PASSING THE DOCTOR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2766, 9 May 1916, Page 6

PASSING THE DOCTOR

A DAILY SCENE

THOROUGH METHODS AT THE TOWN HALL

DR. DE LAUTOUR'S SYSTEM

(By "Sylvius.") How thoroughly the men enlisted at the Town Hall, for military servico are examined' was demonstrated to a Dominion reporter who dropped in on Dr. De Lautour quite unannounced between noon and 1 p.m. yesterday. It has been. fairly frequently proved by the number, of men rejected at the camp —after having gone before medical examiners- somowhere in tho Dominion-r that the examination work is not done as thoroughly in some cases as in others, and weaknesses in methods or laxity in practice have involved the country in considerable expense as well as causing individuals very great inconvenience.' Curious to see hoiv Wellington recruits were handled medically, the writer was allowed to watch, the entire process, and from the layman's standpoint is in a position to testifythat nothing is left to chance, and there is no slumming' the important work that is being done by Dr. De Lautour at tho Town Hall. His consulting room is the artists' room, off the stage of the Concert Chamler—where the vocally fit (and at times unfit) are wont to assemble prior to appearing before the public. This is a well-lighted apartment, about 23ft. by 10ft., which admits the morning sun. There were three young men being examined \\;hen the writer arrived, ana the medical-examiner was busy finding pabulum for his. official record, which, takes in . the man's name, ag®, height, .weight, chest measurement (minimum and maximum), and general remarks. "Now stand up straight with the arms out at full length," said the doctor. "That's right. Now work the fingers and thumbs, so!" With that the doctor played the five-finger exercise in the air with tho palms of tho hands showing upwards. •"All right. Now tho .wrists. Show the wrist in action. Now a good round swing of the arms—full and: free. That's enough!" • "Bend down and touch your toes!" As the order was obeyed the doctor eyed each man critically, looking for anything outside, the natural in general physique.. ■ "Now, down on your tees and spring up! Down on the. right knee, up! Down on the left knee, up! Now balance on one foot and swing the other leg backwards and forwards. On the other .foot!" All these movements the three recruits went through correctly and with an alertness that pleased the doctor. . "Now," he continued, "I want you to tread on your heels in this manner," and lie beat a'rataplan on. the .floor with his heels. ■ This was successfully accomplished hy tho candidates for the army.; "Now tread on the toes quickly, so." . . "I want you now to hop on your toes across the room. Just hop across

and back again. That's for flat-foot," said the doctor. "D'ye know fellows with flat-foot can't do that for tho life of them. They ilap about like a hippopotamus when thev try to get along on their toes. I had a man in tho other day who had been a member of a firo brigade, yet had lyell-pronounced flat-foot.. He could run up a ladder like ii monkey when using his instep on the rungs, but he simply couldn't hop a couple'of yards on lila toes. . : - Having finished the part of tho test, the'medical officer then applied himself to tho test for organic weaknesses. "I always test the heart," 6aid lie adjusting the receivers of the stethoscope in his'ears, "after the physical test. Then they're warmed up, and there .'is good action in the heart, which makes it easier to detect any weaknesses in the valves." .With that lie applied his "listener" not only in the immediate region of the heart, but all over the chest, in order to see how' the lungs were. "Expand .' your chest,", said thedoctor, placing the tape in position.' "Take a deep breath, deep as you can. Break the tape! That will do—36J inches., Now as smallas you can —let out all the air. That's right—32J inches. A good chest —quite good. All right." One of tho recruits was a convalescent from spinal cercbro-meningitis, and told the doctor he. was attacked at

Trenthani last August, and' still felt a bit shaky and. had.' a slight .'stiffness about tho neck. This the medical man had detected, though' the young fellow went through tho physical test \vel! enough. Ho had had hospital treatment, and was gradually, getting back to normal. . In one case the medical officer detected a slight varicose vein. "I would! pass you," said the doctor, ''but.they; arc getting a little pernicketty at Tren- ■ lhani. ''It doesn't do, any harm," said the recruit. "It doesn't do. any harm to, sit smoking oil a barrel of gunpowder," said the doctor, "but there's always a chanco that it might go off. I don't -say it's anything serious, but I only warn you that tiioy might requiro.you to undergo a slight'operation. Nothing in it.".. : Then follower!; the eye test, each eytv being-tested.'separately by having letters of certain sizes :20ft. away," ai:-jl rno wondered how tho ordinary medical man managed to get'a .sightrango cf 'JOi't. in their rooms. .. . "Hear that, hear thai?" the doctoi'; /.He was flickiiirr o ne of H linger nails, which .gave oft the tinie jt sound. First on one side and then < m the other, whilst lie got the rccrut-ts to say whether they heard it, and .'< in which side. .It was an exacting ear tc( st. Dr. De Lautour said that the standards required of a rccruit to-day were 'p.; follow Height, ol't. 2in.; chest, meiisuroment (expanded), 33J inclics (oxpa in. sion not less than two inches). So' f !ai 113 has examined in the manner abc jv< described 878 men since October 23 l/;sit His statistics liavo only been made nj to the time when the total stood' v '»i 700. Out of that number, alO iv- m passed as fit, 101 as unfit, and 59 iverc deferred. There is solid satisfactioi i ii watching Dr. Do Lautour in action. I' ( a lf an-hour in the room convinced j tlu writer that hero at least there iri uc such thing as shimming, this all-im';jort ant precautionary work.