Under Currents

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17367, 31 March 1928, Page 6

Under Currents

(By ' Seeker. ”

IN THE DRIFT OF LIF.

PROFESSORS, DISAGREE. Professors, like doctors, are liable to disagree. Four appeared before the Industrial conference at Wellington, two of them for the arbitration systenv and two against. Probably good will come out of the discussions. The recent experiences of Britain and America in ‘•settling"' dispute* without arbitration are not encouraging to those who wish to abolish our system, root and branch. On the other hand, compulsory arbitration does encourage organisation of mutually hostile parties. -The way ,ut is surely co-operar-tion. But when each industry is o# a basis of sane cd-operation, the i*rmers at the one end and the consumers at, the other may find themselves worse squeezed than ever. New courts will be needed to adjust the differences between the various sections of the community. The prospect of the future is for more arbitration, not less, but certainly all parties affected ought to have a hearing. The primary producers have a special claim to consideration as their industry is unsheltered in facing world markets. But if farmers have suffered through the Arbitration Court’s awards, surely it is plain, as Professor Fisher contended at Wellington, that they ha*B suffered infinitely more through the manipulation of the value of money. As long as the farmers are helpless against those who can halve or double the value of the pound sterling in terms of butter and other goods, and as long as they are at the mercy of tariff-mongers, wliat use is it to worry about whether prices are affected some small trillc by the Arbitration Court?.

CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WATS. One of the arguments against child, endowment is that it would encourage people to bring too many children into the world; another argument is it does not encourage them to do so. A Sydney message says that, despite child endowment and the £5 bonus given to meet the doctor’s bill at childbirth, the birthrate in Australia is the lowest in history. So the bogey of too many children is laid. What then? Are there too few? Here is the old silly argument that it is important to bring large numbers of babies into the world even though half of them may die in the first year—as happens in some places where the birthrate is high. If the birthrate in Australia and New Zealand is low, the rate of increase of population is about the highest in the world, because conditions of life .keep the deathrate low. Is not that better than having twice as many babies, half of them to endure misery for a few months and then die? With" decent child endowment we might hope for still further progress.

THAT DRUNK DOCTOR.' One hears on every hand expressions of disgust at the Auckland Magistrate’s action in suppressing the name of a doctor who was drunk while driving a car and at the same session publishing Ihe name of a mechanic who was also "under the influence’’ while technically in charge of a car. The magistrate.'.Mr Gul ten, is one who is very highly respected. He seems to have Jet his kind heart betray him in the case of the young doctor. Numerous correspondents are writing to the Auckland papers on the subject, hut the papers themselves, so far as 1 have seen, have preserved a discreet rilence. I presume there is no law forbidding a newspaper to relate in a matter-of-fact way that Dr. So-and-so, being intoxicated, did at such-and-such a time and place drive his car into the kerbstone. To mention the conviction might he technical “contempt of court.” hut could the narration of the plain facts preceding arrest he accounted a libel? If the law would prohibit a newspaper from giving the truth out of a sense of public duty, then the law is a bigger ass than on® imagined. \ * * * \*

THE PYORRHOEA FASHION. Pyorrhoea is the fashionable disease of to-day, as appendicitis was some Years ago. And the fashionable cure is to have all one’s teeth removed. Some time ago a Wellington dentist wrote to the press denouncing this drastic treatment and declaring that i he had cured the disease by a simple i plan of dieting. He cited American I investigations tending to the same con- | elusion. The “Seeker” made some j local inquiries on the subject some ! time ago but found the experts not j very communicative. A doctor gave an I open-minded statement but insisted 1 that in some cases extraction was ! necessary in order to get rid of the pus. This statement was referred to the Wellington dentist, who consented to relate some of his experiences with pyorrhoea patients.

A Woman Cured

The story of the striking cure of a woman is here (old in the dentists own words: “Six years ago a patient consulted me with very bad pyorrhoea —■ gums swollen and very bad colour, pus j exuding freely. She also had great ied( blotches on her face. She had paffi ! £2l for treatments and was getting, steadily worse. Fat meat was her principal food, and being highly acid-form-ing was the sole cause of her condition, due to the acidity drawing on the lime content of blood and bones in an endeavour to correct the acid condition. The patient was convinced that she was destroying substance and soon realised that she must begin to build up by taking foods containing necessary elements, especially lime, instead of losing what she already had. In a year all pus had ceased to flow, her gums were firm and healthily pink, the blotches had disappeared from her face and she was eating one-third the quantity of food. Her taste for meat had disappeared- As she was consuming correct quality food she finished her meals comfortably as against distension always experienced previously. “Two years ago her mouth went back a bit, and when t saw it I warned her that she had been careless with her food. That she admitted. I thea told her that she knew the remedy. Her mouth cleared up again on proper food and lias remained so. “A most interesting thing has happened. The gums had receded quite a hit on her lower front teeth. They have grown up again. So wrong food destroys substance and correct food builds up. This patient, reports once a year and in the six years has had only two teeth filled. “Prevention is the only proper dentistry. Teeth are dependent on tho general health.” The “Seeker” hopes to give more ol' this dentist’s experiences and hts„ ideas of correct food. Orthodox medF-; cal men and dentists are not likely to agree, and an effort will be made to give the opposing views.