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the stock solution to facilitate dispersion in the bathwater. In preliminary tests, a 10% water-miscible pre-paration of hexachlorophane (’ Ster-Zac’ bath concen-trate) was found to disperse rapidly.in water and wasat least as active against staphylococci as our stock

preparation.Besides disinfecting the baths, hexachlorophane in the

water might reduce the numbers of staphylococci onareas of the patient’s skin which are sometimes colonisedby these organisms (Hare and Ridley 1958). In a pre-liminary study we found that a single hexachlorophanebath had no demonstrable effect on perineal carriage ofStaph. aureus; but the effect of repeated baths would beworth investigating.

SUMMARY

The addition of hexachlorophane to bath water wasshown to destroy staphylococci and many other bacteria.It may thus help to control cross-infection.We thank Mr. G. H. Darling and Mr. E. George for their help

with the preparation of hexachlorophane solution, and Mr. H.Critchley for collecting samples of bath water. We also thank Messrs.Hough, Hoseason & Co. for a supply of ’ Ster-Zac’ hexachloro-phane bath concentrate.

REFERENCES

Bolle, A., Mirimanoff, A. (1952) Pharm. Acta Helvet. 27, 31.Boycott, J. A. (1956) Lancet, ii, 678.Colbeck, J. C., Wrohan, H., Gough, J. E. Allman, A. L. (1956) Canad.

Services med. J. 12, 563.Erlandson, A. L. Jr., Lawrence, C. A. (1953) Science, 118, 274.Hare, R., Ridley, M. (1958) Brit. med. J. i, 69.

Breast-feedingIN his annual report for 1958, Prof. A. B. Semple, medical

officer of health for Liverpool, describes a lactation survey,undertaken between January and September, in which healthvisitors visited 7272 mothers when the baby was about 6 weeksold.At this time, of infants born in hospital 25-1%, and of those

born at home 24-7%, were wholly breast-fed. Of 3963 motherswith normal breast conditions 2058 (51-9%) sought artificialaid to stop lactation. Of these, 523 (25-4%) received tabletsfrom the hospital, 1446 (70-3%) received tablets from the

general practitioner, and 89 (4-3%) received tablets from apharmacist.There was no notable difference between hospital and home

deliveries in respect of the incidence of breast abscess, thefigures being 2-5% and 2-6% respectively. The incidence of

sepsis in infants born in hospital was 10-6%, and in infantsborn at home 10-1%.

Breast abscess and sepsis in the infant were closely corre-lated. Of the infants of women delivered in hospital who hadbreast abscesses, 23-4% had some sign of sepsis; the corre-sponding figure for domiciliary deliveries was 21-7%. In theinfants of mothers with normal breast conditions, the incidenceof sepsis was 9-7% where the delivery had taken place inhospital and 9-2% where it had taken place at home.

Vaccination Against PoliomyelitisThe campaign for poliomyelitis vaccination of young people

has been intensified in two of the London County Council’shealth divisions in north London.

Copies of a letter by Dr. J. A. Scott, the L.C.C.’s medical officerof health, have been sent to firms, coffee bars, dance halls, hair-dressers, gramophone-record shops, and others, asking for their help.In his letter Dr. Scott points out that quite three-quarters ofLondoners aged 15-26 have not yet sought immunisation.

Posters, window-stickers, car-stickers, leaflets, and wage-packetslips have been distributed; and a mobile clinic is operating nearfactories and offices.

ArsenicContamination of drinking-water by an arsenical spray

intended for potato crops is suspected to be the cause of thedeath of a woman of 38 and the illness of her husband and three 1. Times, Sept. 14.

children.’ Two other people sharing the same water-supplyat a farmhouse in Bringsty, Herefordshire, were also takenmildly ill. It is possible that during mixing of water andspray powder something like a blow-back caused contaminationof water in the storage tank.

Dialogues of Today

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

SOCRATES: You said the other day, Apollodorus, that if acriminal, because of his mental disorder, did not know whathe was doing, or that what he was doing was wrong, he wouldnot be punished for his offence, and that lesser degrees ofmental illness might lead to the conclusion that the offender’sresponsibility for his act was diminished, in which case hispunishment would be less than it would otherwise have been.APOLLODORUS: That is so, Socrates.

SOCRATES: For what reason do you think punishment shouldbe given ?

APOLLODORUS : There seem to me to be three main reasonsfor punishment-to deter others, to deter the criminal fromrepeating the offence, and if possible to reform him.

SOCRATES: Which of these objects do you think the mostimportant ?APOLLODORUS: The first two, Socrates; for, while it is

desirable to reform the criminal if possible, that seems to me ofless importance than deterring him from committing furtheroffences, and others from following his example.

SOCRATES: Do you think, then, that an insane person oughtnot to be punished-because punishment would be unlikelyto have a deterrent effect on him, or reform him, and couldhardly deter normal people, who would not imagine them-selves as likely to commit the same kind of crimes as an insaneperson ?

APOLLODORUS : Yes.

SOCRATES: But you say that a person who has diminished

responsibility for the offence should receive a lesser sentence.Does that mean that, being irresponsible, he will be moreeasily deterred than a normal person, or that responsiblepeople will be more easily deterred by a lesser sentence inflictedon an irresponsible one ? Or is it that, being irresponsible, hecan be reformed by a shorter period of detention ?

APOLLODORUS : None of those can be the reason, Socrates;but surely it would not be just that a partially responsiblecriminal should receive the same punishment as a fullyresponsible one.

SOCRATES : It seems to me, Apollodorus, that you have nowintroduced a principle which you have not mentioned before,Do you hold that, as well as being a deterrent and a reforminginfluence, a punishment may be just or unjust? And is its

justice something different from these other characteristics, oris it merely another name for one or both of them ?

APOLLODORUS: I think justice is a principle different fromdeterrence and reform; for it is possible that an unjust sentencemight act as a greater deterrent than a just one, yet if it is

unjust it ought not to be inflicted. And if justice requiresthat a man should be executed it is hardly compatible with hisreform.

SOCRATES: Would you then give justice priority over theseother considerations ?

APOLLODORUS: Certainly.SOCRATES : What, then, is a just punishment?APOLLODORUS : I do not think you can define justice in

rational terms, Socrates, for it is a matter of feeling. All right-thinking men feel that it is right that crimes should be punished.and the general validity of this is shown by the fact that theywould accept it in relation to themselves, if they chanced to bethe criminal.

459

1. Criminal Law Revision Committee; First Report. Cmnd. 835. H.M.Stationery Office. 6d.

SOCRATES : If justice is a matter of feeling, should you notspeak of right-feeling rather than right-thinking men ? Andwho is to decide which feelings about justice are right? Oneman feels capital punishment to be just, another does not. Oneman would punish private homosexual offences severely,another would have the law disregard them. How do youdecide between them ?

ANALYTICUS: Apollodorus is more right than I think he

realises, Socrates, and you could not have chosen two betterillustrations. If men who are equally wise and conscientiousdiffer on such questions we should suspect that their differencesare not rational. Psychology shows that we learn to feel guiltfor unconscious reasons. How we deal with our own sense of

guilt will determine our attitude to the guilt of others. Abstractjustice is a rationalisation of our sense of guilt modified ofcourse by social factors. But it would be possible in theoryto devise a way of dealing with offenders which would fulfilthe needs of society without arousing any of the strongemotions of which judges’ homilies, and the Sunday news-papers, are only two different expressions. We are a long wayfrom that yet, but perhaps not so far as you might think. I

suspect that the deterrence theory of punishment is anotherrationalisation, which will not stand up to statistical evidence.Anyway justice and deterrence between them seem to be lead-ing to more crime and fuller prisons. If we still believe in themin the face of that evidence, it suggests that our belief is notentirely a rational one.

Medicine and the Law

Indecency with ChildrenTHERE is at present a gap in the law relating to acts of

indecency with children. Such acts can often be punishedunder the heading of indecent assault, but there are casesof indecent behaviour which do not involve anythingwhich can properly be called an assault-e.g., wherea person successfully invites a child to handle him

indecently.To close this gap in the law, the new Criminal Law

Revision Committee 1 recommend legislation to penalise" Any person who commits an act of gross indecencywith or towards a child under the age of fourteen, orincites a child under that age to such an act with him oranother ".The committee regard the first limb (" commits an

act of gross indecency with or towards a child under theage of fourteen ") of this suggested provision as themore important; it would cover successful invitations ofthe kind already mentioned and also, they think, most ofthe other kinds of conduct likely ’to occur. The secondlimb (" incites a child under that age to such an act withhim or another ") would cover cases where the accused’sconduct does not result in an offence by anyone under thefirst limb (for instance, because the incitement is unsuc-cessful, or because the resulting act of indecency isbetween two innocent children incited to do it for the

gratification of the accused).The suggested offence would apply to persons of either

sex who have reached the age of criminal responsibility.It is proposed that the maximum penalties should be

six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of E100 on

summary conviction; or two years’ imprisonment onconviction on indictment.The committee’s proposals cannot be implemented

without legislation which cannot now be introduced untilafter the general election.

In England Now

A Running Commentary by Peripatetic Correspondents

BUYING gas is one of the joys of American motoring. Thereis an indefinable thrill about pulling in at the gas station andgiving the peremptory

" Fillerrup!" (preferably spoken outof the corner of the mouth). The novice need not be dis-concerted if the attendant leaves the pump to churn by itselffor a full five minutes while he busies himself with tyrepressures, battery, radiator water, and wind shield. Someof those acromegalic saloons hold over twenty gallons, which,even so, will only come to six bucks (about forty shillingssterling). As a matter of fact, by going a little out of one’s way,one can often save a few shillings, thanks to the gas wars.These arise because rival companies get it into their headsfrom time to time to see which can sell the cheapest petrol,which then gets cheaper and cheaper down the line untilsomeone is actually selling the stuff at a loss. Of course nobodyis prepared to keep this up for long, and a truce is usuallycalled at this juncture. Meanwhile, delighted motorists rushback and forth, filling up anything they can lay their hands on.The arrangement is admirable for everyone, with the possibleexception of the proprietor of the garage with the king-sizediscount. New Englanders, proud of their Scots blood, enterinto the spirit of the gas wars with exceptional enthusiasm andwill often go fifty miles out of their way to find the cheapestgas around town. Competition amongst garages is so keenthat all kinds of inducements have to be thought up byimaginative proprietors. Some offer a 30-second car-wash or afree change of muffler-i.e., a new silencer (you pay double forthe silencer, but the screwing on and off is free). Slot-machinesare popular bait, and most self-respecting garages have a

’

drive-in Coca-Cola’ automat from which you can get youriced coke without having to get out of the car. For some

extraordinary reason, slot-machines for nail-clippers are also. great favourites. An ingenious gimmick of one garage is to

give away toll tickets for the bridge five miles up the highway,saving the casual motorist 25 cents, though the owner, who

l bought them by the month, paid only a fraction of this.

All this contrasts to the ill-treatment heaped on a submissivepublic by the British garage. It takes courage to ask to haveone’s windows wiped, and you have to be a longstandingcustomer of special merit before you are let in on the secretthat the air-pressure gauge is not, and never has been, out oforder. Particularly despicable is the cunning psychologybehind the arrangement of the pumps, so that Super-Extra-Zing-Plus-Go is served by several pumps while the ordinarycommon-or-garden petrol (on which, as it happens, my carexceeds all expectations) has only one pump. Even if one hasthe will-power to face the long wait caused by this arrange-ment, one’s temerity is likely to succumb to the second craftyruse, whereby the one and only pump for ordinary petrol is

placed at the approach of a narrow entrance so that a formid-able traffic jam is apt to arise with startling and embarrassingrapidity. Then, over a cacophony of hooting, the pumpattendant, with an expressive gesture of the thumb and in avoice tinged with the exactly right overtones of resignation,deprecation, and scorn, announces for all to hear: " Yer can’tmove till ’e’s ’ad ’is cheap!"

* * *

Last year while I was peripatetic in England I spent consider-able time remedying a condition, aggravated by dusty yearsin the tropics, designated Aworthingtonaemia by a medicalcolleague. The therapy evoked pleasant meditations tingedwith melancholy; I began to think of retirement, of comfort-able gradual ageing, like fine old ale in a cask, with just enoughwork to keep the spirits from flagging. And I thought tomyself, why not keep a pub ? A quiet country pub; mellowbrick and ivy without, well-rubbed tables and shining brasswithin. And a cozy ingle where old cronies could forgather,hot from Harley Street or chilled by academic rigors. My wife,bless her, said yes.