the mexican situation from a medical standpoint

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Annotations.

THE MEXICAN SITUATION FROM A MEDICALSTANDPOINT.

"Ne quid nimis."

FOR some time certain political parties in theUnited States have been calling loudly for a warwith Mexico on theplea of

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vindicating the nationalhonour." With the rights or wrongs of the dispute,between these nations we ane not at present con-cerned, but .our attention has been drawn to themedical aspects of the position by an articlepublished recently in the American Journal ofTropical Diseases and Preventive Medicine entitled’" The Mexican Situation," by Dr. Howard D. King,of New Orleans. In this article the attitude ofthese bellicose parties ,in the United Statesis sharply criticised, it being evident that whilecalling for war they do not realise the graveconsequences .that :must inevitably follow. InDr. King’s opinion all thinking men must viewwith horror and dread the prospect of such a

war, with .the certainty of ’war’s grim ally, pesti-lence, also taking the field. Behind the loomingpresence of war stalk the shadows of epidemicdisease. The medical profession in the UnitedStates is aware, for example, that two of the mostserious epidemic maladies, plague and yellow fever,are at present exhibiting -signs of activity whichforebode mischief, more particularly to theSouthern States of the Union. It is common know-ledge that the prospect of one or both of thesedangerous diseases extending beyond their presentlimits is just now causing some anxiety in officialcircles; and it is generally recognised that if theUnited States are plunged into a war with Mexicothe spread of the infection would be greatlyfacilitated. The present plague situation inAmerica was dealt with in THE LANCET of July llth,and the position as regards yellow fever is alsosomewhat gloomy, judging from current reports.If it became necessary to land large bodies of non-immune troops on the shores of Mexico, in parts ofwhich yellow fever is endemic, it would be very.difficult to prevent the development of a serious

epidemic of the disease, with probable conveyanceof the infection to the Southern ports.of the UnitedStates. The way in which small-,pox and entericfever haras-s armies in the field i-s now wellrecognised, and although vaccination on the onehand and antityphoid inoculation on the other

might diminish the dangers, yet it is more than

probable that :these beneficial procedures would notbe generally carried out during the bustle and excite-ment of dispatching an expeditionary force to theseat of war. Small-pox is already prevalent on theNorthern frontiers of Mexico among the refugeesfrom those parts of the interior where militaryoperations are being carried out. At the port ofVera Cruz, now -occupied by a United Statesforce of soldiers and sailors numbering nearly.30,000, small-pox is also prevalent; and diarrhoeaand dysentery, it is reported, have increasedof late. Apart from the ravages of epidemicand other diseases there would have to bereckoned, in the event of a war, the deaths and dis-ablements upon the field of battle. The medicalmind can best appreciate the horrors of war and theadvantages of dealing with disputes by diplomacyrather than by the edge of the sword. The soldier

takes a more sanguine and professional view of thecase, and naturally prefers a settlement by force ofarms. In this connexion Dr. King remarks : " Warmeans devastation and blood, depopulated fields andsmoking villages; the acclamation which theconqueror wins from one portion of his speciesis answered by the curses and execrations ofanother; the laurels of the warrior are alwaysbedewed with the tears of widows and orphans ; thedelusive splendour, the proud and imposing arraywith which he contrives to gild the honoursof his profession, are but the pomp and retinue ofthe Prince of Terrors; Disease, the warrior’s faithfulally, is the King of Terrors." It is greatly to behoped that, in spite of the cavils of political mal-contents, President Wilson will persevere as far aspracticable in his peaceful policy, which will ulti-mately assure in all probability the deliverance ofthe United States from what Dr. King designates as" a most frightful visitation of epidemic disease."The recent retirement of ex-President Huerta fromMexico should remove many of the obstacles to

peace and thus prepare the way for a satisfactorysettlement of the protracted dispute between thesetwo determined nations; at the least it should post-pone for a time the threatened war and its direfulconsequences. ____

CLARET AS A BEVERAGE.’ WHEN, for varying reasons, a wine is to be selectedbecause it contains the least amount of sugar, ofalcohol, and of acid, the choice should obviouslyfall upon claret, for analysis shows that the per-centage of these substances is lower in Bordeauxthan in any other wines. It is quite a commonimpression, however, that the white wines of thehock and moselle type are more innocent than otherwines in these three respects. That is not the case,although we are finding no fault with these wines.To not a few people claret appears to be a sour-tasting wine simply because it contains no sugarto speak of, which in other wines masks the aciditypresent. Claret is practically a finished wine-thatis to say, the original sugar of the grape is forall intents and purposes completely changed byfermentation, and as the original strength ofthe Medoc grape juice as regards sugar isrelatively weak, the amount of alcohol producedis correspondingly small. The production ofclaret is perhaps the simplest example of winemaking. It is purely fermented grape juicewith nothing added and nothing deducted. Whentherefore a wine becomes the subject of a prescrip-tion it would appear that we are on safe groundsdietetically when we recommend claret if qualitieslike freedom from sugar and from an excess ofalcohol and acidity are characteristics to be soughtfor. When a stimulant is ordered it has beencustomary for some time past to recommend weakwhisky and water as a safe beverage. The danger

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here, however, is that of overstepping the alcoholic!

allowance. The simplicity of genuine claret isaccountable for its well-known sensitiveness, which

, perhaps has brought it into disfavour in somequarters. Its flavour is peculiarly evanescentIand delicate and is easily spoiled by careless

management. But the fact that claret will notB keep sound more than a few hours after open-- ing precludes the suggestion of preservatives,L including extraneous alcohol, being added. As

a rule the best clarets are the most liable tobecome unsound. The coarse -fortified clarets

f keep longer for obvious reasons. Connoisseurs