WAR MISCELLANY

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 36, 10 August 1918, Page 10

WAR MISCELLANY

ITEMS PROM LONDON

MANIPULATIVE SURGERY

(FROM ODK OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 14th June.

An Army Council Instruction has been issued to all commands in the United Kingdom directing that "no obstacle will be placed in the way of an officer or soldier who desires to avail himself of the services of a practitioner in manipulative surgery who is not possessed of a medical certificate.'.' Tims, although the offer which Mr. H. A. Barker made to the War Office has not been accepted, no barrier will henceforth be put in. the way of any member of His Majesty's I Forces who wishes to consult him or any other manipulative surgeon. The question of the employment of manipulative surgeons for the relief of ! injured soldiers was raised several times in Parliament last year. Fifteen months ago, Mr. Poto suggested the appointment of a committee of surgeons to report on Mr. Barker's methods, but the War j Office ■ rejected ' the proposal as Mr. Barker was not a qualified medical practitioner or surgeon. In August the Commons debated the question on a motion by Mr. Peto, and Mr. Macpherson then took the line that there was fio '■ objection to a soldier going for treatment to an unqualified man, but if he. did so he went on his own responsibility, and if he died or was maimed for life the State could not be responsible. The War Office would not take the risk. NEW RIVETING ."RECOBD." At Messrs. Workman and Clark's shipbuilding yard, Belfast, a new world's rivoting "record" was made by John W. Moir, who drove 11,209 rivets in nine hours, beating the recent "record" of 7841 put in by John Lowry at Harland and Wolff's yard, Belfast. Moir also broke his own hour's record of 1115, hip best hour's total .yesterday being 1409. He was working on the double-bottom floors of a standard ship. The rivets measured Jin by 2^-in, and their weight was two tons lOcwt. Sir George Clark, head of the firm, presented Moir with a cheque for £50 and a silver rose bowl. WAR MUNITIONS VOLUNTEERS. An extension of the War Munitions Volunteer scheme is to be ' undertaken by tho. Government in view of the urgent need to secure the most economical use of the labour employed on essential war work. The scheme provides for a review of the present distribution of labour and for the enrolment of workers as War Munitions Volunteers or War Work Volunteers for transfer to districts where their services are more urgently required. It is pointed out that "protection" from military service cannot justifiably be continued to those men whose services arts not already being \ised to i the best advantage, and who refuse to transfer their services to other, essential war work where they are more necessary. ' THE FLYING TEMPERAMENT. ■ Major Martin W. Flack, of the Research Department of the Air Ministry, says that unless measures wore taken for protection, or the airman was a superman, collapse would inevitably occur. It .was the function of the air medical offi cer to look upon the pilots under his ch«rge as human machines, to say whether they were fit to take the air, and to take steps to remove any signs of mental or physical distress. It was obvious that a pilot must have good vision, good hearing, and good hands, but lung capacity was the most important consideration. The successful pilot was generally a deep breather, who took in moro oxygen per unit than the ordinary man, and was able to hold Kis breath longer. At the same time, what was known as "tho itying tmperament" would to a certain extent overcome physical disability, and one of their most tamous airmen was a man of diminutive stature. In ground training hardening exercises should be insisted upon, a3 there was no doubt that a man bo hardened, sitting in light clothing, had a much smaller oxygen usage than one who had not undergone the treatment.

WAR MORALS. -^ Dr. Edward B. Turner, Chairman of the British Medical Association, said at the British Dominion Suffrage, Union, that during the last forty years tho moralifcy of men and women had approximated. This was due to restrictive legislation, to the change in public opinion in relation to drunkenness, and to the widespread iniert.w aikl participation. in athletics of all classes of society Tlie working-clasa boy of forty years ago, who spent his spare time in loafing about the Gtreete—-or, as ho expressed it, "going after a bit of skirt"—was now an enthusiastic cricketer, a runner, or a swimmer. On the ether hand, many women and young girls had been affected by the worst features of Socialism, including free love, and they put their principles into practice. Girls living away from home influence for the first time often got & mistaken idsa ot the independence of women, and believed it to be the women's right to lower her standard to that of man. Lately, too, there had been a great wave of sentimental immorality regarding soldiers.