The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 14, 1901, Page 1

pnotism to be part and ! of medical practice? ng from what some of say, it is so useful an hat we may expect e near future in every neatly mono- leather case that es a frock coat. ng from what others of the it. is all one with ry, with fak- S h reputable enough-to ician of them lave any, is of mervous minal offense to Jiyp- n accomplice, aider ‘pno Its ad- 1g questioned in he questioning may ts being made illegal 1511, of the Eastern cities of wited States it is being edical colleges dnd in The San Francisco liospitals have not as it, although some of 15 are using it in their k. What some of doctors think of here given. our own used mn the S pil r Dr. C. C. Kenyon. I It is a bad nprincipled per- jority of physi- approve of it. good physiclans re the ex- the con- ost entirely to 1 it might assist 1n s no curative qual- k it has made much could be done with the 2 ¢ hos 1s prac unlimited " e g very limited that on the w 5 etter be frowned upon b he medical profession. I e never tried to hypnotize any one, th have seen something of it. It is n depended on and there is very tle re nd it ————— e Dr, F. W. D’Evelyn. ]I Hyy sm exists and has always done £0 with man and the evolu- tion « £ . as it is enomena The weird akir over the the subtle e over its para- based upon the experiments of a reot—viz., the elimi; fon a ion of a force or in- fluence des life, creating an atmosphere of reflexodism—as palpable as It is only the effort to reduce results to a scien- tific causation that has attracted so much atten- tion to the psychicai condition of hypnosis. That this power should ve not only a_significance but utility is not an illogical conclusion, and any fallls should probably be at- tributed to our faulty interpre- tation rather than to lack of functional activity upon part of the force or power. 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 it .has proved and will likely prove most valuable, we should say it will be that of functional nervous diseases. In true organic disease its power would essentially be lim- ited to the modification of cer- tain symptoms associated therewith, e. g Wwain, sleepless- ness, fear. All persons are not equally susceptible, hor must it be concluded that it is only the “weak-minded” that are amenable; on' the:contrary, the méntally strong—pro- vidéd they are passive—often afford the most profound results. Children are often beneficially treated, not:by. the method of direct suggestion, which-in children is apt to produce a feel- ing of awe or fear, akin 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 of organs—contrary to those em- ployed in producipg the morbid phe- nomena. The use of hypnotism is not a matter of indifference and demands the same pre- cautions as would be employed in the therapeusis of any potent agent. It fs in- teresting to note a certain phase of auto- infection—of a consolatory and flattering character—not infréquently found in will- ingly hypnotized patients, viz., a power to produce the hypnotic state simply by | stering intently at thelr reflection In a 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? . = Dr. George F. Shiels. s o It is a very dangerous force, and T do not approve of its use cither by physiclans 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. It is clailmea 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. .I have even seen Charcot, the celebrated hypnotist of Paris, make patients change (or apparent- 1y do s0) complaints. But I object strong- 1y to the subservience of a person's in- dividuality, even though it is for that per- 8on’s immediate ohysical benefit. It doubt- less do.s some good In cases of morphine and alcoholic habit, but with few gredt 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 the ohysician. It is a terrible thing to subject children to treatmentsunder hypnotic influence or “suggestion” either for their ailments 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 reither In sclence nor as a parlor pastime. - Dr. C. Renz. LS Of course, anything in excess 1s bad, medicine of any kind or morphine, but hypnotism cannot possibly hurt the pa- tient and really strengthens him mentally. 1'have'cured 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 could not, perhaps, cure an organic discase, but it would be an, assistance in the treatmant. Its 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. I have used hypnotism to advantage in my own family, curing, after a few treat- ments, my Mttle boy of biting his finger nails. Now any one who has a child with this habit, that sometimes clings through life, realize how almost wonderful such a sudden cure is. To my mind Christian Sclence is nothing more than mild hypnotism. The diseases that they cure can always be cured by hypnotism. But neither Christian Science nor hypnotism can cure organic trouble or malignant diseases. wiil Suggestion s a great aid to physiclans, but its drawback is the length of time re- quired. Some people are very slow to come under its influence. It is already used to a great extent in Germany, but physicians are divided in thelr opinions, some disapproving strong- ly of it. while others find it a great aid in the practice of medicine. % [ I have used hypnotism a great deal in my practice, and vet I consider its use very limited, almost entirely to nervous and hysterical patients, 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. -1 have used hyp- notism on nearly a hundred patients, but it only after all supplemented in a smaller degree medicine. \It cannot touch organic trouble, and the length of time consumed in hypnotizing a patient is a great draw- back. I do not think the morphine habit can be cured by it. Dr. A. A. D’Ancona. <+ - Dr. J. W. Thorn. * e Hypnotism wiil never take the place of an anesthetic. I have not taken much in- terest in it because I do nowthink 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 limitaticms are another. 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 frequentl I use it wherever practicable in nervous and func- tional trouble, but have also found it of great assistance couchement cases. never treated a patlent for in ac- I have the morphine*habit except once, a woman at the jail who was suffering torture, and she was soon quieted by the hypn I have been able to hyp- notize patients quite read- iy, usually in a few min- utes, although some require considerable time and pa- tience. I do not use it at all in organic trouble, for I do not think 1t can redch such, but in fune- tional complaints and nervousness I have had very good results. In my own opinfon it cannot hurt the patient mentally or physically and Is per- manent in its good results. I had one case—a littls boy—whose mother was heartbroken should be a thief and a Har. This boy was hypnotized and I commenced treatment, which after a few repetitions resulted in the reformation of this child with crim- His improvement was no- and after tic treatment. that her son inal tendencies. ticeable at®er one treatment, five or six he was a changed boy, obedi- ent, honest and considerate. Imagine his mother’'s satisfaction at this metamorpho- sis! oge Dr. G. J. Fitzgibbon. + | | o I favor hypnotism to some extent, but fts“reach is so limited that it really amounts to little or nothing in therapeu- e place of an It is good In imaginary dis- tics. It can never take anesthetic. eases, and may assist in functional trou- bles, But could never be of the s use In organic diseases. It is surprising the number of people who have absolutely nothing the matter with them and vet think that they are Nothing a physictan can say to the conmtrary will disabuse their For this class of pa- good thing; outside of such it is of little use. For genuine sickness or allments, such as con- stitute the great majority of every phy- sician’s practice, it is practically useless. ghtest seriously sick. minds of the :dea. tients hypnotism is a very o Ll Dr. Louis Bazet. f— + 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 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. Lawmakers and - Jheir Pay. HE most expensive Parliament in Europe is that of France, which costs $1,500,000 a year. The French people are very w represented. There are 300 Senators and 334 Deputles, a total in excess of £00. Each receives a s: ary of $1800 a year. In the United States the ninety Senators and 360 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 $100,000 a year. Rus: has no Parliament in the Amer- ican or French sense, so that this item is entirely saved. The in the Italian Parliament receive n but have free transportation on rail The cost of the Italian Parliament last year, nevertheless, was $420,000. ¥ The salaries of lawmakers in parts of Europe seem trifling, according to American standards. In. London, for “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 3300 a year. And if any session lasts longer than four months they are paid at the rate of $2 60 a day add The Parliament of Holland comprises 150 members in two houses. Members of the Upper House re- cetve 34 a day and of the second body 3800 a year and mileage. The Parliament of Holland costs $300,900 a year The most scantily paid of any regularly salarie§ lawmakers are those of Austria. There are two legislative bodies for Amstria, one meeting in Vienna and one in Budapest. The total cost Is $§500,000 a year. An Austrian law provides that the members receive 10 florins, or £ a day. is so associated in my mind, rads many of the