DOCTORS' DANGERS.

Hastings Standard, Volume XII, Issue 5846, 9 May 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

DOCTORS' DANGERS.

Lives Shorter Than Other Men's Ono would hardly think it, but ac cording to the "British Medical Journal," doctors as a class are mere subject to illness than their fellow-men, aud their expectancy of life is less than that of most:— "An explanation of this is readily found in the anxieties caused by responsibilities which must weigh heavy on every man of right feeling; in the amount and trying nature of the work tho doctor has to do; in irregularity of meals aud broken sleep; in expos cc to weather and to infection ; and last, but not least, in the scanty reir.uneratio;i which his labour too often brings to iii:>i. The combined influence of all theso causes is sufficient to undermine tho strongest constitution long before a man has reached tho limit of three scoro and ten." A comparison of tables compiled by statisticians in different countries gives doctors an average of •57 vears at death.

That doctars as a class are especially liable to" certain diseases our contemporary thinks is unquestionable. "Setting asiile affections duo to exposure and infection, the practice* of Medicino levies a disproportionate trit n'.c from its professors in the form of diseases of the cardio-vascular and l ervous systems. Agina pectoris has I.eon called tho 'doctor's disease:' neurasthenia deserves to be ranked in the samo category, and severer "'nr.ms ot neurosis are, as might bo exported, common among men whose profession compels them to live at the highest tension both of brain and nerve force. It in scarcely to be wondered at, therefore, that tho narcotic habit is common among tho doctors. After all, what shortens tho doctor's life is over- , work, mental and bodily strain muni-j festing itself at the point c.f ;c-ist ,t----sistanee." The advice to reduce erad-i-l ally after -50 is, adds the '' British Mecii- I cal Journal," excellent, but must for! most remain a counsel of perfection.

A COLOSSAL WARDROBE

Like our own King, tho Kaiser is a great stickler for etiquette when it concerns matters of State, and in his dress lie chooses to be very correct. He makes a point of receiving each visitor of importance) in an appropriate costume. and it is nothing unusual for him during a reception, which rarely lasts more than an hour, to change his uniform five or six times. He has about e'ghtce'i valets, who are trained to help him to change rapidly, and woe betide them if any delay should occur. Ihe Kaiser's apparel is noted for his variety. His clothes occupy a whole suite of rooms, two of which are devoted to admirals' uniforms. There are uniforms of foreign armies, and all their accessories, uniforms of all the German regiments, and innumerable suits of clothes for sport and for civil wear, and literally stacks of canes and sticks. The boot<: and shoes alone would stock a good-sized shop, while tho Kaiser's different decorations run into the value of many thousands of pounds. These are all in the care of a court functionary, who has under him a regiment of valets and tailors. With regard to his fem inino belongings, tho Kaiser is quite as particular as they shall dress becomingly and well. The Kaiserin has of late years gained the reputation not formerly owned by her of being extremely well dressed, and this is, in tho main, due to her husband's desire, her Imperial Majesty caring little for dress

EXTERPISE AND SUCCESS

One of cur youngest and mnch travelled theatrical managers, Mr Edwin Geach, has sprung to the front rank by the excellence of the pieces he has put before the public. Originally a farmer in Gippsland (Vic), Mr Geach knows what long, honest hard work means, and afterwards, when he went into journalism, he found also hard and arduous work. And so it is with theatrical management, if vcn manage to strike a series of productions that the people don't like—but so far Mr Geach has not had much of this class of hard work. Genial and optimistic, is an ideal man to meet and chat with. Travel has broadened his v'ews and made him see a little bit of good in everything. He managed the SapioTJrso Concert Combination—the best concert company, he thinks, although not the most successful. He's been a London manager, too, something for an Australian to boast of. He took Donald Macdonald, the well-known Victorian war correspondent, there to give London his experience of Ladysmith during its historic siege Although the season wasn't a success in London, in Australia and New Zealand Donald Macdonald wis the biggest success Mr Geach ever managed; and he deserved to be. Mr Geach is philosophic—"A manager who can't take a loss," he says, "hardly counts nowadays, for the whole game is a gamble." Even if that be so, Mr Geach has struck the. lucky box nearly every time. Within ten years, he has been 20 times to New Zealand; a grand show place, he admits. China lias seen him, so have /Japan, and Java and India, and in each and all of these places he has had funny adventures. Dante was under Mr Geach's managerial wing, so was Carl Hertz. He had Willoughby and Ward, Grace Palotta, Thurston, and Frank Thornton, and now has good shows running in Sydney, Western Australia, and New Zealand. Losses do not affright him and success has not turned his head. He is the same genial, courteous Edwin Geach as ever, and no one could wish a better friend or more pleasant companion. And what is more, everybody acclaims his success. He has no enemies.