615

occur if the animals are starved subsequently to theoperation. But if the liver is really functionallynecessary to the body, even though fasting, then somerecognisable degree of compensatory hypertrophyshould occur under the conditions of the experiment.Putting this to the test, Rous and McMASTER foundthat hypertrophy did, in fact, occur. They removedby operation more of the liver than persists in thestarved but intact animal, and found that the frag-ment left did actually undergo hypertrophy. In thestarving intact animal some of the liver is, no doubt,utilised as food; the fat and glycogen stored up in itare certainly mobilised for the purpose. But the mainloss of bulk would seem to be due to the lack ofnormal functional stimuli from the alimentarycanal. That stimuli exist, other than those arisingfrom the digestion of food, is conclusively shown bythese experiments. The exact nature of these stimuliis as yet uncertain, but it may be hoped that furtherwork will clear up this important point.

Annotations." Ne quid nimis."

THE NEED FOR A NEW FACTORIES BILL.

THE conditions under which workers in factories areemployed form one of’the most important questionsin our national life. Our present legislation withregard to factories is based on the Factories andWorkshops Act of 1901, and although many pro-gressive changes have been made under its powers,our industries, and indeed our whole social outlook,have developed and changed to such an extent sincethe beginning of the century that the need for newlegislation has become an important issue. A yearago in these columns we published a series of articleson changing factory conditions, their rising standardsand future developments, in which we advocated theintroduction of a new and comprehensive Factory Billat the first good opportunity. Such a Bill was draftedwhen Mr. Bridgeman was Home Secretary, andreceived a first reading under the Labour Government.When that party went out of power Mr. Baldwin inhis election address pledged himself to give the Billa second reading, and mention was made of it in theKing’s speech. So far, however, nothing further hasbeen done, but the new Bill does not lack enthusiasticsupport. On March 10th a deputation organisedby the Industrial Bureau of the Young Women’sChristian Association attended on the Home Secretary,Sir William Joynson-Hicks, to urge upon him theintroduction and passing of the Bill. The deputationwas composed of members of 28 societies, mainly Iwomen’s organisations, and was representative of (many different aspects of industrial and social life.The deputation was introduced by the Bishop ofWinchester, the various speakers being Miss GertrudeTuckwell, vice-chairman of the Bureau, Lady Ware,vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of theConservative Women’s Reform Association, Mrs.C. D. Rackham, late Inspector of Factories, a workingwoman whose name was withheld, and Miss KnightBruce of the Industrial Christian. Fellowship. Thegeneral aim of the measure to which it is sought togive effect is to amend the Act of 1901 and to con-solidate with it eight other Acts which have beenadded to the Statute Book between 1901 and 1924-it simplifies while it combines the mass of existingfactory legislation.Among the features of the new Bill are the pro-

vison of a 48-hour week for protected persons asagainst a 60-hour week under the old Act, improvedregulations in regard to safety, temperature, andventilation, regulations regarding lighting, fire, and

1 THE LANCET, 1924, i., 304, 354, and 411.

welfare, certification of the fitness of young persons,and weight-lifting by women and young persons.In reply to the deputation, the Home Secretarypointed out that the Government had also to considerthe employers’, the commercial, and the financialsides to the problem. He pledged himself that a Billwould be introduced into Parliament this summerto deal with factory legislation, but that Bill, he said,would not necessarily be the measure proposed bythe last Government. There was no doubt that itwould be a consolidation Bill, and it would also bringthe position in regard to the safety and efficiencyof factories very much farther than did any existinglaws. Several debatable points still remained tobe decided, particularly in regard to the regulationof adult hours of labour by Act of Parliament, and,he said, the Government would have to considerwhether to include in a factories Bill a clause of suchfar-reaching importance as the regulation of women’shours of labour by legislation. He pointed out thatwhile he did all he could to improve the position ofthe workers, he had to take care that he did nothingwhich would cripple our own industries in competi-tion with the industrialists of other countries. Thewelfare of the workers has at least not been shelved,and we trust that the present Government will spareno pains to promote-to use the the pregnant word ofthe Home Secretary-the

" efficiency " of our factories.

THE INFECTIVE FILTRABLE VIRUSES.

THE difficulties inherent in work upon the infectivefiltrable viruses is known to all who have touchedeven upon the edge of the subject. That they arenot of the sort which when faced flee awa,y is obviousfrom the paucity of results attained to the present,in spite of the keen and unremitting work which isproceeding upon the subject in all parts of the world.Careful and painstaking attempts to isolate the virusof varicella are reported by Dr. Thomas M. Riversand Dr. William S. Tillett from the hospital of theRockefeller Institute.1 By intratesticular inoculationof blood from patients suffering from chicken-poxinto rabbits these authors were able to isolate afiltrable virus which they passed in series throughnearly 70 rabbits. This they called Virus III. Althoughit never gave rise to any lesions clinically resemblingthose of varicella, it behaved in a definite and specificmanner upon intratesticular, intradermal or intra-cerebral inoculation. Introduced by the first routeit gave rise to pyrexia and malaise ; intradermicallyit produced a characteristic local lesion, while onintracerebral inoculation it gave rise to histologicalappearances and clinical symptoms resembling thoseproduced by the introduction of the virus of sympto-matic herpes, but differing from this latter in nevercausing death. After inoculation by any of theabove routes rabbits developed an immunity as

demonstrated by failure -on their part to show sym-ptoms on subsequent inoculation. All these resultsappeared to point to the conclusion that in Virus III.Dr. Rivers and Dr. Tillett had indeed laid their handsupon the virus of varicella. In accordance with thehigh traditions’of the Rockefeller Institute, however;these workers did not allow the matter to rest there.Further researches showed that the blood of patientsconvalescent from chicken-pox conferred no immunityupon rabbits against the virus. Finally, two healthyvolunteers, one of whom had had chicken-pox andthe other of whom had not, were inoculated in thearm with the virus. The subject who had never hadchicken-pox developed no symptoms, while, on theother hand, the one who had had the disease, andwas presumably immune against it, suffered from asevere disorder associated with malaise, fever, andswelling of the arm and regional lymph-glands, whichtook five days to subside. On the basis of theirpresent data the authors are forced to the conclusionthat Virus III. bears no relationship to clinical

1 Studies from the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.Reprints, vol. li., p. 325.