged exposure to-old, inadequately clad or without rcact-| exciting cause. | Let us add, however, that a :o-‘ called “cold” is often the result of inhaling an irritant substance, such as nocuous dust, germ-laden air,| dense smoke, noxious gases, the fly- | | ing pollen of plants and trees, etc.; | | but even in this case the mnerves| ‘Tl‘h{[]l are not toned up by frcqumtl' | outings stand as a predisposing | cause, and a chilling of the body n.c‘ :an allied exciting cause. It is the: | action of the irritant substances in-| | haled wwhich makes the nose, throat | | and lungs our weakest spots, be-| | cause irritation causes mngr.:{fnn: | and redness of the part, exactly as| mustard does when applied to the | skin. Tt is also a positive fact that | | when the cffect of the irritant xulfl‘; stance is rather severe it produces | the catarrhal condition termed “a| cold” without the aid of any allied cause. This explains the so-called | “colds” contracted in the summer. | PREVENTION—In taking up! the consideration of the preventive | means, let us realize this plain fact, | | that in order to fare safely through | the fall and winter we must, as it | were, be equipped with fall nerves | | and winter nerves, for our summer | in(‘r:'r: are not suited to those sea- | | soms- Such mnerves we acquire| |by adopting such means as will |avoid or cure the predisposing | cause and insure safety against the | exciting causes. The predisposing | | cause can always be avoided if the tone of the nervous system is kept up during the summer by cold baths |or cold spongings. If this cold ap- | plication be resorted to twice a iweek during the summer and continued lonce a week through October, no predisposition will gain control of the nervous system. A good rub- bing of the skin should be a part of the sponging operation. | Concerning the cure of whatever | predisposition may exist when en- | tering the cold season, we must lay | great stress upon the course of life | to be pursued through the fall, and | later through the winter; upon it | depends not only the prevention of colds, but the general health itself. Our strict duty toward our health is to associate freely with the season as it comes. we cultivate our nerves and bring them to the standard of the season itself. To this end we must fre- quently come in touch with it, how- ever cold its atmospheric features | may be, welcoming it as it were, not from behind a heated barricade, like timorous people, but in the open air, with due precautions, but fear- lessly. The fall and winter, like the spring and-summer, are the in- struments with which the super- natural ruling hand works the fields of nature, and as we are the grave is filled up a young palm s planted. The custom of floral and plant offerings in homage to the dead has been generai from time immemorial. The ancient Greeks not only strewed flowers over the grave, but also planted asphodel and mcllow, because the seeds of these plants were supposed to serve as food for the dead. mans, like the Greeks, attrib- uted a ld)eclll value to the rose as a funeral flower, and left instructions that after death their gra the favorite flower. ing by exercise or hot drinks, is the’ Women Win by Tact Rather By ¥ doingh——— i beneficiary members of mature all the year round, it is only sensible to graciously step out to receive the benefits of this instrumentality. The cold season is sent to us to premote the recuperation of our mnerves, shattered by the long summer heat, hence common sense tells us that we should go out and meet it like a friend, instead of hiding from it as from an enemy. However, to avoid shocking our sensitive nervous system, the pass- | ing from the hot into the cold sea- son must be gradual. In many cli- mates the change is, indeed, grad- ual, but in America the autumnal road 1s never so smooth; it goes up and down, often abruptly and pre- cipitously, and there js where the | stream onward. ive it 1s capable of finding the win- ter camping life quite as natural as indoor life. The exceptions to this rule are only the sick, convalescents and old, for these have a dimin- ished quantity of blood, or a slower circulation of the bloodstream and a weaker heart. We should realize that the more rapidly the blood circulates the more body heat is produced, and that physical activity and hot drinks are the best means by which to prmrmff' a rapid circulation of the blood. When the body is at rest the whole work of the blood circulation is thrown upon the heart alone, whereas, when active the muscles aid fut.:m'fnll.\' in driving the blood This imprudent wayfarer mects with ac- | power is then capable to overcome cidents. Therefore, when the fall E the action of the cold on the external combined | of the cold seasons, and we find these same individuals, usually the better class of women, so fearful of the winter as to rarely venture | coming in touch with it outdcors, except in a carriage, where they | hawve to sit motionless. By following such a method of life it is safe to say that the weak, nervous condition, which is the pre- disposing cause of the autumnal “colds,” will be perpetuated through the winter, whereas if we follow the proper course in the fall, with dite precautions, we can subject our nervous system to a gradual toning up without running the risk of ever contracting a ““cold.” But this ton- ing up or rencwal of nerve' force, which people commonly term *‘be- coming used to the cold weather,” can be acquired only by following Than by Bealtl. Byy Mrs. (Copyright, 1901, by Walter B. Gulld.) HAVE seen various vulgar habits fl exhibited at a public table, but never until this week has it been my misfortune to sit at table with a woman who brought along her man- icure implements and used them while waiting for the first course of ber dinner. She was a good-looking young woman, with an air of repose that was positively refreshing in thess days of nerves. She was carefully ressed and seemed to be more than ordinarily intelligent. I considered myself fortunate in having such presentable vis-a-vis until she pro- duced her nail file and began the scraping process which is irritating at all times, but was particularly nerve-wasting as an accompaniment to soup. People with weak stomachs have a hard time in lif2. There are so many isgusting things to be met with out- side one’s home that scarcely a day passes without an experience which cannot be readily banished from the memory. I felt really angry with my neighbor who gave the finishing touches to as ugly a set of nails as I ever saw before her dinner was served. I looked for other uncommon traits in her behavior but could find nothing else at which to complain. Why she should have thought her- self justified in such an act passes my comprehension. Somebedy told me once that every person had some disgusting trick. I did not believe it then, I do not be- lieve it now, even with a wide ex- perience of men and women and their little ways. I do believe, however, that many persons have more than one objectionable trick, for they are likely to go in pairs like reptiles. Why does not father, mother, rela- tive or friend call such a person’s at- tention to these horrid little ways? It is infinitely better to risk unpleas- antness at home than to allow a woman to be publicly condemned for a thing that could b+ avoided. ‘Women are shunned for smaller of- fenses than the one I witnessed the other day, and perhaps they never guess the reason. Refinement is bred in the bone, and where it exists such ways are impossible. The next best thing is the veneer which comes from the polish- ing process of education and experi- ence. The possessors of this, too, would scarcely be guilty of glaring faults except under the stress of ex- Martha Taft Wentworth. citement, when the veneer seems to break away and show glimpses of tha true nature below it. It is said that 2s a nation we are improving year by year, but the progress is so slow when compared with all there is to be done that the task seems an end- less one. It would hardly seem necessary to say that one’s nails should be cared for in private like other points of the toilet. It is not at all uncommeon to s:c women rearrange side combs after removing their hats in the theater, but there is some excuse for the act in the discomfort of loose ends of bair which have been pulled away from their fastening and float about one’s ears and in front of the eyes. So we accept this breach of manners There is no good excuse for the nail file and toothpick when they appear in public, and it will be long b2fore refined people will care to search for one. «The prettiest face in Christendom will not counteract glaring signs of ill-breeding. I can_call to mind a perfect specimen of young woman- hood who came from the heather ficlds of Scotland to a city famed for its culture. She was a joy to the eye, healthy, “sweet, young and gifted with that greatest of all blessings— style. As you might imagine, mas- culine attention awaited her at every turn, and among her admirers was a wealthy bachelor, who gave a dinner in her honor. The girl had one other gift that 1 forgot to mention—she talked very little, and was thus able to hide many Geficiencies in education. Her great beauty would cover up minor faults, naturally. To the dinner, over which T wouid not dare say how much time and thought had been poured by the Lost, went this girl and her married sister. It was perfect in every detail and the guest of honor did it credit by her irreproachable toilet. Among other good things out of season was celery, which, when passed to the young woman, was accepted as o matter of course, although she had never seen a piece until that even- ing. She calmly ate the leaves and discarded the succulent stalks, while her host was simply helpless from amazement. He ate little or nothing, was uncommonly silent all through the meal, and ended his attentions when he deposited the girl and her chaperon at the outer door of their home. She wondered at the falling off, but never knew the reason—that she had cured him of his infatuation by a bad break which everybody no- ticed. Two years later I met her again, still healthy and pretty, still stylish, but with a tinge of coarseness in her manner which savored of companion- ship somewhat lower in the social scale. She had drifted downward sim- ply because she did not possess tact enough to make the most of her ad- vantages, and had grown bitter with the change. You see, she was not the least bit clever, despite her ambition. She could not adapt herself to ocircum- stances—those in which a kind fate had placed her. She ought to have avoided strange food, like celery, un- til she had learned something of it: she should have been able to assume good manners by imitating those neax her. Lack of this kind of cleverness deprived her of worldly advantages to which her stock of ‘good looks en- titled her, yet she did not seem to be able to avoid the vulgarity which is now her portion. In contrast to this, I can cite the case of another girl to whom nature had been unkind. She had not a sin- gle ‘personal charm outside of small and delicately formed hands and feet, both of which were made much of, by the way. As compensation for her | ugliness she was given a brain which | landed her at the top of the line of | fortune’s favorites, and she is now | enjoying the fruits of it. I do not| think more than one story will be necessary to give-an idea of her na- ture. She was dining with a number of state dignitaries who were being entertained on shipboard. It was a brilliant occasion, and the epening course of the elaborate dinner was the usual plate of oysters. She took one and suddenly realized that it was not all it should be. Just then a prominent man at her right turred toward her with a remark which called for an answer, and all hope of getting rid of the oyster except by way of the throat was gone. It re- quired some will power to avoid a breach in good manners, but it saved er from something far more un- glnunt than the flayor of a bad oys- ter—the sacrifice of a position she was striving to hold against heavy odds. It was by just such means that she realized her ambitions and became an honored member of society, not the little circle of 400 or so fashionable and wealthy folk, but the big, big world of refined men and women. By tact she won, by tact she will retain her hold upon the world. assumes a winterly attitude we must seek to be in harmony with it by donning winter clothing, and when outdoors by keeping our mus- cles active instead of ungraciously criticising the character of the weather in a standstill attitude. The woman who in <winter dreads to go out, or retains her chil- dren indoors, is swayed by a foolish misconception, and endangers the health of her children and her own by ignoring the law upon which life is founded. We are the natural off- spring of this earth, and as such we must be able to live on it under its natural atmospheric conditions, whatever they are. This reason is founded wupon the fact that the nerves have the property or power of becoming akin to the conditions they are gradually subjected to. Quwing to this, if our body be kept surfaces, and thus supply the skin with blood and heat. The inference to be drawn from this is that the oc- cupants of carriages and sleighs are those most liable to take cold; a long drive in severe cold weather may induce a catarrh, notwith- standing any amount of clothing. It is, of course, equally dangerous for ladies to allow an interesting topic to retain them out in the cold in_a motionless attitude. It is much to be deplored that so few people should know that the cold temperature tones up the nerv- ous system in the same proportion as heat prostrates it. In fact, dur- ing the fall and winter we regain the nerve power that we have lost during the summer. But this high- ly important point, thowgh quite conceivable, is so little realized that a great many people shun the gen~ ves be planted with | seasonably clad and physically act- | erous and revigorating temperature methods of life closely related to the season itself. By this relation we mean that human life should often be associated with the outside weather in every season, because the natural temperature of the season is the best remedy to cure our predis- position to taking cold; we mean that the people who live in warm rooms day and night are those who fall easy victims to the cold weather, because they, as it were, “keep out of the season,” and furthermore, wither and die prematurely. Cold bathing in summer has been mentioned to avoid acquiring the predisposition to contracting “colds” in the fall and winter; now we must say that cold friction follow- ing warm bathing is the best pro- cedure by which to cure that same predisposition when it has been acquired. This should be resorted to ——————————+reaches the inflammatory stq at the very beginning of the fall and S A B o continued for at least a month. It requires two warm baths per week, each time immediately followed by a thorough cold sponging and rub- bing. Hot water relaxes the skin, sq that the blood can circulate tthrough it, while cold water tones up the nervous system, and when combined with friction flushes the skin with blood, and thereby pro- motes its health ond thickening. This method is essentially valuable to the class of people whose business occupations predispose to “colds” during the entire cold season. This class includes all persons who work in warm rooms nearly all day, and all women or well-to-do ladies ad- dicted to a sedentary life and in- activity. The fear that certain persons have of contracting a “cold” from a cold sponging is an intolerable ab- surdity, for such an occurrence is impossible as long as the blood is re- tained in the skin, which prevents \internal congestion. This retention of the blood in the surfaces of the body is accomplished by the cold friction when the skin has been pre- viously relaxed by heat. ABORTIVE TREATMENT OF A “COLD.” A “cold” can be very easily aborted at its onset before it has tightened up its grasp, that is, while the disease is yet in its con- gestive stage, if the people know what to do at the proper time. Having said that the cause of a “cold” is a loss of equilibrium in the circulation of the mass of blood, that the condition present in what is termed “a cold” is an overflow of | blood in a weak part, that this over- |flow is induced by an impression of | cold on the external surfaces which | drives the blood inward, or by the | Elnml effect of an irritant substance, ‘ | and that heat, contrarily to cold. at- tracts the blood to where it is ap- plied by relaxing the skin, every- body should now be able to clearly see the natural remedy or rational reatment to abort a “cold” at its onset. The object to be sought in the abortive treatment is to draw the blood to the parts devoid of it, such as the extremities and the skin, thereby reducing the internal pres- sure and relieving the congested part which 1is about to give way. This end is best reached by taking a full hot bath to which a cupful of mustard may be added to increase its effect. In the absence of a bath- tub a sweating in bed will be found quite as efficient and even Dbetter than a hot bath, and should be pre- ferred by all whenever the “cold” contracted is suspected to be severe. By thus restoring the lost body heat we reverse the circulation, re- establish the equilibrium of the blood-stream and check the further progress of the trouble before it Other very helpful measures in this case are: A hot drink with a z_io:re of brandy, or ten grains of quinine in one dose, which may be repeated in six hours. PROPER TIME TO ACT— The proper time at which to apply the abortive treatment is marked by the following symptoms: When- ever after exposure to cold without exercise or sufficient clothing, a pain or oppression is felt in the ches?, or sides of the chest, it means that the lungs are congested, i. e., that the blood s forcibly comcentrating there, and that unless measures are quickly taken to equalize the distri- bution of the blood throughou: the body, an attack or catarrh or bron- chitis will ensue. In addition to the above symptoms, if the body has been severely impressed by the cold, stiffness and even pain may be felt in the limbs, especially the thighs and in the back. The treatment is mo lomgen abortive of a “cold” in the chest if| not applied until the cough has de- veloped, though it will mitigate i, " The same abortive treatment ap- plies as well to a cold in the head on throat. Therefore, whenever aften exposure to cold a sense of dryness and stching or burning is felt in the throat, it marks the beginning of an attack, and the above treatment is indicated. But, if waiting until hoarseness, soreness and cough have developed, the catarrhal ai- tack will be mitigated, but mot aborted. The first symptoms of a “cold™ in the head, which mark the proper time to resort to the abortive treat- ment, are dryness and a prickling or itching sensation in the nose, snees- ing and the beginning of o sense of} fullness in the head. If waiting until the mext symptoms appear, such as closure of the nose, running secretion, headache, a well develop- ed fullness of the head, and some- times @ tension and pain in and about the eyes, the treatment will be mitigating, but not abortive. When a “cold” has not been aborted, blood oozes out of the cir- culatory system into the affected tissues, and the trouble must then run sts. course; the extravasated blood is there as a foreign matter, and it has to become decomposed in order that it may be expectorated. ——— . . — UNCLE SAM HAS EXPENSIVE INDIAN WARDS. Indian bureaus are very expensive; at least Uncle Sam finds it so, judging from the recent report that comes from his Cabinet. The wards of the nation are ap- parently not neglected, and though their tribe is growing less the expenditure of money for their benefit does not decrease rapidly. In ten years the little Indlans have decreased as they do in the Mother Goose verse and have dropped from 32,000 to 21,500, while the annual school annoro- priation has increased from $1,700,000 to $3,000,000. Out of an Indian population of a little less than 250,000 about 100,500 are seif-sup- porting, and under theilr own independent individual management spend less an- nually on their support than the Indian Bureau spends on their brothers who are yet wards of the nation; for these Gov- ernment supported ones cost about $800 a year, or more than $9,000,000 in-all per an~ Dum.