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stimulants has increased until there is, perhaps, not one in a hundred who does not resort to something of this kind. Alcohol, absinthe, opium, hashish, tobacco, coffee, tea or whatever it may be, is taken to support the system under the effect of nervous prostration, and supply in another form the excitement it craves. Now, all this is ex

IMMIGRANTS

A LEADING daily newspaper of Chicago recently had an editorial based on the fact that a few days before that date six murderers were electrocuted in one day at Sing Sing. The singular thing about the article was that its whole trend was a denunciation of foreign private "bankers," who are supposed to exert a baleful influence on their countrymen who come over to this country, and who are only a shade more criminal than the bankers themselves, for the influence they exert and usurp over these immigrants, who, with the employment agents who operate hand-in-glove with them, keep the said immigrants in the slums, where they can secure a share of the money they succeed in securing, the one by getting it as a deposit and the other by getting driblets of it in the way of fees for securing jobs for him-the briefer the jobs the more frequent the driblets coming to the agent therefor.

The editorial assailed the United States government and the American people for their neglect of these immigrants, by which they were allowed to stay in the slums instead of being induced to seek employment on American farms, away from the bad influences of the slums-which is an absurdity on the face of it, as anyone must know who has given the subject any attention whatever.

The fact of the matter is that threefourths of these immigrants from southern Europe, where they are tinctured with Asiatic blood, some of it dating back to the wars when Constantinople was won from Roman to Turkish control, as described by General Lew Wallace, as well as the his

actly the reverse of what should be the case. Instead of seeking excitement, health and long life demand that we should shun it. The natural condition of the body is that of unruffled calmness. If excitement occur it should be exceptional, not the rule of life.

OF TO-DAY.

torians of that era, and this Asiatic blood is some of the worst in existence, especially when crossed with the Sicilian; threefourths of these immigrants are criminal from choice.

It is necessary to go much farther back than our government or the foreign bankers which are established here, many of which really are cormorants, in league with the employment agencies for fleecing the immigrants. The foreign governments are doubtless in league with the criminals-in getting rid of the criminal element, the element that could not be induced to go outside the purlieus of the cities, where they can exercise their Black Hand and other infamous schemes, natural outcomes of the bandit operations which have made. the mountainous spots of some of the countries abodes of outlawry and gatherings of murderers. The present immigration from those countries is made up largely from these classes, and what more natural than that they should continue their murderous course of life here? It would be a wonder if they did not.

Then, in addition to the connivance of some of the foreign governments in saying "Good riddance to bad rubbish!" to these people, the steamship agents are in the gigantic effort to keep the passenger list full. All that our government can do is to use a fine sieve at Ellis Island and watch the people who leak through with foreign criminal records, in spite of the care exercised, and are sure to be heard from sooner or later in the criminal courts here.

Things have come to a pretty pass in the immigration business. It is quite safe to

say that scarcely one out of a dozen of the immigrants from southern Europe is a desirable addition to the American people as a class; and there is very little of the desirable elements which came in abundance a generation or half a century ago-immigrants from England, Scotland, Germany, and of the better class of Ireland's hard workers-noted in the immigration rolls of to-day, not to mention a great deal of that from the Scandinavian countries. All of this has contributed materially to the making up of a most desirable composite citizenship, toning and in some ways bettering the generations coming out from the Puritanism of Boston and Salem, the Pilgrims. of Plymouth and the south shore of Massachusetts, the Quakers of Rhode Island, the narrow people of Connecticut, all coming out of the cauldron from which the present and the future American citizens emerge after the amalgamation therein, the ideal citizens of America. These forces are making the United States felt in the making over of the world into a more desirable class, and are showing the Old World what

can be and is being done by the New World with its new blood and its new discoveries along the line of future possibilities.

What is needed now is not government suggestions to the immigrants now coming in in a horde from foreign to American slums, but a prohibition of immigration entirely of the classes now arriving. If this cannot be done without "making fish of one and flesh of the other," then the entire stream of immigration should be stopped. We have all we can do at present to make over and amalgamate the undesirables already here, and it is to be hoped that we may be allowed to engage in this work for a while in peace, without having any more "raw material" dumped upon our shores, to vitiate still more the tide of criminality being dumped on our shores from the criminal regions of Europe. This is naturally a humanitarian measure, and the other nasty pool of politics should not be allowed to pollute it still further by mixing its own nauseous mess with that of the one possibly still more noxious.

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EDITOR'S NOTE:-This is a regular monthly department which is being conducted by Doctor Clock who is, we believe, peculiarly well fitted to write authoritatively on these subjects. In this department, Doctor Clock will discuss problems in personal hygiene, child hygiene, public and domestic hygiene, etc.; and the articles will be of interest to every person who is interested in right living-to the laity as well as to the medical profession-for the subject is of vital importance.

THE HYGIENIC VALUE OF BATHING.

BY RALPH OAKLEY CLOCK, M.D., NEW YORK.

Author of "Our Baby." Licensed Health Officer for the State of New Jersey; Member of the New Jersey Sanitary Association and the American Public Health Association; Lecturer on Child Hygiene to the Woman's Educational Club of Pelham, New York; Assistant Physician to the Out-Patient Department of The Babies' Hospital of the City of New York and St. Mary's Free Hospital for Children, New York City; Clinical Assistant Obstetrician to the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital, etc.

FROM the earliest period of history, bathing has been considered conducive to the health and welfare of the human race. In some respects, the ancients appreciated the value of bathing more, perhaps, than we do; to them, cleanliness of the body was a symbol of moral purity. In many religious rites, regular bathing of the body was compulsory; and, for this purpose, bathhouses were established in Persia, Assyria, India and Egypt. Moses ordered regular body baths to be taken before the daily meals, before wedding festivities and birth celebrations, before entering the temple of worship, and before all religious ceremonies. Hebrew girls and women were commended by strict laws to bathe at regular monthly intervals, and this custom prevails. with the orthodox Jews even at the present day. The Greeks considered the care of the body necessary for a sound development of the mind; they bathed in the rivers during the summer, and public swimming baths were used in winter. Bathtubs were installed. only in the houses of the rich. Warm baths are mentioned by Homerus, and even medical baths were known at that time, the hot sulphur baths of Thermopylæ being used for the cure of disease. The gymnasiums of the Greeks, devoted to athletic exercises, generally had baths attached to them; and the baths were used not as a

mere matter of luxury, but chiefly for the sake of cleanliness and healthful exercise. It is well known to what extent the Romans indulged in the luxury of baths-in their private houses as well as in magnificent public bath houses, planned on a grand scale and seldom excelled in our own age. The magnitude of such baths may be understood from a study of the ruins of the baths of Emperors Caracalla, Diocletianus, Titus and the Thermæ of Pompeii. Even in their foreign provinces, the Romans erected large bath houses. Again, we find it related by the Roman historical writer, Tacitus, that the Germans enjoyed taking daily baths and swimming exercises in the rivers, in which both sexes bathed.

Up to the beginning of the Middle Ages, bathing remained popular, but subsequently the practice degenerated. It is only since the middle of the nineteenth century that the healthful influence of bathing has been again recognized, and public bath houses are once more on the increase, due largely to the recommendation and urging of physicians.

PERSONAL CLEANLINESS.

The periodical cleansing of the surface of the body is a condition for continued health, and becomes a potent factor in prolonging life. The best way of preventing

disease consists in quickly removing all dirt and refuse, not only from the street and from the house, but from the surface of the body as well. Uncleanliness of the body may lead to skin disease; it often causes offensive odors, due to the putrefaction of the dirt on the skin and in the clothing, and it is a frequent source of contamination of the air in closed apartments, especially in places where many people congregate as in schools, workshops, theatres and churches.

Cleanliness of the body is absolutely indispensable for the proper development of the child and the maintenance of health in the adult. In order to fully appreciate the value and effect of bathing upon the health, it is essential to know something of the structure and functions of the skin.

THE SKIN AND ITS FUNCTIONS.

The skin may be said to be composed of two distinct layers-a thin outer layer, known as the cuticle or epidermis; and a thick deeper layer, called the corium, cutis. vera, or derma. Beneath the corium there is a layer of fatty tissue called the subcutaneous tissue. The cuticle contains a layer of horny cells, which are constantly being renewed, the old cells being thrown. off in the form of fine scales; and in the lowest stratum of the cuticle are lodged the pigment cells. The corium contains blood vessels, nerves, nerve corpuscles, lymphatics, hair follicles, sweat glands and sebaceous glands; while the subcutaneous tissue contains some of the deeper hair follicles and sweat glands. The hair follicles are hollow receptacles, from the bottom of which the hairs grow. Alongside of each hair follicle, there is a pair of sebaceous glands which provide the small quantity of natural oil with which the hair is supplied and which keeps the skin soft and flexible. The sweat glands consist of bundles of tubing, one end of which passes through the skin and opens on the surface in the so-called "pores." The secretion from these glands is called sweat, or perspiration, and is constantly passing off from the surface

of the skin, either in the form of an imperceptible vapor called insensible perspiration, or, under the influence of muscular exercise, emotion, heat or hot drinks, in the form of sensible perspiration, which is deposited on the surface of the skin in drops of varying size.

Now, what are the functions of the skin? First, it serves as a protection to the softer parts beneath; second, it regulates the temperature of the body; third, it eliminates waste materials from the body; and fourth, it is the organ of touch.

OBJECTS OF BATHING.

Bathing has two chief purposes; first, the maintenance of health, and second, the restoration of health. Bathing tends to preserve health in several ways:

1. By cleansing the surface of the body. 2. By promoting the proper functions of

the skin.

3. By its stimulating or soothing effects. 4. By increasing the circulation of the blood, the respiration, the combustion in the tissues, and the perspiration.

5. By hardening the skin against atmos pheric influences.

6. By affording means of bodily exercise, as in swimming.

In other words, baths are taken chiefly also in order to refresh, strengthen and infor the purpose of bodily cleanliness, but

vigorate the body; to open the pores of the skin; to make the muscles more pliable; to render the body less sensitive to changes of temperature; to give a higher degree of endurance; and, finally, to afford muscu lar exercise.

IMPORTANCE OF BATHING.

The exudations from the skin and the oily secretion from the sebaceous glands, together with the dead particles of the cuticle, mingle with the dust and dirt of the air to form an incrustation more or less thick which closes up the pores and thus hinders perspiration, at the same time causing bad odors, due to putrefaction of the mixture. Part of this dirt crust is probably loosened and becomes attached to the un

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derwear of a person; hence, the less often the underclothing is changed the more often a bath should be taken.

The skin can only perform its functions well if it is kept clean and free from all putrefactive accumulations; this is accomplished by a liberal use of warm water and soap. Warm water dissolves dirt much quicker and better than cold water; therefore, a warm bath is required to cleanse the skin and to remove the cast-off scales of the cuticle. The alkalies of soap help to dissolve and remove the fatty substances of the dirt crust. But the combined chemical and mechanical effects of water, soap and friction are necessary in order to remove the mixture of dirt, skin secretions and cuticle scales; to prevent the clogging of the pores, and to promote the proper functions of the skin.

It is evident, therefore, that the good influence which bathing has upon the health is exerted first on the skin itself and through it upon the tissues and organs of the body. The care of the skin and cleanliness of the body are seldom spontaneous; they must be taught like all other things. Many people are too indolent to use soap. and water, and the entire body bath is not taken with sufficient regularity.

The enjoyment of regular, complete bathing of the body should be afforded to all classes of the population. It does not cost much to keep clean, and there is no good reason why the poor man should not be enabled to maintain cleanliness as well as the rich. Indeed, the laboring manowing to the nature of his work and to the increased perspiratory action of the skin, due to muscular exercise, often in the midst of dirty surroundings-is much more subject to dirt contamination; and he requires, therefore, a more frequent change of underwear and also more facilities for bathing.

CLASSIFICATION OF BATHS.

In a broad sense, bathing may be defined as the contact of the skin, during a more or less continued period of time, with any

semi-liquid, liquid or gaseous substance, and with sunlight and electricity. Baths may be classified (1) according to the medium used, (2) according to the temperature of the medium, (3) according to the purpose of the bath, and (4) according to the form of bathing appliance.

1. The medium most universally used is water; next in frequentcy is hot air, and then hot vapor. The use of other media is almost entirely restricted to medicinal baths, which will be mentioned later.

2. According to the temperature, baths may be classified as follows:

Cold: 50°-70° Fahrenheit.
Cool: 70°- 80° Fahrenheit.
Tepid: 80° 90° Fahrenheit.
Warm: 90°-100° Fahrenheit.

Hot: 100-120° Fahrenheit.

Higher temperatures exist only in the Turkish and Russian baths, where the heat may vary from 120° to 200° Fahrenheit.

3. According to their purpose, baths are divided into those taken (a) for cleansing the body, (b) for the maintenance of health, (c) for bodily exercise, and (d) for medicinal purposes.

(a) Baths for cleansing comprise sponge baths, warm and cold tub baths, tepid douches, showers and sprays; rain baths; sitz, hip and foot baths.

(b) Baths for the general maintenance of health comprise sponge baths, tub baths, shower baths, wave baths, needle baths, swimming baths, river and sea baths, and. Turkish and Russian baths.

(c) Baths for bodily exercise are taken in the swimming pools of large bath houses, and in the summer time in the river, lake

or sea.

(d) Medicinal baths include a large variety, some of which are mud baths, sand baths, pine needle, sulphur and brine baths, sun baths, hot-air baths, Russian baths, mineral springs or hot springs baths, hydropathic baths, including wet packs, ascending, descending and side douches or combinations of these, and Scotch douches. 4. According to the form of bathing ap

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