absurd. Yet such experimental results are very 
often made the basis of denunciation of tobacco 
smoking. 
Finally most investigators have made their 
inquiries for the exclusive purpose of discover-. 
ing the evil effects of tobacco smoking. They 
proceed to their work with a biassed mind. 
They have already assumed that the habit is 
harmful and they simply want to find out how 
much harm they can discover. They are pre- 
judiced from the beginning. It is to this class 
of investigator that Dr. John Aikman refers to 
(New York Medical Journal, Oct. 30, 1915), 
when he says: “In reading the literature on the 
use of tobacco we are impressed by the fact that 
much of it is written by persons greatly op- 
posed to the use of the plant, and naturally 
prejudiced.” It is quite conceivable that a man 
may investigate the evil effects which follow 
from wearing clothes and shoes and he could 
undoubtedly find some evil effects ; but the users 
of such articles could very justly say that the 
beneficial results of such habits more than out- 
weighed the demonstrated harm that might 
occur. And then the user of tobacco might say 
that the beneficial effects of smoking more than 
compensated for any slight harm that may hap- 
pen. For tobacco has undoubtedly many excel- 
lent effects, and no one knows this better than 
178 
