Hulbert, Harold S.

English

Northwestern University Illinois, School of Law: Scholarly Commons

Journal of Criminal Law and CriminologyVolume 34 | Issue 4 Article 41944Calcium (Soluble) for FractiousnessHarold S. HulbertFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclcPart of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and CriminalJustice CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationHarold S. Hulbert, Calcium (Soluble) for Fractiousness, 34 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 233 (1943-1944)CALCIUM (SOLUBLE) FOR "FRACTIOUSNESS"Harold S. Hulbert2At a great inland military establishment 3 near a very large citythere are hundreds of court martial prisoners sent to serve termsof less than one year. The brig wards are largely grouped to-gether, and each contains up to 80 prisoners, the more violent anddisturbed prisoners being kept in cells.Many prisoners are there for infractions of discipline. If frac-tious there, there is no point in resentencing them for furtherdiscipline while they are refractory.The prison camp management is superior. A medical officercommands intelligently and progressively. His staff of line andstaff officers and of non-commissioned officers-chiefs and pettyofficers--are sincerely determined that if they themselves can notgo to sea or to the front they will reclaim for the service as manyas possible of these prisoners, "salvage them," and send them backto duty. To a friendly visitor their attitude is beautiful.Once while visiting the commander he discussed with me thecase of a boy who "blew his top." Several officers and chiefs werein the office with us and engaged in the conversation. These oldtime chiefs are remarkable men, each invalided ashore for physicalreasons like rheumatic heart, sequels of complicated malaria, ar-terial disease, etc., each in the prime of life, each experienced inthe ways and needs of the fleet, and each crying his heart out thathe is "beached."The boy under discussion had been fretful for days, "off hisfeed," restless, irritable, sensitive, touchy, rude, quarrelsome, tookgreat offense at trifles, and grew progressively more restless andemotional. Had he been a girl and not a prisoner an aunt wouldhave said the child was on the verge of tears and of a tempertantrum. Being a boy he could not cry his heart out-he did notknow how nor could he allow himself to do so; being a prisoner hecould not be sent for long walks about Uncle Charlie's farm and onrainy days to putter about the machinery repair shop of the"smithy" there, meanwhile overfed and comforted by Aunt Clara.The storm clouds gathered: his condition worsened with sleeplessnights. To be manly he did not complain but pretended to be asleep.Finally the tempest broke: he had a male temper tantrum; he wassurly, insubordinate, disobedient, "on strike," fighting prisoners1 No. 1. War Penology Series.2 An editor of this Journal, and formerly Lieut., M.C., USNRF, ConsultingPsychiatrist, Chicago.3 Identity deleted because this is a current and not a past military episode.233HAROLD S. HULBURTand petty officers too. This tended to impair the discipline andrehabilitative efforts of the ward.In discussion it was brought out that this was not the first of-fense of this prisoner, and that "blowing the top" was a prisonproblem still unsolved.I said, "Two will get you five that he is immature in body, ofnon-athletic type, relatively hairless, thin and thin faced; X-rayswould show poor calcium deposits in the bones of the skull, andblood chemistry tests would show low blood calcium." I said fur-ther, "Low blood calcium children are overly irritable; they overlyreact to irritation, their nervous systems are super-irritable, andhence their physiology is awry at the same time their blood calciumis 6specially deficient. A four and a half year old boy, found later tohave low blood calcium, was annoyed by his toddling two year oldsister when she kicked his electric train tracks, so he dropped herout of the window. They lived on the second floor. This illustratesreactions of over-irritability from triffing provocation."I was asked: "What can we do? We can not X-ray all thesemen. We can not do the blood chemistry tests. By the way, thisboy is largely as you surmised."Reply: "Calcium conjugates firmly with phosphoric acid.There is no point in trying to get calcium into nerve cells by givingcalcium phosphate compounds, although that is a useful form inrickets and for broken bones. Calcium lactate is too weak and oflimited usefulness. However calcium glucose compounds areloosely conjugated and are soluble and are effective in these casesprovided it is given at the proper times and time intervals."The chiefs were very attentive, one especially."Because a soluble calcium salt would combine in the stomachwith any food except water or orange juice, become insoluble andhence of no effect in sedating the nerves, calcium gluconate mustbe given when the stomach has been without food for an houror more; and because it is slow to absorb no food may be takenfor an hour or more after chewing a calcium gluconate tabletand washing it down with plenty of water or orange juice."If calcium were to be given daily the blood calcium value wouldfirst rise (positive phase), but subsequently it would fall (nega-tive phase). Therefore it must be given with several days intervalto boost, but not lower, the amount of calcium in the blood andconsequently in the nerve cells."The recommended procedure is this. 1 Tablet of CalciumGluconate at 10 A. M. Tuesday and another at 3 P. M. Tuesday;one at 10 A. M. Friday and another at 3 P. M. Friday. In severecases 10 A. M. and 3 P. M. Tuesday and 10 A. M. Wednesday; and10 A. M. and 3 P. M. Friday and 10 A. M. Saturday: three, notCALCIUM FOR "FRACTIOUSNESS"two, doses per course. Two courses per week, 3 or 4 days apart;there is no magic about Tuesday and Friday, I simply used them toillustrate the time interval."About four months later I visited the establishment again. Onechief, having heard of my presence hunted me up and said, "Doc-tor, do you remember telling the commander about using calciumgluconate tablets for prisoners when they 'blew their tops?' Well,I tried it just exactly as you said. Now I don't have that troubleon my wards. They are brighter too; they are quieter and happierand work more and better. No fighting. Sometimes a boy willsend for me or say as I come around, 'Chief, I'm geting jittery andI'm afraid I'll "blow my top." May I have some more of thatcalcium?' I give it to him, 3 doses, and every few days later 2doses; and he doesn't blow his top. My wards are quiet and moremen are learning what they need to learn to get ready to go (back)to the fleet. I think all Navy and other prisons should know aboutit and use it just as you told us." The other chiefs present agreed.The officers later confirmed this.Such results could be prognosticated. Some wealthy quiet daya great university, I very.hopefully predict, will conduct a largeseries of tests measuring the blood chemistry including blood andserum calcium content of fractious prisoners in penal institutions,city jails, and juvenile detention homes before and after calciumgluconate medication and parallel such data with reports on con-duct. Until then we have the reliable estimates of the chiefs andof the prisoners who ask for calcium gluconate now lest they"blow their tops."

Calcium (Soluble) for Fractiousness

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Calcium (Soluble) for Fractiousness

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