1787

interests of the public health has been meagre in the

extreme but there is an opportunity now of carrying cut areform which will have the most far-reaching results. Those

results will not be confined to the 2,000,000 persons wholive within the existing combined sanitary areas ; they willbe felt in the small towns and in the county boroughs.They will include a cleaner and a purer milk-supply, a morevigilant inspection of slaughtered cattle, increased super-vision of fruit and vegetable pickers, and the carrying outof such measures as will give to those who live in’urban

districts a far greater sense of security regarding their food-supplies than they can possibly have at the present time.We cannot believe that the Government, supported as it is

by so large a number of labour representatives, will neglectthis chance of carrying out with little or no effort a reformwhich will result in so large a measure of benefit to the

working classes.

Annotations.11 Ne quid nimiF," I

THE WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ACT.

SiNCE the enactment of the Workmen’s Compensation Act Ithat will come into operation next week we have frequently.commented on those of its issues which more especiallyaffect the medical man. As recently as May llth wedescribed in our editorial columns the agency established bythe Medical Insurance Committee-a committee of medicalmen formed at the instance of THE LANCET and theBritish Medical Joiirnal-through which members of our

profession will be able to insure against all liabilities, in-

cluding those arising under the Act, at very favourable termsunder the policies of the Guardian Insurance Company,

Limited. We think it advisable again to direct attentionat this eleventh hour to the great importance of medical menmaking some such provision, and we take the opportunityto discuss more fully one or two points that we have alreadyraised. The question as to whether a locum-tenent can

benefit under the Act is a point of outstanding importance.Although it is true that a salary of 4 guineas a week withboard or other allowances is equal to more than the .8250 a i

year that will exclude him from the benefits of the Act, yetit must be remembered that he is not continuously employedfor the whole year and so it may well be contended thathe is entitled to them. Trained nurses, dispensers, anderrand boys also come under its provisions, as although theymay be only " occasionally employed," yet their servicesare required "for the purposes of the employer’s trade orbusiness." It is not clear whether charwomen or othersuch " casual servants who meet with accidents in

medical men’s surgeries will have an equal claim; butin this, as well as in any other case where the natureof employment in its relation to the Act admits of

much doubt the wiser course will be to insure, at anyrate, until the extensive litigation that is certain to

ensue has decided a similar case in the employer’s favour.One further point that deserves notice is the responsibilityfor an accident to the coachman of a carriage jobbed by amedical man. The safest course for the latter to pursueis to obtain a written undertaking from the jobmasterthat he will bear the responsibility for any claim arisingfrom an accident to the coachman who is, of courseprimarily his servant. We may conclude these remarks by-again calling attention to the advertisement of the Guardian

! Company which has undertaken to carry out the scheme of the.

Medical Insurance Committee. The premiums are moderate. and the policy offered not only indemnifies the insurer

,

against the complete liability under the Act but also coversthe cost of litigation where wrongful claims for accidents are

, made and so offers a much-needed protection against thespeculative action " brought by a man of straw against his

employer at another’s instigation.

TEMPERANCE AND THE "WINE WAR" IN THE

SOUTH OF FRANCE.

, To the advocates of real temperance the disturbances in

the South of France should serve as a useful object-lesson.I;

Here is a country where the over-production of wine hascreated great distress. Wine is now so cheap that

1 the wine-growers are starving, but this wine, which

costs less than the barrel or the bottle in which it is placed,does not produce drunkenness. The physical and moraldegeneration which on the continent differentiates the

term alcoholism from drunkenness is almost unknownin that part of France. So obvious is it that wine-growingcountries are free from the curse of alcoholism that natural

light wines are qualified as hygienic drinks and, as fullyexplained in these columns, all taxes have been removed soas to enable the people freely to drink pure wine.’ 1 When

studying this temperance legislation our Special Commis-

t sioner photographed a grocer’s shop at the corner of the

t rue Monge, Paris. Here were barrels containing wine from

’f the very department where the town of Narbonne is’f situated and the greatest disturbances have occurred. Thise

wine from the department of the Aude was advertised at the retail price of 20 centimes, or 2d., per litre,‘1

or about 14d, per the English pint. Our Commissionere

bought a litre ; it was tasted and analysed in THE LANCET.r

laboratory. The wine was quite palatable and, chemicallyl-

speaking, was the same as high-class and expensive clarets..s

Of course, it was wine fresh from the wood. Clarets are

only expensive when they come from some well-known vine-n

yards, possess a peculiar bouquet, and have been bottled andn

stored for a considerable time. Otherwise the excellenty clarets now retailed in Paris for from 2d. to 4d. per litrey should be sold in London, after paying an entrance duty ofn

3-2’d. per litre, at from 8d. to 10d. per litre, or from 4d.

to 6d. per pint. This, however, is only the case in theh

French quarter of London where there are a quick

a consumption of wine and a population that knows

something about natural and wholesome wines. The

t difficulty in England is that the public will not drink wine

d because it cannot realise that wine should be, and is, ind spite of duty, as cheap as bottled ale and stout. At the

y same time, it is less " head," mixes admirably with water,

s and especially in summer provides a long, refreshing, and

,r innocent drink. The disturbances in the South of France

:r should make the British public realise how cheap is the

natural, freshly made, new wine-the wine which is poured out

e t into a tumbler that has generally an ornamental design in the

.. lower portion of the glass reaching a third of the way up.if It is bad manners, a sign of coarse breeding, to pour wine

y above this mark or to fill more than a third of a big glass.

The water pitcher follows the litre bottle and at least 50 per..

cent. of water is added to wine that rarely contains morey than 10 per cent., and never more than 12 per cent., ofa

alcohol. This is the national drink of the sober French

people. Not only men but women and children for hundreds.r of years have drunk these simple, cheap wines and the idea

9 that any harm could result therefrom has never dawned upon

1 See THE LANCET, March 10th (p. 709), 24th (p. 865) and April 7th(p. 995), 1906.