In view of what has been said concerning the endocrine mechanism of the instincts and the vegetative apparatus, it could be predicted that a number of these nerve casualties of peace and war would be caused by an upset of the equilibrium between the glands of internal secretion.  A study of war neuroses by the great Italian student of the endocrines, Pende, confirms this assumption.  As emphasized, the internal secretions are like tuning keys, and tighten or loosen the strings of the organism-instrument, the nerves.  War for the soldier, or the civilian combatant as well, sets the strings vibrating, and with them the glands controlled by them.  Excessive stimulation or depression of an endocrine will disturb the whole chain of hormones, and the vegetative system, and their echoes in the psyche.  The nervous disorders of war that have been lumped as shell shock or war shock may be looked upon as uncompensated; airings of the endocrine vegetative mechanism, as dislocations of parts and processes that are reflected outwardly as ailment or disease.

AN ENDOCRINE NEUROSIS

An exquisite example of an endocrine neurosis, that is a disorder of nerves and brain dependent upon an upset of the equilibrium between the internal secretions due to a trying experience, was furnished recently by the reactions of three naval officers lost in the snow wilds of Canada through a balloon adventure.  The cases aroused a good deal of interest at the time, and the details were reported by the newspapers as if they were the episodes of a serial mystery story.

The three officers started out late one fine evening from Rockaway Air Station in a balloon for a practice trip.  Atmospheric conditions suddenly changed, they became lost in the clouds, and finally landed somewhere in the Canadian wilderness.  The commander of the balloon crew, Lieut.  A., 23 years old, was the youngest of the three; the oldest, Lieut.  B., being 45, and the third man in the thirties, Lieut.  C.

According to the testimony given at the Court of Inquiry held afterwards, two hours after they abandoned the balloon and started struggling through the snow, B. became tired and complained of his fatigue.  B.’s fatigue increased, and two days later became so great that the party had to stop for an hour and build a fire in order to permit him to rest.  However, an hour proved too little:  and in another half hour he was falling and fainting.

Letters written by C. to his wife and gotten hold of by reporters declared that B. at this juncture passed into a semi-sane state, in which he accused himself of a number of sins, and volunteered to commit suicide, so that the others would not be burdened by his weakness.  Also, that they might use his body to fortify themselves.  A. discussed with C. the advisability of taking B.’s knife away from him.  Living on their carrier pigeons, they continued on, moved by a desperate hope of finding someone.  B. had several fainting spells after drinking water traced by moose tracks.