1939-02-28 — Page 42

THE HONGKONG TT LEGRAPH TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1939.

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'D'

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AS USED BY-

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&

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MOUTRIE PIANOS

REALLY EXPERT OPINION

IS UNANIMOUS IN ITS CHOICE OF THE "MOUTRIE" FOR MODERN HOMES AND MODERN PEOPLE.

THE NEW "MINIATURE" FITS INTO THE SMALLER HOME WITHOUT EITHER DWARFING THE REST OF THE FURNISHINGS OR ITSELF LOOKING A "MINIATURE"

AND IN USE IT IS A BIG PIANO; "RESONANT IN TONE" "RESPONSIVE IN TOUCH"

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York Building

Chater Road

Swan, Culbertson

& Frith

Investment Bankers and Brokers

Members of New York Cotton Exchange

at

Chicago Board of Trade

Winnipeg Grain Exchange

Commodity Exchango, Inc., New York

Canadian Commodity Exchange, Inc., Montreal New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange

Manila Stock Exchange

Hongkong Sharebrokers Association Shanghai Stock Exchange.

+++

SHANGHAI, HONGKONG, MANILA AND SINGAPORE

Cable Address: Swanstock

REPULSE BAY Hotel

Geo. Pio-Ulski's String Quintette

every SUNDAY for Tiffin 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.

HIRAL INVENTORY

Fred Carpio's Dance Orchestra

every WEDNESDAY for Dinner 9 p.m. to 1a.m.

A la Carte & Table d'Hote

ENGINEERING

leadership

GIVES IN ALL VAUXHALLS-

Remarkable Economy (20% more m.p.g.) Independent Springing (changes riding into gliding) Controlled Synchromesh [row can't help making a good change)

No-Draught Ventilation (fresh air without shivers)

We will provide an adequate trial run on any Vouxhall model, and demonstrate - ita petrol economy.

HONGKONG HOTEL GARAGE

Stubbs Rd.

Tel. 27778-9,

Vauxhall

TRY THE 10 AND 12 H.P.

The

Hongkong Telegraph.

Wyndham St., Hongkong 'Phone 26615 February 28, 1939

Rheumatism

To the average man the opinion expressed in these columns on Saturday that rheu-

matism rather than cancer or tuberculosis, must be considered the chief scourge of 20th cen tury civilisation still wears an impression of novelty, and even of paradox: for rheumatism in itself is not the most lethal of diseases, But organic heart disease, which is responsible for over a third of the annual death- roll in Britain, has long been accounted as principally rhcu- matic in its origin. The lack of dramatic quality in rheumatism is in part the cause, in part the result of the comparative neglect of science to study its problems fully. As was pointed out, it is less than fifteen years since attention in Britain was effec- tively stimulated by a report on the the subject issued by Ministry of Health.

Many forms of the discuse and many causes contribute to what Sir William Oaler well called "the great confusion that is rheuma- tism." One important factor, it is certain, is climatic. The bill of £17,000,000 a year which Britain must pay for the indis- position from this cause of per- Rons in the insured classes of England and Wales alone is due in part to The Homeland's notorious climate. Yet remedial research and systematic treat- ment could greatly reduce both temporary and permanent dis- ablement and largely eliminate this payment for ill-health. Lord Horder at the last meeting of the Empire Rheumatism Council stressed the fact that fewer than 50 of the thousand and more hospitals in the United Kingdom had special rheumatic departments, and that under 10 per cent of the adult sufferers and hardly a quarter of the juvenile rheumatics could obtain specialised treatment. A change in hospital organisation and an extension of pu'lic philanthropy both seem urgent if rheumatic

THE HONG KONG & SHANGHAI HOTELS, LTD. | patients are to receive adequate

attention.

THE SPARING WOOD MEN

Why

M

the hospitals

are in the news again

Y heart Icapt up the other day when they told me that, being in a bad Anancial flx. London's voluntary hospitals propose going cap in hand to the London County Council in caso perhaps Mr. Herbert Morrison and the London Lab- our Party can solve their troubles.

I do not believe that such a miracle can happen, because the voluntary hospital system 13 morally bust. Once this hap- pers to public institutions, their financial decay proceeds beyond repair.

The great teaching hospitals of London, and many of the other voluntary hospitals, do magnifleant work. They are controlled and run by fine, devoted men and women.

But, except for a few lucky ex- ceptions, which are run by inan- clal wizards, they are hag-ridden by debt and reduced to un- digrided, often despicable, beg- ging which comes near-black- mail to avoid bankruptcy,

IN fact the voluntary system is beginning to collapse under its own weight all over Britain-because the nation has outgrown it. At its height, during 1880-1000 perlod, it was the only guardian of the country's health.

During this zenith, the bestowal of a hospital was the current fashion in large-scale philan thropy. Hospitals were presented.

Died in 1918, German May

Be Exhumed

IEUT. EUGEN HERMAN WIL-

HELM MAHIN, prisoner of war in England. went on hunger strike: and died of influenza and starvation. He was buried in Bruy Cemetery, near Maidenhead,

Now, after 20 years (he died in November, 1918) the German officer may be exhumed.

Application made by a London firth of undertakers believed to be acting on behalf of a sister Hving in Ger- muny, has been agreed to by Bruy Parish Council, subject to the con- sent of the Home Oce.

The Clerk of the Council (Mr. A. J. Blake) said: "This officer

way interned near Maidenhead, and died in the Canadian Hospital provided by Lord and Lady Astor at Cliveden, their home,

"He was buried alongside a fellow Gorman officer, and between them was interred a Bellish sergeant who Was their escort during their internment."

The Honie Office has dealt with a number of cases of this type since the

war,

Bodies of war prisoners and Allied troops who died in England have been

exhumed and returned to their own countries. There ja - generally ́no difficulty in obtaining the permission of the Home Office.

just as likely as by a Labour Gov- ernment, because there is no other way out of our present troubles.

Charity. cm-

for Eo many reasons-to keep

to workpeople healthy,

secure titles. In remorse for years of sweating and bullying by ployers who suddenly realised they could not live for ever, and--more happily from pure kindness and Roodness of heart.

Very few such hospitals were ndequately endowed,

many arc totally inadequate for the service of growing tuwna, quite a few are encumbered because their donors saddled them with their private medical fads. There are homo- pathle hospitala, teetotal hospitals, and even hospitals dedicated to minor religious eccentricities.

INFANTILE paralysis Killa. Methodist babies and, Catholic bables ImT3-

partially. The good and the wicked collapse equally before in- fluenza. We already recognise this when dealing with virulent infcc- tious diseases like smallpox, scarlet fever and diphtheria. Their victims are packed off to a public hos- pital without respect to crced or opinions

This is the right iden. Every patient whom the doctor decides cannot properly be treated at home should be bundled off to a hospital provided and maintained by the State, staffed by the State medical service.

Despite tears, and groans from senumentalists, who make "bos- pital work" their hobby, a State Inedical service will be set up in Britain before many years have passed-by a Tory Government

snobbery, occnafonal Jobbery, and much inefficiency- with certain exceptions noted Above and therr like-will soon kil the voluntary system. Aud, n Cromwell said about the Irish.

Stone-dead hath no fellow."

When this happens, some peopli belleve that the rules of the volun- tary system can best be swallowed and digested by local authorities. For one Actually this is not so. thing, they could only Onance such a tremendous meal by heavy in- creates to the rates.

If the LO.C. took over, made over and modernised all' London's voluntary hospitala, ID that together with its own establish- ments an efficient metropolitan hospital service resulted, citizens would have to put up with an in- crease of about is. 6d. to the county rate.

THIS

would

please nobody. On a national scalo It would cause tremendous confusion and strain the Anances of smaller and poorer county councils to breaking point. No. The only way out laa State medical service, such as Labour policy proposes. This would bulld up one integral health service open equally to all citizens as a right.

Its only object would be to build healthy children into robust men and women, and then postpone their death for as long as possible. Naturally. Labour has various ideas of how this postponeme

GRIN AND BEAR IT

By Lichty

"It was lovely being u pucat at your bridga club-my game was a little off because 1. acareely know the

people you were talking about!".

enn best be carried out. Naturally. those ideas are flexible, so long as the genera. principle involved re- mains inviolate,

A national comprehensive health service staffed by a med cal and nursing profession which is paid and controlled by the public. That is the basis of the whole matter,

Notice that the doctors must be nationalised as well as the nos- pitals, Unless we make them Civil servants we shall be nearly as badly off as we are now.

On the face of it, our present treatment of doctom is ridiculous. We allow men who have to decide if we ought to have operations to retain a vivid inuncial interest in how many operations take place- that is, unless we are poor. In that case the surgeons de it for nothing to keep their hands in between rich. patients.

We do not even have the sense of the Chiness, who pay their doctors so much a month so long as they are well, but stop the payment when fl unt the doctor has cured them.

I know that most doctors are very honest mes, and that there are high standards of honour and Τη vocation in the profession. addition, the General ̃^Medica) Council keeps a stringent nye open for what it recognises as medical wickedness.

Neverthelesa the system 18. obviously absurd. Doctors, speci- ally poor doctors, should not ba placed on such temptation. A great many rich doctors have already given way to the tempta- tion to exploit their gifts and training purely for money. other- wise they would not be rich,

ONCE rom take the money complex out of the art of healing, the medical profession will quickly put its own house in order, All the charlatans and fee-matchers will be put in their place by the. honest majority. And then doctors will begin to recover the respect they are now generally losing.

Most young doctors will tell you. that they would welcome a Blate medical service which would guar- anter them a real living wage, not work them to death, and free them from the plague of money-lenders to whom they now almost always must resort in order to buy them- selves a practice and so set up in business.

Many doctors are groaning with debt until they are 40 or 45. And how can a man heal you when he is racked by anxiety about that acxt instalment * and tired through over-work undertaken to make more money, more quickly?

☆

"PHYSICIAN, Heal Thyself," is sound advice. the when applied to whole profension. The doctors no Icas than we, their patients, would. benent from n Blate medical service.

How long shall we have to wait? That depends on how sensible we are. The hospital and health policy of the nation, like every othar policy, is in our own hands,

Luckily, even Tories are now talking State Medical Service, Bo my guess is that

we shan't have to

wait too long.

T.D.

DINERS ANGLE

Sertile.

You can catch your own trout for dinner in a Seattle restaurant. The trout swim in a pool in the centre of the dining room. A waiter will sup- ply a rod for dinners who want to: angle for their trout..