14 A REPLY TO CRITICISMS OF THE 



scalds, which Sir Victor and Dr. Sturge assert to be all 

 that Edinburgh produces. The Registrar-General's returns 

 are precise, exactly where Sir Victor's and Dr. Sturge's 

 are vague and misleading. Further, these critics actually 

 state when driven into a corner that * it would make 

 no difference whether the parental alcoholism killed the 

 children by negligent accidents or by toxic consequences ' 

 {B.M.y., Feb. II, 1911, p. 336). Considering that they 

 cited their wholly erroneous statistics to demonstrate that 

 my explanation that the higher death-rate was due to 

 negligence and not to toxic effect, their appreciation of 

 logic must be of a curious character. 



Here are Sir Victor Horsley's statement and the actual 

 facts side by side : — 



Deaths from accident and negligence per year : Sir Victor 

 Horslcy and Miss Stiirge : 5 to 6 from suffocation, burns, 

 and scalds. Registrar-General: 22-5 from overlaying alone, 

 11-5 from burns and scalds alone; total 34, against Sir 

 Victor's \5 or 6 '. 



Such is the accuracy of these critics who prattle about 

 others ' imagining and publishing statistical data where 

 none exist in reality ' ! 



They even assert that the large majority of their 17 cases 

 per year ' were cases of children run over by tramcars and 

 lorries in the streets',^ and suggest that these vehicular 

 accidents were not those of ' helpless ages, i. e. below six 

 years', children needing supervision. Well, the Registrar- 

 General tells us that in the nineteen years (i 890-1908) only 

 5 deaths per annum were caused by vehicles and horses, 

 i. e. only about one seventh of those caused by overlaying, 

 burns, and scalds. Vehicular accidents are not in a ' large 

 majority' at all, and of such accidents 60 to 70% happen 



^ Zi'w^j, January 19, p. 12. 



