NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19743, 16 September 1927, Page 10

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

UNIVERSAL INCOME TAX. The British Budget for the current financial year proposes to obtain £222,000,000 from taxation upon articles of popular consumption—spirits, beer, tea, cocoa, coffee, chicory, sugar, dried fruits, tobacco and matches. "It may safely be assumed that at least a third of the revenue obtained from these taxes is provided by poor people—by people to whom every shilling is a matter of importance," says Mr. Harold Cox, in the Edinburgh Review "Indirect taxation has practically no effect on the mentality of the average citizen. Not one person in a thousand knows what amount of duty is levied by the State on tea or beer or whisky or sugar. Nor, even when that knowledge has been acquired, can the consumer be quite sure how much the tax costs him. In the case of direct taxation the position is entirely different. The Exchequer demands a specific payment from each person assessed for income tax and he grasps the fact that the money is called for to meet the expenditure of the State. He proceeds to make the natural inference that if there were less public expenditure there would probably be a smaller call on his private purse. If the income tax were made universal there would quickly be an overwhelming electoral demand for economy in national expenditure."

THE PREVALENCE OF PYORRHOEA. "Pyorrhoea alveolaris existed before toothbrushes were thought of. The modern prevalence of the disease is due to the way in which the mucous membranes of the mouth are irritated ard their resistance lowered by septic brushes," says Mr. F. D. Donovan, sur-geon-dentist to the Royal Household, in the Lancet. "There is only one constant feature in all cases of chro.iic g'.m irritation, It is an article wb.ch is used by practically everybody 3/aong so-called western civilisation—l refer to the toothbrush. I am quite prep vred to affirm that there are very few 'oothbmshes in the world to-d'.j th it r.re not septic." Mr. Donovan fays he has submitted many brushes Jt bacteriological examination and the revolt was invariably the same. Ira-media'.f-iy after use. a brush is slightly septir after 12 hours it has become stror.\,]y septic. " I have come to the eondision." he says, "that there is nothing for it but to leave the brush immersed in a fairly strong antiseptic the whole cf t*ie time it is cot in use. I have put a st°ri,e brns« after use as 1 -20 carbolic, and hive continued to use u without it becoming infected. This is very ua«-d on the brush, tut a very £ood thing for

the toothbrush Liannfactureri. The oniy toothbrush that will not slimy with constant immersion in thud smu-t he made of a much stiller and thicker material than those that are generally used to-day. In conclusion 1 empha&:« that pyorrhoea alveolaris is in no way actively caused by the dirty brush; but

that the ground is so prepared by this constant irritation that the membranes fail an easy prey to the disease, should other predisposing conditions arise. Whatever may be the activating cause, these fJthy brushes are at the root of 90 per cent, of the cases, and the prevention is in the patients" own hands. The few cases which occur independently of brush irritation could all the more certainly be dealt with."