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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1916)
THE BEE: OMAHA, TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1916. Health Hints -:- Fashions -.-- Woman's Work -:- Household Topics The Truth About Opium Habit By WOODS HUTCHINSON, M D. The opium habit hai always been one of the fascinating horrora of med icine. The deadly charm which it holds for its victims, the dreamy and delirious joys which it is supposed to afford them, the fearful penalties which it exacts and the depths of deg radation to which it plunges them, give it tremendous appeal to popu lar imagination and curiosity. And although our imagination is a divine gift, one of the highest powers which we posses, when powerfully ex cited and appealed to, it can play us some curious tricks. Seldom has it taken greater liberties with the ac tual facts than in the romantic and al most preposterous conceptions which we have of the so-called opium habit In the first place it is, strictly speaking, no habit at all in the sense 'of something that we do more and more easily by dint of practice and repetition, but a diseased craving for relief from acute discomfort, due to a poisoned or toxic condition of the cells of the body. In the second place there is little or nothing of positive pleasure of even delirious delight about the opium habit in nine cases out of ten. All that the vast majority of opium or morphine habitues obtain from even the hugest doses of their dar ling drug is a mild and muddle-headed sense of drowsy comfort and peace f mind, such as the average citizen gets every day after a good dinner. What drives them to the hypodermic, or the vial, is not any longings for illicit de lights and rosy dreams ot paradise, but simply a craving for relief from ' intolerable discomfort and pain. The opium addict has all the pains and penalties of dissipation, but none of its supposed pleasures. The utmost that he succeeds in doing is to "break even" and at what a fearful price I Incredible as it may seem, the so called fascination of the drug for him is almost purely negative, as a means of relief from intolerable discomfort and distress, which discomfort and distress are due to the poisonous after-effects of the doses he has already taken. This is what i; grimly and graphically, termed, in medical par lance, the "vicious circle" of the opium habit. .' v Thirdly, so far from opium being a key which unlocks the gate of a short lived seventh heaven, opium or mor- Shine in ninety-five persons out of a undred produces no dreams, or visions, or positively pleasurable sen sations at all I Simply a feeling of drowsiness, at first rather pleasing than otherwise, but quickly beco'ming distressing, like that which accompa nies excessive fatigue when the eye lids can hardly be held open, deep ening to unconsciousness, and if the dose has been large enough death. Ii the dose has been small, when the taker awakens it will usually be with a dry, sticky mouth, furred tongue, an aching head and a nau seated stomach. All the familiar do mestic symptoms, in fact, of "the morning after" magnified three or tour-fold, without even the memory of a period of exhilaration and ef fortless triumph to console him. In a word, a healthy and normal man or woman gets astonishingly little pleas ure out of opium its only charm be ing its power to release from pain. Last, but not least, instead of the devotees of opium, slaves of the pipe or of the needle, being hopelessly bound in an eternal slavery, whose fetters nothing but death will atrike off, it is the opinion of broad-minded and intelligent physicians who have had wide experience with these un fortunates that at least halt and prob ably nearer two-thirds of them can be cured, and will remain free from the craving afterward as long as they can be kept in a reasonable condition of health. "W hats in a Name!" -o- Copyrlfht, 1U, Intonation.! News Sendee, -0- By Nell Brinkley Household Suggestion Vinegar added to black lead gives a more lasting polish to the grate. Before cleaning knives on a knife board, dsmoen them sliahtv.- Thev clean more quickly and gain a better : polish. NAMES mean much, and they carry their picture ' with them. Smiling, have you wondered why - little mothers and fathers didn't wait to have just a ghost of an idea what their little Eve the ' name we all own was going to SEEM like before they gave her her name? They might call her . "Baby," or little "Oh My" until then, don't you think) Sometimes you frown when you remember that you took Minerva with your wise owl face and . . your clever eyes and your dignified shoulders, and are called DOT I I will own that there is something weird about the way in which some of us can grow into our names 1 Dot goes dotting around until it seems to her good friends that all Dots should look like her. Her name cuddles her up somehow and trims her down, and. she fills the tiny name and stretches it and gives it more wisdom than went with it ever before. But sometimes. Most times! The slow-eyed, soft, 'dark girl with the siren mouth and the gar denia skin, graceful and dreamy, like a half-tamed lioness, not small or quick or childish in anything out) of the book of names her folk chose for her PATSY I And beside her, a sunbeam of a girl, never woman, always child, with a dimpling, merry little 1 face and glinting blue eyes, unsettled as a little hum ming bird and as sober, kind and jolly and fluffy, the "bows-and-curls" girl, will be dubbed THAIS I Well. NELL BRINKLEY. Is Husband Who "Potters", an Asset? . The young husband who most fre quently comes to grief in married life is he who becomes merely an orna ment in the house. He is of the kind who thinks that, having done the breadwinning, hia duty is over. Most wives will agree that it is, but the husband's duty is one thing and mak ing marriage a success is another. A woman likes her husband to be clever, but she prefers cleverness that he can demonstrate at home. She thinks more of the toy castle for lit tle Willie than a business deal involv ing much solid cash. It is woman's way, perhaps, but it is necessary for a man, if he wishes to be happy, to take note of it. Home should be made by two peo plethe husband and the wife. Neith er one should be just an ornament to grace the handiwork of the other. It is the combination of the individuality of the man and the woman that gives to a dwelling the home touch, which sets it apart from other places. You have seen, I dare say, homes where the hand of the husband is seen all around. Shelves here and there, brackets with amateur carving, a home-made clock, perhaps, or rude china closet. To all of these the wives point with pride, for nobody is so ready as a wife to appreciate man's industry in the house, and no one else's praise is worth one-tenth as much. . , It is just possible that you have turned up your nose at the man who "potters about" at home and if it be comes a question of success in the world, you may not be altogether wrong. Talking of success in marriage this "pottering about" habit is a grand asset. But even among the world's most successful men we find ' this home habit, and there are millionaires who take a greater pride in showing their own handiwork in a home than in the big businesses they have built. One man grows flowers, another collects china, another carves wood and an other distributes his energy through out the house. stops ltd aiid:jbuii. Then Is immediate relief for skins ' itching, burning and disfigured by ec-. sema, ringworm, oratmilartormenting ' skin-trouble, In a warm bath with Res inol Soap and a simple application of Kesinol ointment. The soothing, healing Resinol medication usually - stops Itching instantly, and unless the trouble is due to some serious internal : disorder, soon clears away all trace of eruption, even in severe and stub born cases where other trestments hive had little or no effect You need never hesitate to use the Resinol treatment It it a doctor's prescription thtt has been used by , other physicians for over twenty years in the care of skin affections. It con tains absolutely nothing that could Injure the tenderest skin. Prove it it our expense' Resinol Otitmtt uid ResuMl Soap are told b II anwntu, bat for samplse Iron, write to Dept. Il l, Reawol. Baldawa, MS. , Efficient Vision Among the manv circumstances in modern civilization tending to impair human vision is improper illumina tion, either natural or artificial. Too intense light is as bad, perhaps worse, than poor lighting. Eyes are not merely optical ad juncts; they are integral parts of the body, really expanded portions of the brain. They mutually affect the func tioning of most other organs; ineffi cient eyes cause many chronic head aches, much depression and bodily fa tigue, most indigestions, many (some believe, practically all) of the aberra tions of genius and of the alleged demi-fous, the half-witted. Any organ exercised well within its limits tends to increase in power and facility;, if persistently overworked it becomes progressively unable for any work at all. One habitually using his eves in strong light decomposes his "visual purple" faster than it can be regener ated. Even normal eyes are ruined by over-use, especially in lowered gen eral health, and as most eyes are ab normal, or at least not perfect as visual machinery, many people have to cope not only witn bad environ ment and lowered health, but also with inherent optical defects. Dr. Etlice M. Alger, whose knowl edge of the eye is peculiarly full and exact, considers that because of the many newly-invented methods of commercial lighting, by gas and by electricity, the composition of light as well as its intensity have come to require serious consideration. In the days, and nights, of oil and candle light the question was simply one of quantity, the quality being gen erally soft and benignant, but modern lighting, whether gas. or electric, is often so intense as to be injurious; these latter means of illumination con tain many more of the violet and ultra-violet rays of the spectrum than our fathers were accustomed to. Such rays are useful in the treat ment of disease by light and in radi ography, bui they are certainly amiss for illuminating the printed page or the object on which the artisan must work. ' 1 Lights that can tan and sunburn the skin and perhaps induqg baldness are no doubt responsible for much of the present-day visual weakness. The effect of such illumination on . the deeper optical structures is certainly pernicious. It is very likely much cataract comes from this cause; certain it is that stokers, glass blowers and other workers in intense light and heat are very prone to this grievous eye dis ease. Illumination is the best for visual purposes. The problem of. securing a light which srfall allow a maximum of efficiency, comfort and convenience is one more within the province of the illuminating engineer than of the physician to solve. The solution is not only a humane procedure, but one & 9 I it Precedence Paattljecrowd inthelobby straigbt to the man they're waiting to see, go v WESTERN UNION' Telegrams. Day Letters and Night Letters The yellow enrelope gets the prece dence everywhere. It delivers your message before the other fellow has the chance to shake hands. THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CO. Advice to Lovelorn By Beatrice Fairfax Return It Promptly. Dear Miss Fairfax: Have been coins about with a young; men for three yearn. A year ago Christmas he presented me with a diamond rlnr. with the strict understand ing that It was only a friendship rlnr. We had a few worda between us, and I offered to return his present, but he said what he Save rae was mine. Since then he has broken off and is enraged to another younr lady and he wrltea and demands the rlnr. Kindly rive me your opinion whether I should return the rlnr or not A. 8. R. By all means return the ring. Un der the circumstances it is decidedly beneath your dignity to keep it. Of course he has no right to it, but even so your own self-respect demands that you return it at once. Don't fail to do this. Tou Would Win Hit Contempt. Dear Mlae Fairfax: My aister Is angered to a younr man whom I secretly love. I know I oould win hla affectiona from her, but 1 do not want to ruin her happiness. RUTH B. How can you for one second con template anything so contemptible as attempting to win your sister s lover? If you were to try you would win nothing but his contempt unless he is the sort of weakling and cad who de lights in feminine conquest. Put all thought of him out of your mind, for what you feet is fascination of a sort that is bound to bring unhappiness in its wake unless you conquer it. which should be also very profitable to inventor, to employer, to employe and to all who read that is, to everybody. T)n Vnii TCnnm that. X y S J. J w sv ak i vvw vi iwv There Are Fiftu Kinds of Kisses? . The more usual a thing is the mort inclined we are to accept it without wondering at all about its previoul history or its meaning. One hopes there are very few people in the con dition of New York's little East Side girl of S years old who was taken to the hospital very ill, and, when in great pain, was asked by the hospital nurse: "Shall I kiss the place to make it well?" The small patient said: "What's a kiss?" It is dread ful to think that there should be chil dren in' America who do not know what kissing is; the great majority of the civilized world are better in formed, but few people exchanging this affectionate salutation know what an important place it has held in his tory. In the middle ages the monks took the matter in hand, and must have studied it with great attention, for they divide the kiss into fifteen kinds. These were the decorous kiss, the diplomatic, the spying to ascertain it a woman had drunk wine the slave kiss, the kiss infamous (a church penance), the slipper kiss practiced towards tyrants the judicial kiss, the feudal -kiss, the religious kiss, the academic kiss on joining a brother hood the hand kiss, the Judas kissy the medical kiss for the purpose of healing some sickness the kiss of etiquet, and the only true kiss the kiss of love. This noes not include the kiss of peace, which was a greet ing exchanged between members of the early church, a symbol of which is still extant in the kissing of the pax at high mass. Before this period the kiss had been considered of virtue in various circumstances. The ancients believed that kissing a dying person might delay the moment of dissolution. Then there is a charming legend of St. Monica, telling that when she was dying, a little, unknown child came and kissed her, whereupon her soul was released from the body. This gave rise to the Italian phrase: "Fall ing asleep in the Lord's kiss." There is an epigram on kissing, rather on the plan of Borrow's fa mous conversation between Jasper and his brother. It runs: "What is sweeter than mead? The dew of heaven. And what is sweet than dew? Honey from Hybia. What is sweeter than honey? Nectar. What is sweeter than nectar? A kiss." In passing, one may mention another epigram constructed on this plan, taking the form of a Latin inscription on the outside of a beautiful old house in Norfolk, England. As the visitor waits for the mediaeval door to be opened his eye inevitably rests on the tablet which proclaims: "What is worse than a tiger? A demon. What is -worse than a demon ? A woman. What is worse than a wo man? Nothing." In old ballads kissing is repre sented as a potent antidote to en chantments; and the legends of th saints are full of instances of miracu lous cures effected Dy a kiss. A different form of kissing, not so pleasant as most others, is repre sented in the sayings: "To kiss the rod," "To kiss the dust," and, in old England, "To kiss the gunner's daughter." The last mentioned, taken literally, does not suggest a punish ment; its exact meaning, however, is to be tied to the breech of a cannon to receive a flogging. It seems so natural a form of greet ing to us that it is strange to think there are many countries where it is absolutely unknown, in Japan it is notoriously not practiced. At the re cent Earl's Court exhibition, in Lon don, in the Old Japan section, there was a most delightful brown baby in a blue kimono and a purple obi. It played with its little toys and with those of the English children who were among the spectators all day long, and its demeanor was one of kindly dignity throughout, recalling Kipling's remark that in Japan the only serious things are the babies, whose duty it is to look after the grown-ups. However, there was one thing that upset this very petted in fant, and that was when any demon strative spectator tried to kiss it, a proceeding which struck terror to its soul and caused it to rend the air with most heartrending shrieks of panic. In the South Sea Islands the place of the kiss is taken by the sign of af fection prevalent among calves and ponies that is, by rubbing noses a practice which must be difficult to those in whom this feature is, as Ten nyson" delicately put it, "tip-tilted like the petal of a rose.'" It is possible that at some period in England, even in Prance, kissing had the strangeness of novelty, but this must have been before the earliest, glimmering of history. JcCaWi; nccai kwiu sma' that are heavy-and full of motion, which is an indication of their fresh ness, wnen tne shell is encrusted, it in p. aiirn thpv ar alrl' -n.inm..i..J lobsters are the best. Have ready a stewpan of boiling water, salted in proportion half a cup of salt to one a-allrtn nf ratr nitt In tk. 1s.k-.k. - I keep it boiling quickly from fifteen to tinny minutes, accoraing to its size, and do not forget to skim well If it uuus too long .. tne meat becomes Boiled Lobster 8xCONSTANCE'ClARKg,:. thready, and if not done enough, the spawn is not red; this must be obvi ated by attention. When the lobster s boiled rub it over with a little olive oil, which wipe off again; separate " the body from the tail, break off the great claws and crack them at the joints without injuring the meat; split the tail in halves and arrange all neat ly in a dish, with the body upright in the middle, and garnish with parsley and lemon quarters. . (Tomorrow Peach cl rt Vtfjj '