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Medical students in the University of Pennsylvaniaare not taught to be experts in dark-field examina-tion or in serology. They are taught to take thespecimens for such examinations and to expect thatpublic health agencies will supply the necessaryexperts.

THE SERVICE AND NEW LEGISLATION

Two official dinners were given at the Congress.The first was a farewell dinner to Dr. Hugh Cummingto whom a certificate of life membership in the con-ference was presented by the dean of State healthofficers, Dr. Harper of Wisconsin. At this dinnerDr. Parran divulged a secret which had been knownto himself only for a short time-namely, that hewas a blood relation of Dr. Cumming through theirmaternal ancestry. On the second night a dinnerwas given by Miss Roche, assistant Secretary ofthe Treasury, at which brief speeches were made byMr. Frank Bane, administrator of the Social SecurityAct, and by the new surgeon-general on the signi-ficance of the new Act. Dr. Parran pointed outvery effectively that whereas other features of theAct spent larger quantities of money, and the moneywas well spent in alleviating the distress of old age,crippling, and unemployment, yet the relatively

. small amount of money devoted in the Act to publichealth is the only money that is spent in strikingdirectly at the root of social insecurity and distress.The two following days, April 15th and 16th, were

spent in conference with the officials of the Children’sBureau, Department of Labor, in working out plansfor the expenditure of federal subsidy for maternaland child care under the Security Act.

President Roosevelt received the delegates in hisoffice in the White House at noon on April 14th.He spoke to them briefly but with his extraordinarypersonal charm and with a remarkably keen under-standing of their essential problems. It is easy tobelieve, what his intimates tell us, that the Presi-dent’s most vital interest is the preservation of thenation’s resources : vital and natural.

IRELAND

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)

THE PUBLIC HEALTH ESTIMATES

THE debate on the estimates of the Departmentof Local Government and Public Health was held

recently in the Dail, and the Minister was able torecord advances in several lines of public health

activity. There is now a whole-time medical officerof health in every county area, and systems of medicalinspection of school-children have been widelyestablished. Some 80 per cent. of the school-childrencome into the ambit of the schemes, although onlyone-fourth of these children were actually inspectedduring the year. The infant mortality has showna decrease in both urban and rural areas. The death-rate among illegitimate infants is still abnormallyhigh, being three and a half times that of legitimateinfants. The Minister takes a special interest inhousing and he was able to report much work inhousing during the year. He stated that the

question of more active work against tuberculosiswas under consideration. In the debate which aroseon the Minister’s estimates, attention was mainlyfocused on the recent circular issued by his Depart-ment, in which local authorities were advised that thenormal retiring age for their officers should be 65and in some cases 60. Acting on this advice and

believing it to be mandatory, many local authoritieshave called on officers over 65 to retire. In replyto criticism in the debate the Minister repeated hisassurance that the circular was advisory and notmandatory, and said further that, in his opinion,the local authorities would be acting illegally if theyinsisted on a general retirement at the age of 65.He also agreed that the case of medical officers requiredspecial consideration. The position created by thiscircular is peculiar and embarrassing. The wordingof the circular, rather than its form, appeared to giveit a. mandatory character. Though the Minister hasnow declared that this was not his intention it doesnot appear that he has so far officially drawn theattention of the local authorities to the fact. It isadmitted that there is a case to be argued as to theadvisability of establishing a retiring age for theofficers of local authorities, but if such a step is to betaken the whole system of salaries and pensions mustbe reconsidered, and the rights of existing officersmust be safeguarded. The present position of theDepartment appears illogical.

THE DUBLIN HOSPITAL PROBLEM

The Hospitals Commission in its recent reportrecommended as its solution of the hospital problemin Dublin the enlargement of some and the amalgama-tion of others of the existing voluntary hospitals intofour large general hospitals which would remainas voluntary hospitals. This solution was recom.mended by the Commission in opposition to a

suggestion that had been made in favour of a largehospital under municipal control. It is understoodthat strong influences are at work in favour of thelatter proposal, and, therefore, the discussion heldby the Royal Academy of Medicine of Ireland onMay 1st on the Dublin hospital problem was timely.A remarkably strong case for the development of thevoluntary hospitals and in favour of the Commission’srecommendation was made by several speakers-among others, Prof. Henry Moore, of UniversityCollege, Profs. T. G. Moorhead and R. J. Rowlette,both of Trinity College, Mr. W. Doolin, and Dr. J. A.Harbison, medical officer of health for County Dublin-and a resolution was unanimously carried to thateffect. The final decision rests with the Minister forLocal Government and Public Health.

INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY

AT the annual meeting of the Institute held onMonday in the Wharncliffe Rooms, London, thereport for the year 1935 was presented by the medicaldirector, Dr. J. R. REES, who welcomed the newmembers of the medical advisory board ; theirsupport, he said, would add further to the prestigeof the Institute in the medical world. He describedan attempt to clear off a long waiting-list by theappointment of four part-time medical officers totreat additional patients. In general hospitals alarge proportion of routine clinical work is carriedout by newly qualified doctors who give their servicesin return for the experience they gain, but thispractice, he said, cannot be followed in psychotherapywhich demands both maturity of outlook andspecialist training upon a basis of general medicalexperience. Hence even the junior members of theInstitute’s staff are doctors of some seniority. Thefuture efficiency of the Institute lay, he felt sure, inthe adequate endowment of a sufficient number ofpart-time paid appointments to be held by psycho-therapists of standing and experience with leisureto devote time to teaching and research. Duringthe year a gratifying number of requests had been