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| Topic: Dr. Abram's Electron Theory
by
William F. Hudgings Section: Part I, Relation of Electron Theory... Table of Contents to this Topic |
| RELATION OF THE ELECTRON THEORY TO DISEASE AND DIAGNOSIS MODERN knowledge of the electronic structure of matter has revolutionized many ancient concepts in nearly every field of human endeavor. The great and important field of therapeutics is by no means an exception. The public press has had considerable to say of late about Dr. Albert Abrams of San Francisco and his application of the electron theory to the diagnosis, treatment and pathology of disease. Some have acclaimed him as a scientist of the first wicked impostor who has discovered nothing more than the pecuniary fact that Barnum was right. Every revolutionary discovery has met with opposition from some quarter. Copernicus, Gallileo, Kepler and Newton, each in his turn contended with the forces of reaction, prejudice, superstition and ignorance so rampant in their day, until the truths of their discoveries eventually emerged triumphant. The one thing worse than being talked about is not to be talked about at all. But the newspaper publicity, favorable and unfavorable, which Dr. Abrams has received, is of little importance as a means of determining the value of his findings. The one thing needed is in dispassionate consideration of his claims in the light of known scientific facts concerning atomic structures, and this is in fact the aim of the present treatise. Inasmuch as health is of first importance to everybody it seems appropriate that the Abrams theory shall first be outlined, then consideration will be given to the electron theory in general upon which it is based. Our treatment of this subject is wholly in the interest of science. It is not for the purpose of propagandizing any person, school or cult, although it is obviously essential to a fair presentation of the facts to mention the name of the investigator and if he has made any discovery worth while he is entitled to just credit therefor. If no discovery of importance has been made then the public is entitled to that knowledge. We shall refrain from presenting any partisan argument for or against any practical endeavor to bring needed relief to suffering humanity. We are concerned with making an unbiased examination into the experimental efforts of an investigator who claims to have a valuable contribution for the accumulating fund of knowledge concerning electrons and the structure of matter. If Dr. Abrams has made, or thinks he has made, any actual discovery in this field of physical research he is unquestionably entitled to an honest hearing. To begin with, Albert Abrams, M. D., LLD., F. R. M. S., is a Jew who was born in San Francisco about sixty years ago. At nineteen he graduated from Heidelburg University and later took post graduate courses in London, Berlin, Paris and Vienna, and on his return to America became a rather prominent figure in West Coast medical circle, according to his biographical sketch in "Who's Who in America." At twenty six he was elected Vice President of the California State Medical Society, accepted a professorship in Cooper Medical College (Leland Stanford University) at thirty, and later became president of Emanuel Polyclinic. During this time he made certain medical discoveries and was author of several textbooks on disease and diagnosis. But his more recent findings, referred to above were considered to be so revolutionary and startling that he claims not to have mentioned them to his fellow physicians for a long time, fearing he would not be believed. This interim was industriously spent in private verification of the system he had formulated, thousands of cases being used to check and recheck his basic theory until he had gathered what be believed was sufficient proof to convince the whole medical fraternity; then he announced his experiments to the world. It appears that his previous fears were well founded. The medical profession with characteristic conservatism tabooed the discoveries and condemned the discoverer without much regard for his accumulated proofs, and the Journal of the American Medical Association heaped him with satire and virtually proclaimed him a prince of quacks. On the other hand a minority of "regular" physicians, laying professional prejudice aside, have dared to investigate the Abrams theories: and these now declare that he has made one of the greatest "finds" of the century. They furthermore assert that his "persecution" from the old school conservatives simply proves him to be several years ahead of his time. Regardless of the merits of either side of the controversy, it is obvious that should Dr. Abrams methods meet with popular approval, as they are already doing in many quarters, many great medical institutions, drug factories and drug stores would have to find other lines of business or close their doors. The Abrams method of diagnosis and treatment is called the "ERA System," the letters E. R. A. having been chosen by the founder to represent "Electronic Reactions of Abrams." In view of the electronic structure of matter and its general property of radioactivity, Dr. Abrams conceived the idea that in order to uproot a disease in the organism it is essential to go beyond the cellular tissues and really get at the electronic structures of the atoms. It seemed reasonable to his mind that disease is capable of producing certain changes in the rate or manner of rotation of the electrons in the affected atoms, and that so long as the electrons are not vibrating normally the entire organism will be out of balance. All this sounds logical, but how to correct, the abnormality of the electronic vibrations is the great problem. It is manifest that the planetary electrons of of atomic systems are capable of many different motions at once, even as planets of a solar system undergo several simultaneous motions in their orbital journeys. It appeared to Abrams, therefore, that each disease may have its characteristic vibratory rate, or rather the power to affect the motion of the electrons in a characteristic way, without destroying the vibratory motions which the electrons previously possessed, if this be so, an electronic analysis of the blood or tissues should reveal the existence of whatever diseases may be present therein, provided a means could be devised to do this. Being of an inventive turn of mind, Dr. Abrams set upon the task of developing an apparatus that would sort out these hypothetical vibratory rates and record them separately. After several unsuccessful efforts to produce a mechanical device of sufficient sensitiveness, be finally turned to the human nervous system as the most sensitive electrical machine on earth. He now claims that by using the nervous system of a normally healthy person in conjunction with a set of rheostats and an amplifier it is possible to cause each disease vibration in the specimen under examination to manifest itself by definite reactions which are produced upon certain nerve terminals. As a result of thousands of experiments he has now charted and classified the reactions thus elicited, and therefore maintains that by analyzing a drop of your blood (which of course really contains billions of atomic systems with their diversified electronic movements) it is possible to tell you what diseases are in your body, the stages of development of each, exactly what organs are affected, and whether a particular disease has been inherited or acquired by exposure. Sex and nationality may also be determined from these blood tests, it is declared. To those who doubt that so much information may be elicited from a single blood drop, Dr. Abrams retorts, "The mineralogist finds it unnecessary to examine a whole mine to determine the nature of its products. One drop of blood, with its countless billions of electrons, is a condensation of the multitudinous vibrations of the entire body." If a drop of blood can really reveals so much then there is a hitherto unsuspected depth of meaning to the Levitical proverb, "The life of the flesh is in the blood." It is apparent that by such a method of diagnosis the patient would not need to be personally present. He may be a thousand miles or more from the diagnostician. All he would be required to do would be to mail a drop or so of his blood to the clinic. The fact that the blood would be dry by the time it reached the physician should not affect the accuracy of the diagnosis, since the atoms are there whether the blood is in the liquid or dried state; and the diseases which had affected the electronic motions of the atomic systems would continue to affect them regardless of the molecular condition of the blood specimen. Hence it should be just as feasible to make a diagnosis from a specimen a year old as it would be to make it from a drop of blood taken from your body only a few moments before; the only difference being that the year old specimen will only disclose what your condition was up to the time it left your veins. Nor would the patient need to mention any symptoms to the examining physician, although the diagnosis might be facilitated if he should. Admitting that Dr. Abrams and his disciples may be somewhat over enthusiastic about their system, nevertheless I am not of those who see nothing but self-deception and humbuggery in the proposition. It is natural for most people to receive any unusual claim with pronounced skepticism, and characteristic for adherents of any well established school to disdain the views of a rival. But there can be no question about the fact that the Abrams instruments, in conjunction with the human nervous system, do elicit abdominal reactions. I have repeatedly witnessed them, have taken part in the experiments, and have cross questioned at length several physicians whom, I familiarly know, who have studied and are practicing the Abrams system regularly. To simply declare that all the thousand or more physicians from the medical and osteopathic professions who have adopted the 'ERA' are wicked deceivers or hypnotized dupes is a weak way to meet an important issue, and is as preposterous as it is unfair. Even if these physicians were hypnotized by Abrams while studying at his clinic, why should the spell continue with them after they return to their home cities and take up to practice? And why should they continue to enthuse, and their patients continue to come, if no result are accomplished? I do know instances where remarkable cures have certainly been effected by the system of treatment; but even if we account for the cures in some other way it it nevertheless must be admitted by any honest investigator that the diagnostic process employed by Abrams is not a hoax. Whether he correctly interprets or misinterprets the reactions which he elicits does not nullify the fact that reactions are produced; and where there is an effect there must be a competent cause. Before attempting an explanation of the scientific principle involved, the following details of the author's initial investigation (which was followed by several months of study and experimental research into the matter) will acquaint the reader with the apparatus and process of electronic diagnosis which Dr. Abrams employs. Upon arrival at the clinic I stated my purpose in few words, explaining that I am "from Missouri" decidedly averse to anything psychic or spiritistic, and that nothing but the most tangible evidence of scientific fact would be acceptable to my state of mind. "Most people bring their skepticism along with them when calling for the first time," I was told, "but unless wireless telegraphy and radio communication are psychic neither should the Abrams' instruments be so considered." Expecting to find a "mystic shrine" I was immediately disillusioned by finding the place about the same as any ordinary physicians office, with the much-talked-of Abrams apparatus in full view. For hours I sat watching the procedure as the doctor went about his usual routine. Patience was required on his part as I repeatedly stopped him to check up on something I had witnessed, and as I plied him with numerous questions and made notes of the things I heard and saw. A patient entered, a man of about fifty, accompanied by his niece. Plainly he was a sufferer from some aliment of long standing. The doctor did not question the man about his symptoms; he simply pricked the end of the patient's finger with a needle and squeezed out two or three drops of blood onto a tiny piece of white blotting paper. It was then placed alongside the Hemoglobin Scale to determine by its color its corpuscular percentage. |
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