The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-14
PHILANTHROPIC CONFERENCE.
Papers Read at Battle Creek Show
ing the Evils of Mankind.

Battle Creek, Mich, Oct 13.-At to-day's
session of the civic philanthropic confer
ence, DR.. Baker, secretary of the Michigan
board of health, read a paper on DUTY of
National, State and Municipal Govern
ments in Relation to Public Health" He
said that the causes of disease must first
be known before 1t becomes possible to
guard against them. Mans disease is
his brothers. keeper, and cooperation of
all classes is needed for the restriction of
disease Purity of water supply was
necessity of supreme importance, and all
water should be boiled.
Prof. O'Malley of Notre Dame Unver-
Sty read a paper on the prevention of con-
tagious diseases in the city Many cases
called diphthe he asserted, were I'M
justly quarantIned. He held that physi-
clans should be appointed to examine
threats of children in schools periodically,
and gave instructions for care of patients
and modes of disinfection. The steam dis
infectant plants, though expensive, were
effective for cities. Coins should be boiled
and all paper money disinfected with car
bolic acid.
AT the afternoon session, Dr. Kress of
the sanitarium of this city made some
bold charges. His paper was on the rela-
ton of habits of life to chronic diseases.
Both acute and chronic diseases he claim
ed are due to evil habits and, owing to
bad living of people, are on the increase in
this country People are becoming degen-
crate, and one of the chief means of pro-
ducing this national condition is the uni
versal practice of beer drinking. Tobac-
co, he asserted, is also a national curse,
and a majority of the patent medicines
and many drugs in common use are de-
leterious. Meat eating also produces dis
eases.
A paper on the question, Are We
Dying Race" was read by DR.. j. H KEEL
logg of this city, caused something of a
sensation. DIR. Kellogg said 'Notwith-
standing our marvellous Accommodations of
wealth and wisdom, we are certainly go
ing down physically toward race extinc-
ton. This assertion will doubtless APP
pear in the highest degree reckless and
perhaps, absurd, in face of the wel-known
fact that the average length of human
life has been doubled within the last two
centuries. But vital statistics are not the
true measure of the constitutional vigor
of the race; the average length of life
does not represent the vital capacity of
the race. The true measure is the num-
Der Of individuals per thousand or million
who attain great age.
Public sanitation, quarantine laws and
general hygienic regulations serve a most
useful purpose In the prevention of epi-
demic and endemic diseases, but these in
nuenceS, at the same time, serve to Keep
alive a great number of physically weak
people and worthless human beings, who
would otherwise he carried off by acute
disease, natures method of securing the
survival of the fittest.
at IS high time society gave more seri-
Gus attention to the great class Of bank
rupts by heredity, from which springs the
greater share of crimes and criminals,
cranks, lunatics. fanatics and imbeciles.
THE remedy is to be found IN the cult
walton Of private hygiene More attention
must be given to the training of the indi-
vidual; men and women must be made 20
see that the present conditions Of our
modern civilizations are anti-natural and
tend to the deterioration Of the vital pow
ers and the development of disease.
80 long as man regards his body as a
harp of pleasure TO be played upon while
it's strings can be made to respond, so
long will he continue to travel down the
hill of physical decadency and degenera-
ton in spite of quarantine laws and the
most minute sanitary regt1la lions