Henry Baird Favill, AB, MD, LL.D., 1860-1916, a ... - University Library

MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 335
to consider the various manifestations of fatigue as merely
matters of degree. The wear and tear upon the organism
comes in so many ways and through such various phases
that it is hardly comprehensible if we simply treat it as a
gradation. We assume that an individual who is tired will
recuperate with rest. Under the simplest conditions this
is true. It is not conceivable that there is a degree of
fatigue which has no structural relation. The fact that
our means of observation are not sufficient to show us
what the structural change is, merely argues our limitation.
It is to assume that even the simplest fatigue has a change
in cellular structure which under ordinary' circumstances
rapidly returns to the normal.
It is undoubtedly true that
conditions of prolonged tax with exhaustion produce structural
cellular change which does not easily or rapidly return
to the normal. Between these extremes there are doubtless
all degrees, but our practical questions can not rest
upon a simple schematic basis like that. We have got to
weigh and measure fatigue as related to the specific conditions
under which it occurs. The problem is individual
in each instance. The character of work, age, sex, vitality,
and material conditions of the worker must be weighed
together.
It is not a mechanical problem, it is not a mere physical
problem. It is distinctly a human problem in which the
interrelation of physical, mental, and industrial needs must
be intelligently interpreted.
Doubtless this interpretation will proceed irregularly
and unsymmetrically along the lines of least resistance.
We have seen this clearly foreshadowed in the movement
against child labor, followed markedly by the movement
to limit the labors of women. These in turn will be succeeded
by movements arising as the necessity for them becomes
more obvious. Nevertheless, no single movement
along these lines can be regarded as final, nor even very
useful except as it establishes beyond question recognition