Notes

The NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM, Washington, D. C., has printed a pamphlet for the guidance of the medical profession of the country in the examination of registrants under the Selective Service System 'to provide men for the armed forces of the United States for service and training'. 'The purpose of this Circular is to present to physicians of Selective Service, the great majority of whom are not psychiatrists by profession, methods whereby they may suspect the existence of incapacitating mental and personality factors in registrants coming before them and may either eliminate such individuals or refer them to the psychiatrist of the medical advisory board for examination.

'The military forces can use individuals with many varieties of temperament and experience, but there is no place in an efficient army for the psychopath, the feeble-minded, or the insane. Many individuals so unfortunately affected may do quite well in civil life, in accustomed jobs and in familiar circumstances, but when they are introduced into the unfamiliar environment of military life, with its necessary regimentation, close contact with other persons, separation from their families and inability to escape without fear of grave penalties, they develop various types of mental disorder. These individuals then become a source of trouble to their superiors, exert a deleterious influence on their associates and occupy a disproportionate amount of hospital space. The experience of the World War showed that mental disorder in soldiers was one of the main problems present both in the United States and in the Expeditionary Force. Thirty per cent of the patients now being returned to Canada from the Canadian Forces abroad are reported to be mental cases. The selecting out of the mentally unfit should begin at the time the candidate appears for the local board physical examination. In many instances, the registrant and his circumstances will be known to the board member