Anthropoi Kakoi!

Marching two-by-two, 40 terrified schoolchildren of Kesarion, suburb of Athens, were chivied along the sidewalk last week. The older children clenched their hands bravely beneath their black pinafores. The younger howled lustily and unashamed. They were going to the hospital. It was useless for patient teachers to explain that they were merely going to the hospital to have their eyes examined in accordance with the Government's physical culture program. To children of all Balkan countries, "hospital" is a most terrible word. "Hospital" is where you die, where they torture children, cut off their ears, put out their eyes.

Wails increased as the children reached the clinic. A harried interne herded them into a reception room, summoned two large and phlegmatic hospital orderlies.

"Wipe their noses," he ordered, "spray their eyes with boric acid solution, and send them in to me one at a time. Boric acid solution, you understand, in the big jar."

Clinic orderlies are used to screams and struggles. Moving resolutely among the obstreperous children the orderlies filled eye-sprays from a big jar, seized children by the scruff of the neck, vigorously sprayed their eyes.

" (bad men)" cried the children. "It burns! It burns!"'

"Stand still!" bellowed the orderlies. "No, it doesn't burn! It's good for you!" Suddenly a little boy screamed sharply, "I cannot see! It burns, it burns!"

Doctors came running from consulting rooms, halted in horror. The 40 children, writhing in agony, their eyes burnt black, were blinded for life. The ignorant orderlies had filled the eye-sprays not with boric acid solution, but with a concentrated solution of silver nitrate kept for the treatment of infectious eye diseases.

Athenian police, casehardened, made no move to arrest the carbolic spraying orderlies. But a mob collected around the Ministry of Health. Scared officials ordered the police to arrest not only the orderlies but also all doctors and nurses.

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