ment Public Printer. The omitted superfluous letters are in italics. Catalogue, drachm, aether, honour, programme, synonyme, physiological. Certain cases will be considered later. For (2) Inconsistencies as to spelling and pronunciation that retard the educational progress of children and aliens and-upon the principle, falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus-tend to bring into contempt the language itself and the nations that use it. example, puff is pronounced puf; but rough is pronounced ruf, yet plough is plow, cough is korf, through is throo, and dough is do; to cap the climax, do is pronounced doo, and does is either duz or doz. No wonder the alien is mystified and disgusted, and the child temporarily stultified; "there is engendered a disbelief in learning and a total lack of confidence in inference." Were it possible, indeed, for a rational adult to begin the study of his mother tongue he would speedily recognize the grim foundation for Lord Roseberry's recent half-humorous remark that he was "not at all sure that the archaic rules of spelling laid down by tradition and stereotyped by the dictionaries had not filled half the lunatic asylums of the country." Referring to the Simplified Spelling Board's Circulars, 1-7, to the periodical, Spelling, and to various other publications for the fuller discussion of most points, upon the present occasion I confine myself to four groups of cases with which members of the medical profession are more nearly concerned and in respect to which their precept and example are likely to have most weight. A. The conversion of Latin words ending in -ra and -rum into distinctively English paronyms in -er rather than in re, which last is characteristically French; e. g., fiber, liter, and meter, like theater rather than theatre.* B. The conversion of Latin (originally Greek) words ending in -mma into distinctively English paronyms by dropping the ultima; e. g., gram, diagram, program. The French "tail" is needless and incongruous. C. In all Anglo-paronyms of Latin words containing ae or oe, the replacement of the diphthong by the single letter e; e. g., anemia for anaemia, esophagus for oesophagus. In this connection it may properly be remarked that some who write foetus seem not to be aware that fetus also was used by the Romans; also, the would-be precisians who hold out for the diphthongs should make sure which is the right one in a given case; an extensive English work upon Zoology has coecum and 4. For the definitions of paronym, heteronym, etc., see the papers named in Note 2 Some linguistic principles and questions involved in the simplification of the nomenclature of the brain." Amer. Philolog. Asso. Proceedings, vol. 36, pp. 14-19, 1905; copies of this paper will be sent upon application to the writer. for caecum (better cecum) throughout, even in the index. Such pretentious pseudo-scholarship misleads others and excites derision in the better informed.5 D. With most Anglo-paronyms of Latin adjectives ending in icus, the omission of the -al; e. g. anatomic and neurologic rather than anatomical and neurological. Let me at once forestall adverse criticism by three concessions. (a) In a few cases, e. g., chemical, medical and surgical, the retention of the ultima does not render the entire word inconveniently long. (b) Altho correct in form medic now has a slangy sound and its admission to scholarly association may be delayed on that ground. (c) In official documents relating to associations whose original or corporate names contained the -al, it may be necessary to retain it, trusting (as suggested by me in a paper before the "American Philological Association" last winter) that the leading linguistic societies, here and abroad, may take the initiative in titular curtailment. Meantime we are bound to regard the following conditions:(1) With English adjectives the termination -al alone presupposes the Latin antecedent -alis, of which there are numerous examples. (2) The termination -ic alone presupposes the Latin antecedent -icus (Greek -ikos), and of this there are numerous examples. But the English termination -ical presupposes the Latin antecedent -icalis, and in classic Latin this does not occur so far as I am aware. By whom and upon what grounds there were evolved the swarm of adjectives in -ical I know not. During the last halfcentury their number has materially diminished; we now say public, not publical, and we no longer follow Thackeray with heroical, St. John with epidemical, or Scott with aristocratical and enthusiastical. In the name of economy and sound etymology let us dispense with them all as rapidly as possible. I regret that the Simplified Spelling Board did not deal sharply with this case. On the contrary, their ecumenical, while commendable in the replacement of the original dipthong by e constitutes an apparent sanction of all the -ical adjectives and practically counteracts the saving at the head of words like economical; doubtless, in time, this group of words will be duly considered. Notwithstanding my dissent in the foregoing and a few other cases I bespeak for the recommendations of the Board the earnest consideration of the medical profession. The objections thus 5. The same error occurs in the text and index of the last edition of the leading German work upon Comparative Anatomy, altho absent from the English translations of two earlier editions. far published seem to me either exaggerated or based upon an inadequate comprehension of what is proposed. Only one of them can be mentioned here. The Etymologic or Historic Objection, as has been well said, is often urged by those who are not themselves etymologists, and who could not, off-hand, give the origin and transformations of any given ten consecutive words. With the -ical adjectives it has been seen already that the etymologic evidence fails to justify the -al. But even were it otherwise, I hold that etymology and verbal history belong to special treatises and more comprehensive dictionaries, and that words, the tools of thought, should not be encumbered by etymologic superfluities; how many givers of alms are aware that the word is the scanty remnant of a Greek word, eleemosyna? The case is comparable to some in anatomy. Some still delight in pons Varolii and insula Reilii, altho there is no other pons and no other insula; had certain more familiar viscera been discovered or described by plain Englishmen, would that make it worth while to talk of the "stomach of Brown," the "intestine of Jones," or the "liver of Robinson?" In general I feel assured that simplification of English spelling will avert waste in the present and for ourselves, and in still greater degree facilitate the educational progress of aliens and of coming generations. In this busy age none has less time to waste than the medical practitioner. With no other class is altruism more nearly the dominating guide of life. This remark, and previous ones as to the relations of the medical profession to Simplified Spelling apply equally to all English-speaking members. But it seems to me that the physicians of this country should be peculiarly mindful of the situation and of their opportunities and obligations. As American doctors they should be acquainted with and proud of the pioneer work in this direction by Dr. George M. Gould, editor of American Medicine and of standard medical dictionaries; since 1893 he has repeatedly and most forcibly expressed his convictions; his volume, "Suggestions to Medical Writers," 1900, is said to be now unobtainable; in my judgment no better use could be made of the sum required for its reproduction from the funds so wisely and generously provided by Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Secondly, as American scholars we should congratulate ourselves upon the existence of the Simplified Spelling Board, obtain its circulars (gratis) and study its recommendations. Thirdly, as American citizens, we should regard the executive order to the public printer to employ a certain set of 300 words. This action of the President of the United States lifts the whole matter from the serene depths of academic contemplation to the turbulent surface waters of general and vigorous discussion; to quote the words of President Roosevelt's sole living predecessor, now "it is not a theory that confronts us but a condition." To me, the president's order seems worthy to rank with his advocacy of the "strenuous life," with his declaration in favor of the "square deal," and with his achievement of peace between Russia and Japan." 6. This estimate is increased rather than diminished by President Roosevelt's recognition of the right of the legislative branch to orthographic control of government documents. Trusting that a future Congress may take some steps toward the Simplified Spelling, let us hope that the present one may display an equally angelic "fear to tread" new paths in the event of a difference between this and some other power. Dec. 15, 1906. Extensive Gangrene Following Contact with a Live Wire.' A BY NATHAN JACOBSON, M. D., Syracuse, N. Y. Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine, Syracuse University. BOUT six o'clock on the evening of June 15, 1906, F. H. a boy of 12 years of age was brought into St. Joseph's hospital at Syracuse. He was in a state of profound shock. He had a running pulse and complained of extreme pain in his left upper as well as in both lower extremities. Shortly before that hour he had been on the roof of an abandoned pumphouse in a salt yard hunting for birds' nests. He slipped and began to slide down from the roof. To save himself from falling to the ground a distance of more than twenty feet, he grasped a large electric wire which happened to be one of those furnishing the current to the "White City," a summer resort in the neighborhood of Syracuse. At the time of day when the boy received his injury these wires carry sixty-six hundred volts and have an amperage of 90. The two wires which furnish this service are placed about three feet apart. It is assumed that as he seized one wire with his left hand, his left foot came in contact with the other wire while his right foot still rested on the roof of the pumphouse. He fell to the ground and was picked up in a collapsed condition. I saw him soon after his admission into the hospital. The left hand was drawn into a state of extreme flexion and rotation and it as well as the lower part of the forearm were quite colorless. On the ulnar side of the elbow there was evidence of a burn and in the axilla of the same side there were two marks, one upon the arm and the other on the chest just as 1. Read at the thirty-ninth annual meeting of the Medical Association of Central New York, at Syracuse, October 16, 1906. though a wire had come in contact with the body at this point. The left lower extremity was likewise in a contracted condition the foot being drawn downwards. It presented the same bloodless condition as did the left upper extremity. The skin of the palm of the left hand was charred. The patient was anesthetised but even under deep anesthesia it was impossible to straighten out or indeed make any impression on the contracted muscles. Further examination showed that the soles of both feet were burned. Three days later the circulation in the left forearm and hand as well as that of the corresponding leg and foot still failed to be reestablished. A mummified condition of these extremities was apparent and it was evident that dry gangrene was developing. After another week sepsis began to manifest itself and instead of dry there was beginning moist gangrene of these parts. On the 30th of June secondary hemorrhage of the forearm Occurred and the house surgeon ligated the brachial artery. I present to you photographs showing the degree of gangrene which had developed by July 1 as well as a water colored picture portraying the exact condition of the left foot and leg at this date. It will be readily seen that it was necessary to amputate the leg above the middle third while the arm had to be removed at a point close to the shoulder in order to find sufficient flap cov ering. |