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First Aid.
FIRST AID. .
35
exchange of opinions and experiences upon so important a subject and one of regret that England should not be 20 miles from London where land is relatively cheap and, represented in it by a larger number of useful papers on recognising that in these circumstances existing modes of the important topics treated, such as those dealt with by transit are useless if the first principle of new housing three of our own countrymen whose names we observe. -that the worker shall not be more than an hour’s These are Mr. J. W. CROSTON who discussed the organisa-journey from his work-is to be observed, he proceeds tion and training necessary in order to enable railway to develop new lines upon the Behr high-speed mono- companies to cope with their own needs for ambulance rail system, by means of which a speed of 100 miles service and those of the country, whether in peace The scheme or war; Mr. S. OSBORN who took for his subject an hour can be attained without danger. is briefly this. There are three classes of people to be First-aid in London and the work of the St. John, considered-day labourers, skilled workers, and clerks, Ambulance Association; and Mr. HORACE FOLKER whogroups which do not readily mix with one another. gave information as to the work of the ambulance departMr. BEHR considers that by the removal of the second ment of the National Fire Brigade Union, of which he and third groups more room will be left for the first- is a vice-president. All these are important topics, for the the day labourers-whose circumstances of employment study of which there is ample opportunity in this country, and remuneration necessitate their living near their work. and we must express the hope that the inevitable diffiLand is to be acquired at two centres : one 18 miles and the culties surrounding attendance abroad on such an occasion other 20 miles from London; in the first centre are to live may be overcome and that English experts may be the skilled workers, and in the second centre the clerks. found to come forward in a larger proportion than it is necessary in order to commence in an economical and thorough fashion to create fresh centres in places some
Between 6 and 8
trains will run every two minutes from the 18-mile centre, and between 8 and 10 o’clock every two minutes from the 20-mile centre, there being another four A.M.
rapid train service to bring the people home in the evening. Each centre is to have a population, at first, of about 27,000, and to be arranged upon a definite plan with not more than 12 houses to the acre, and the cost of the whole undertaking has been worked out by Mr. BEHR in a fashion to yield well over 4 per cent. interest. He evidently thinks that philanthropy may reasonably be called upon to provide this capital, and, indeed, we rather gather that he has visions of a possible Government loan at some 3 per cent. interest. The proposal is by no means a visionary one and obviously the whole question of I, the population of London sleeping much beyond its present confines is merely a matter of rapidity and cheapness of transit. In the old coaching days the season ticket limits of to-day would have been impracticable, and if the economical aspects of the problem are to be guarded adequately some bold stroke, such as is here contemplated, is absolutely necessary. Some, however, will be inclined to ask, why not hours of
remove a
the industries from London
larger
issue than
we can
as
well, but this opens
conveniently
up
deal with in this
article.
3
77
to
of
other
nations, should the congress be
repeated. In considering the subjects discussed at the congress in question by foreigners of all nations we note that many of these would probably have been interested by an exposition of the methods adopted in England for the removal and isolation of
cases
of infectious disease.
under the control of
completely sanitary authorities chiefly devoted to voluntary ambulance so
that the
reference
organisation out of
These with
legally
to them in
of
us are
constituted
more
pages or
less
With regard. to what may be called ambulance work pure and simple, arising, as it does, largely out of what we know as "accidentsin ordinary life or in the pursuit of some trade or industry, the field of discussion is a very large one and there should be room for a correspondingly important contribution of fact and opinion from our large labour centres and; crowded cities. The essential difference between ambulance work
seems
place.
work in
England and that on the continent can, however, readily by those who read even the greatly condensed be felt
observations of German, French, and Russian authorities as. indicated in the pages before us, a difference which must necessarily follow from conditions which to our neighbours are part of their ordinary life as citizens. Compulsory military service and the ever-present possibility of
employment of the country’s army upon active military operations on a vast scale combine to train and to stimulate men engaged in peaceful occupations for duties and responsibilities which will have to be faced in earnest when the
First Aid. IN THE LANCET of June 27th, p. 1857, reference was made to the successful efforts of the Viennese Street Ambu-
lance
Corps to meet the demand upon its services due to the war arises. To these the ambulance corps which deals with, recentjubilee pageant at Vienna. And now the serious and a mining or railway accident by means of its organisation. systematic manner in which ambulance service is being and training is keeping itself in practice with a view to that approached on the Continent is set before us in a volume work which is more essentially the service of the Red Cross. containing a formal record of the first International First and which may at any time have to be done under the Aid and Life-saving Congress which was held during the scanty protection afforded by that noble emblem. Quiteearly part of the summer at Frankfort-on-Main, embodied possibly with the development of a new military system in. in the form of brief synopses of reports and papers laid England we may find that a fresh impetus has been given. before the Congress. Perusal of this volume arouses a to a useful movement and that those who in the past have admiration for of the trouble which must have been had the energy and public spirit to enrol themselves in the feeling taken by all concerned in order to insure a satisfactory ambulance sections of our volunteer battalions or in the-
IMPROVEMENT OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS.-THE BIRTHDAY HONOURS.
36
St. John Ambulance Association will find
their
numbers
in
the
first
coordination
instance, and his advice
was
followed, committee
representative advisory through allay departmental suspicion and opposition. Sir CHARLES DILKE, however, in his address, expressed the ing is one first aid " may be required, and if ever what Mr. KIPLING opinion that a mere meeting of statisticians from the calls "the real thing " happens so as to affect our territorial various departments would be an insufficient result of our forces directly, it will be too late to remedy deficiencies labours; a permanent statistical direction is, I think, which in peace time we may have regarded with indifference. required." It is obviously necessary, with a view to the There is a branch of life-saving and first aid to which it is improvement of official statistics, that the chief of the most appropriate to call attention at the present season. statistical branch of each Government department charged With the warm weather bathing becomes universal, and with with the preparation of statistics should be a trained the advent of the summer holidays drowning accidents figure statistician. If this condition were fulfilled it would then very frequently in our newspapers. These, be it remem- become a question whether M. CHEYSSON’S proposal for the bered, are the fatal cases as a rule, some of which might creation of a consultative council, consisting of the chiefs of have been averted by means of a knowledge of how to aid a the statistical branches of the principal government departstruggling swimmer or how to resuscitate the insensible body ments, with, perhaps, one or two added unofficial statisbrought to shore apparently dead. The cases in which ticians, would not be preferable to the creation at present of knowledge of how to save life has figured, particularly the directing central statistical department recommended by when it has been exhibited in the less heroic manner by Sir CHARLES DILKE. It certainly appears that to divorce treating the half-drowned person, are often not reported, and the compilation of official statistics from the executive staff we would commend the first aid to be rendered in such having the control of the collection of the statistical material cases to the attention of all. would be a doubtful advantage and would involve some risk
augmented.
It is to be
hoped that such will be the case, for the trainof practical utility in whatever circumstances
a
in order to
’’
a
deterioration in the result, since the true value of statistics depends much upon an accurate appreciation of the of
Improvement
of Official Statistics.
Sir CHARLES DILKE in his address in November
precise method possible error.
of collection and of its various
sources
of
last, We cannot, for instance, imagine that to Royal Statistical Society, revived an transfer to a central statistical office the preparation important and interesting question which was considered of statistics of population, births, marriages, and deaths and reported upon by the Official Statistics Committee from the Registrar-General, who is the administrative appointed in 1877 by the late Mr. W. H. SMITH when chief of the large staff of outdoor officers who furnish the Secretary of the Treasury, the final report of which com- returns from which these statistics are compiled, would have mittee was issued in 1880. This report suggested the At the same time we wish every any beneficial result. creation of a small central statistical department for the success to Sir CHARLES DILKE’s desire for the creation of general supervision and control of official statistics, and Sir some central statistical authority with administrative or CHARLES DILKE in his address strongly urged the increased consultative power to promote greater uniformity and further the of 30 for in this after action necessity, lapse nearly years, improvement of our official statistics which are very generally direction. At the last meeting of the Royal Statistical Society admitted to be necessary. on May 16th Mr. ARTHUR L. BOWLEY, M.A., read a paper also dealing with the desirability of creating a central statistical authority in order to promote the improvement of official national statistics. In this paper, having regard to the object in view, it was perhaps natural that Mr. BOWLEY "Ne quid nimis." should have condemned somewhat too generally the value of the statistics issued by the various Government departments. THE BIRTHDAY HONOURS. The want, however, of uniformity and of general coordination IN the long list of birthday honours published last in the statistics prepared and issued by different executive week the following names of medical men occur :-Sir departments has long been generally admitted, although no Thomas Lauder Brunton, LL. D. Aberd. and Edin., M. D. Edin., measures have yet been adopted for carrying out this reform F.R.C.P. Lond., D.Sc. Edin., F.R.S., and Professor William since the recommendation made in the report of the committee Watson Cheyne, C.B., LL.D., M.B., C. M. Edin., F. R. C. S. D.Sc. Oxon., F.R.S., upon whom Baronetcies have referred to. Sir CHARLES DILKE and Mr. BOWLEY give many Eng., been conferred ; Brevet Colonel David Bruce, R.A.M.C., striking examples of overlapping and even of contradiction in C.B., F.R.S., Mr. Robert William Burnet, M.D., C.M. separately issued official statistics. M. CHEYSSON, an eminent Aberd., F.R.C.P. Lond., and Mr. Peter O’Connell, M.D., French statistician, published in 1882 a report on the condi- M. Ch. R. U. I., who have received the honour of Knighttion of Government statistics in various European countries, hood ; William Henry Power, C.B., who has been promoted with a view to the creation of a general supervising and con- from a Companion of the Order of the. Bath to be a Knight Commander of his Order ; Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston trolling authority in France, in order to bring about Shearer, I. M. S., D.S.O., who has been made a Companion of harmony, proportion, order, and uniformity of arrangement the Bath, and Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Frederick Perry, in national statistics." As a result of this report a French I. M. S., honorary surgeon to the Viceroy, and principal Conseil Superieur de Statistique, modelled on that of of the Medical College, Lahore, who has been appointed was in founded 1885. M. CHEYSSON recommended the Indian Empire. Sir Lauder Brunton, a of Belgium, Companion as
President of the
Annotations.
"
35
exchange of opinions and experiences upon so important a subject and one of regret that England should not be 20 miles from London where land is relatively cheap and, represented in it by a larger number of useful papers on recognising that in these circumstances existing modes of the important topics treated, such as those dealt with by transit are useless if the first principle of new housing three of our own countrymen whose names we observe. -that the worker shall not be more than an hour’s These are Mr. J. W. CROSTON who discussed the organisa-journey from his work-is to be observed, he proceeds tion and training necessary in order to enable railway to develop new lines upon the Behr high-speed mono- companies to cope with their own needs for ambulance rail system, by means of which a speed of 100 miles service and those of the country, whether in peace The scheme or war; Mr. S. OSBORN who took for his subject an hour can be attained without danger. is briefly this. There are three classes of people to be First-aid in London and the work of the St. John, considered-day labourers, skilled workers, and clerks, Ambulance Association; and Mr. HORACE FOLKER whogroups which do not readily mix with one another. gave information as to the work of the ambulance departMr. BEHR considers that by the removal of the second ment of the National Fire Brigade Union, of which he and third groups more room will be left for the first- is a vice-president. All these are important topics, for the the day labourers-whose circumstances of employment study of which there is ample opportunity in this country, and remuneration necessitate their living near their work. and we must express the hope that the inevitable diffiLand is to be acquired at two centres : one 18 miles and the culties surrounding attendance abroad on such an occasion other 20 miles from London; in the first centre are to live may be overcome and that English experts may be the skilled workers, and in the second centre the clerks. found to come forward in a larger proportion than it is necessary in order to commence in an economical and thorough fashion to create fresh centres in places some
Between 6 and 8
trains will run every two minutes from the 18-mile centre, and between 8 and 10 o’clock every two minutes from the 20-mile centre, there being another four A.M.
rapid train service to bring the people home in the evening. Each centre is to have a population, at first, of about 27,000, and to be arranged upon a definite plan with not more than 12 houses to the acre, and the cost of the whole undertaking has been worked out by Mr. BEHR in a fashion to yield well over 4 per cent. interest. He evidently thinks that philanthropy may reasonably be called upon to provide this capital, and, indeed, we rather gather that he has visions of a possible Government loan at some 3 per cent. interest. The proposal is by no means a visionary one and obviously the whole question of I, the population of London sleeping much beyond its present confines is merely a matter of rapidity and cheapness of transit. In the old coaching days the season ticket limits of to-day would have been impracticable, and if the economical aspects of the problem are to be guarded adequately some bold stroke, such as is here contemplated, is absolutely necessary. Some, however, will be inclined to ask, why not hours of
remove a
the industries from London
larger
issue than
we can
as
well, but this opens
conveniently
up
deal with in this
article.
3
77
to
of
other
nations, should the congress be
repeated. In considering the subjects discussed at the congress in question by foreigners of all nations we note that many of these would probably have been interested by an exposition of the methods adopted in England for the removal and isolation of
cases
of infectious disease.
under the control of
completely sanitary authorities chiefly devoted to voluntary ambulance so
that the
reference
organisation out of
These with
legally
to them in
of
us are
constituted
more
pages or
less
With regard. to what may be called ambulance work pure and simple, arising, as it does, largely out of what we know as "accidentsin ordinary life or in the pursuit of some trade or industry, the field of discussion is a very large one and there should be room for a correspondingly important contribution of fact and opinion from our large labour centres and; crowded cities. The essential difference between ambulance work
seems
place.
work in
England and that on the continent can, however, readily by those who read even the greatly condensed be felt
observations of German, French, and Russian authorities as. indicated in the pages before us, a difference which must necessarily follow from conditions which to our neighbours are part of their ordinary life as citizens. Compulsory military service and the ever-present possibility of
employment of the country’s army upon active military operations on a vast scale combine to train and to stimulate men engaged in peaceful occupations for duties and responsibilities which will have to be faced in earnest when the
First Aid. IN THE LANCET of June 27th, p. 1857, reference was made to the successful efforts of the Viennese Street Ambu-
lance
Corps to meet the demand upon its services due to the war arises. To these the ambulance corps which deals with, recentjubilee pageant at Vienna. And now the serious and a mining or railway accident by means of its organisation. systematic manner in which ambulance service is being and training is keeping itself in practice with a view to that approached on the Continent is set before us in a volume work which is more essentially the service of the Red Cross. containing a formal record of the first International First and which may at any time have to be done under the Aid and Life-saving Congress which was held during the scanty protection afforded by that noble emblem. Quiteearly part of the summer at Frankfort-on-Main, embodied possibly with the development of a new military system in. in the form of brief synopses of reports and papers laid England we may find that a fresh impetus has been given. before the Congress. Perusal of this volume arouses a to a useful movement and that those who in the past have admiration for of the trouble which must have been had the energy and public spirit to enrol themselves in the feeling taken by all concerned in order to insure a satisfactory ambulance sections of our volunteer battalions or in the-
IMPROVEMENT OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS.-THE BIRTHDAY HONOURS.
36
St. John Ambulance Association will find
their
numbers
in
the
first
coordination
instance, and his advice
was
followed, committee
representative advisory through allay departmental suspicion and opposition. Sir CHARLES DILKE, however, in his address, expressed the ing is one first aid " may be required, and if ever what Mr. KIPLING opinion that a mere meeting of statisticians from the calls "the real thing " happens so as to affect our territorial various departments would be an insufficient result of our forces directly, it will be too late to remedy deficiencies labours; a permanent statistical direction is, I think, which in peace time we may have regarded with indifference. required." It is obviously necessary, with a view to the There is a branch of life-saving and first aid to which it is improvement of official statistics, that the chief of the most appropriate to call attention at the present season. statistical branch of each Government department charged With the warm weather bathing becomes universal, and with with the preparation of statistics should be a trained the advent of the summer holidays drowning accidents figure statistician. If this condition were fulfilled it would then very frequently in our newspapers. These, be it remem- become a question whether M. CHEYSSON’S proposal for the bered, are the fatal cases as a rule, some of which might creation of a consultative council, consisting of the chiefs of have been averted by means of a knowledge of how to aid a the statistical branches of the principal government departstruggling swimmer or how to resuscitate the insensible body ments, with, perhaps, one or two added unofficial statisbrought to shore apparently dead. The cases in which ticians, would not be preferable to the creation at present of knowledge of how to save life has figured, particularly the directing central statistical department recommended by when it has been exhibited in the less heroic manner by Sir CHARLES DILKE. It certainly appears that to divorce treating the half-drowned person, are often not reported, and the compilation of official statistics from the executive staff we would commend the first aid to be rendered in such having the control of the collection of the statistical material cases to the attention of all. would be a doubtful advantage and would involve some risk
augmented.
It is to be
hoped that such will be the case, for the trainof practical utility in whatever circumstances
a
in order to
’’
a
deterioration in the result, since the true value of statistics depends much upon an accurate appreciation of the of
Improvement
of Official Statistics.
Sir CHARLES DILKE in his address in November
precise method possible error.
of collection and of its various
sources
of
last, We cannot, for instance, imagine that to Royal Statistical Society, revived an transfer to a central statistical office the preparation important and interesting question which was considered of statistics of population, births, marriages, and deaths and reported upon by the Official Statistics Committee from the Registrar-General, who is the administrative appointed in 1877 by the late Mr. W. H. SMITH when chief of the large staff of outdoor officers who furnish the Secretary of the Treasury, the final report of which com- returns from which these statistics are compiled, would have mittee was issued in 1880. This report suggested the At the same time we wish every any beneficial result. creation of a small central statistical department for the success to Sir CHARLES DILKE’s desire for the creation of general supervision and control of official statistics, and Sir some central statistical authority with administrative or CHARLES DILKE in his address strongly urged the increased consultative power to promote greater uniformity and further the of 30 for in this after action necessity, lapse nearly years, improvement of our official statistics which are very generally direction. At the last meeting of the Royal Statistical Society admitted to be necessary. on May 16th Mr. ARTHUR L. BOWLEY, M.A., read a paper also dealing with the desirability of creating a central statistical authority in order to promote the improvement of official national statistics. In this paper, having regard to the object in view, it was perhaps natural that Mr. BOWLEY "Ne quid nimis." should have condemned somewhat too generally the value of the statistics issued by the various Government departments. THE BIRTHDAY HONOURS. The want, however, of uniformity and of general coordination IN the long list of birthday honours published last in the statistics prepared and issued by different executive week the following names of medical men occur :-Sir departments has long been generally admitted, although no Thomas Lauder Brunton, LL. D. Aberd. and Edin., M. D. Edin., measures have yet been adopted for carrying out this reform F.R.C.P. Lond., D.Sc. Edin., F.R.S., and Professor William since the recommendation made in the report of the committee Watson Cheyne, C.B., LL.D., M.B., C. M. Edin., F. R. C. S. D.Sc. Oxon., F.R.S., upon whom Baronetcies have referred to. Sir CHARLES DILKE and Mr. BOWLEY give many Eng., been conferred ; Brevet Colonel David Bruce, R.A.M.C., striking examples of overlapping and even of contradiction in C.B., F.R.S., Mr. Robert William Burnet, M.D., C.M. separately issued official statistics. M. CHEYSSON, an eminent Aberd., F.R.C.P. Lond., and Mr. Peter O’Connell, M.D., French statistician, published in 1882 a report on the condi- M. Ch. R. U. I., who have received the honour of Knighttion of Government statistics in various European countries, hood ; William Henry Power, C.B., who has been promoted with a view to the creation of a general supervising and con- from a Companion of the Order of the. Bath to be a Knight Commander of his Order ; Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston trolling authority in France, in order to bring about Shearer, I. M. S., D.S.O., who has been made a Companion of harmony, proportion, order, and uniformity of arrangement the Bath, and Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Frederick Perry, in national statistics." As a result of this report a French I. M. S., honorary surgeon to the Viceroy, and principal Conseil Superieur de Statistique, modelled on that of of the Medical College, Lahore, who has been appointed was in founded 1885. M. CHEYSSON recommended the Indian Empire. Sir Lauder Brunton, a of Belgium, Companion as
President of the
Annotations.
"