IMPRESSION OF ENGLAND

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1929, Page 11

IMPRESSION OF ENGLAND

ADVANCE IN RADIUM TREATMENT. OUTLOOK FOILFUTURE BRIGHTEST Interesting experiences obtained and observations made in England in a six months’ tour from which he has recently returned -were discussed by Dr. E. A. Walker, t whowas a guest., of the New Plymouth Rotary Club at its’ weekly luncheon yesterday. The value of directional wireless was the first thiijg, that impressed him as their ship approached England, said Dr. Walker. They steamed into a dense pall of fog 206. feet high which gave all on board an eerie feeling, but by wireless signals they were able to steam at half speed on a direct course to their destination, which they reached without any difficulty. ■ He had been struck by the immensity of London, which was spreading in all directions, giving birth to an enormous traffic problem. It was no uncommon sight to see a ’.block in the traffic a third of a mile long, but it was wonderful how quickly it moved on. Several means had been taken to improve the problem, including one-way traffic in certain streets along c which cars wo’uld stream four to five abreast, and the construction outside London of bypasses or broad stretches of concrete where cars would travel six abreast. The police control of traffic was wonderful and the discipline of the public was an historic fact. There were hundreds of restaurants in London and many city dwellers seemed to. take their meals in that fashion. Dinner followed by a theatre was the favourite amusement for the evening and the prices for meals compared very favourably with those ruling in New Zealand. But theatre prices were fairly high and in many theatres there were no such cheap facilities for the public as were offered by the upper galleries in New Zealand. PRICE OF CLOTHING. The prices of clothing had come down a little. A first-class tailor-made suit could bo obtained for 10 guineas and good suits could even be purchased for four guineas. He had noticed the sobriety of London more and more every time he went to England, and this time he. had not seen more than six men intoxicated in the whole of the city. The consumption of alcohol had been greatly reduced and he thought the youth of England had realised that it could not take much alcohol and preserve a sound and healthy body and mind.

Visitors to England who stayed more than six months had to pay an income tax, continued Dr. Walker, and this seemed unfair, as often a person was being taxed on the money the expenditure of which 'benefited British industries.

After visits to a number of hospitals he had concluded the Ne.w Zealand system of finance was preferable to the English method of voluntary contributions. Although the hospitals often showed financial losses every one had excellent fittings and equipment and the expenditure on everything of the latest was not reduced.

In investigations into the possibili- , ties of radium treatment, Sir Ernest Rutherford had done a great deal, and to-day England was taking her . place among the nations of the world in research work. Radium bad been in what was known as seed form in which .a glass capsule containing radium was surrounded by platinum which eonfine l the rays which indiscriminately attacked both healthy and unhealthy tissue and allowed the penetration of the disease attacking gamma rays. Now, instead of using radium emanations, medical men were using radium sulphate in needles, which were introduced all round the malignant growth. This had an advantage over the seed form, which lost its intensity at the’ time it was most needed. RADIUM TREATMENT. The whole value of radium was that it acted on a rapidly growing tumour and did not have the same effect on stationary tissues. A cancer was a rapid growth of cells by subdivision, and 'radium paralysed the division of each cell into two, the cells finally withering away and dying. The difficulty in treatment was to know whether every cell had been treated, as certain doses even seemed to stimulate the growth, but when the proportion of radium necessary to treat a certain amount of growth had been ascertained the treatment had been revolutionised. Radium had given great results in the treatment of cancer of the tongue and breast, .on which tho knife was now rarely ufeed, and the outlook for the future of radium treatment was never brighter. The relations between Capital and Labour seemed to be marked by more understanding, Dr. Walker concluded. The employee was beginning to realise the responsibility devolving on the shoulders of the employer. Profit sharing had helped to a certain extent, but safeguarding had proved an even greater benefit and had fostered employment and improved the position everywhere it had been used. On the motion of Rotarian W, J. Penn, Dr. Walker was accorded a vote of thanks for the recounting of his observations and interesting experiences. Rotarian Penn thought it an excellent thing that medical men should go to England to learn what advances were being made there. . si '