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The change thus affected had a very swift effect.The much more equitable part-time offer contained inthe circular of Nov. 29 reversed the whole positionvery satisfactorily. As I pointed out in the Times ofDec. 29 (Dr. Anderson misrepresents my letter),within a fortnight of the offer being made the Ministerwas able to announce in Parliament on Dec. 14 inanswer to my question that 337 out of nearly 800specialists had accepted it.
Unfortunately, in the same answer the Ministerdeclared that the offer could not be extended as Iasked to members of the E.M.S. receiving the second-grade salaries for whole-time service, as " this sugges-tion had not been made by the Special Committee."This refusal was repeated by the Minister for thesame reason on Jan. 25. Dr. Anderson now announces,with what authority I do not know, that this com-mittee has recently recommended the extension whichI asked for on Dec. 14. I submit, Sir, that thisaccount of the events in the E.M.S. since the waropened is more reliable than that offered by Dr.Anderson.The Minister in his answer to me on Feb. 8 gave
information disclosing the composition and functionsof committee No. 4 in my list.2
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,House of Commons. E. GRAHAM-LITTLE.
THE MIND OF HITLER
SIR,—Drs. Dillon and Ross have torn from itscontext a phrase of mine in praise of Hitler containedin a scientific paper which I read to the BritishAssociation on Sept. 3, 1937. At that time I wastrying to get an interview with Herr Hitler, in theinterests of psychology, and therefore could not stressthe defects of his qualities such as were alreadybecoming apparent.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,WILLIAM BROWN.
RANK AND EXPERIENCE
SIR,—Rubbing salt into the wounds of punishmentis an old torture, but may I humbly call furtherattention to our military medical services ? It isalmost six months since the hundreds of medical menfrom the reserves were called to the colours. Manyhad served for several years as volunteers. Manyagain complained in the early days of this war totheir representative association, the B.M.A. All com-munication with the Association to which we haveagain honourably and hopefully subscribed has beenturned aside to the Central Emergency Committee, nomatter how personal its nature, as long as it camefrom a serving officer ! Is the Central EmergencyCommittee no longer an arm of the B.M.A.? Itappears to be fettered by service bureaucrats, and itsrosy promises remain unfulfilled.
Six months ago few of us could have conceived thebitter treatment which continues to be measured outto many of our " reserve " friends, both by local andhigh administrative officers. They block the " usualchannels " of communication through which we mightcomplain or even inquire. They delight in our sub-jection, and their cool indifference is not offset by theknowledge that our country is at war. Maturephysicians and established consultants in all branchesof medicine and surgery are not only waiting inrelative idleness, but are being subjected to pettydictatorship by those who are their juniors. TheR.A.M.C. is old and has traditions; the R.N.V.R. ismature and has a peculiar task; the R.A.F.V.R. is in
1. See Question Time in Parliament p. 338 of this issue.2. Lancet, Feb. 3, 1940, p. 241.
its infancy, and has no history except its prodigiousgrowth. Many of us have worked annually in unitsof these services, doing our best to be prepared forthis emergency. We were welcomed, personally andofficially, and our numbers have been used to aid theboast of political debate; but now neither our advicenor our feelings are regarded, and our complaintsignored. The personal position of many of us maybe happy, but I speak too for those gentlemen in theprofession whose experience and character we havelearned to admire and respect in civil life-the staffsof our teaching hospitals, both in London and theprovinces.
Surely there must be sowe men whose influence andcourage are unchecked either by service bureaucracyor by the B.M.A. There must be some solution to aproblem which is growing intensely critical, to thedetriment of professional harmony.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,JUNIOR.
WHEAT GERM AND VITAMIN B1
SIR,—In the annotation on pink disease in yourissue of Feb. 3 (p. 229) you write " Forsyth has beenfavourably impressed with the oral administration of £vitamin B in the form of wheat-germ oil, Bemaxor the crystalline preparation ..." It is not clearwhether these are Forsyth’s words or your own; inany event they point to a suspension of naturalphenomena. Vitamin B 1 (aneurin chloride hydro-chloride) is a water-soluble substance completelyinsoluble in oil; wheat-germ oil is, as it must be,completely devoid of vitamin Bi. If Forsyth’s treat-ment succeeded with wheat-germ oil, then it musthave been due to something fat-soluble; if his treat-ment succeeded with crystalline aneurin, then it musthave been due to something water-soluble. It isdifficult to understand how he can have achieved agenuine success with both substances.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,Glaxo Laboratories Ltd.,
Greenford.
A. L. BACHARACH.
** Dr. Forsyth was writing of wheat germ, notwheat-germ oil. We regret the slip.—ED. L.
PRIVATE PRACTICE IN FRANCEEVEN before the war the lot of the general practi-
tioner in France had become hard owing to congestionin the profession, rising taxation, and the extension ofpublic and charitable medical services provided forthe poor and exploited by the well-to-do. The warhas supplied the last straw ; more than half the doc-tors in France have been swept into the army in whichthey have been aimlessly kicking their heels whilewaiting for war-time casualties. One would thinkthat the remaining civilian doctors must be over-worked and earning handsome incomes. A hint asto the fallacy in this assumption is to be found in aGovernment order, dated Dec. 1, 1939. This pointsout that army doctors are forbidden to give theirservices to persons outside the army, except forhumanitarian reasons, and that no army doctor mayaccept a fee from a civilian. Another order, datedNov. 1, expresses disapproval of doctors who havejoined the army being stationed in areas in which theypractised in peacetime-a provision obviously in-tended to prevent a doctor from carrying on his pri-vate practice in spite of his whole-time service in thearmy. Civilians show a growing tendency to seekfree medical advice from doctors in uniform, and whendoctors return to their private practices they may findtheir patients even less willing to pay for servicesrendered than before. Many a doctor now receivinga regular income from the army dreads the day whenhe will again have to face the vicissitudes of privatepractice.