Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-16
| TUBERCULOSIS CASES
Preparing for Active Campaign
to Secure Legislation.
INFORMATION DISSEMINATED
Committee on Prevention Of Consump-
ton at Work.
COMPULSORY REGISTRATION
Details Incidental to Combating the
Disease-Result of General In
quiry-Booklet Issued.

Preparing for an active campaign dur
ing the present session Of Congress to Sc
cure the enactment of law providing for
the compulsory registration of cases OF
| tuberculosis in the District Of Columbia,
and also to more widely disseminate In
formation on the subject, the committee on
the preventing of consumption has pub
lished booklet covering all phases Of the
work to date. 1t contains a complete
record Of the proceedings Of the committee,
including the adoption of the report of the
minority of the subcommittee appointed to
consider the subject of compulsory reports
and registration of all cases Of tuberculosis
in the District, a copy of the bill introduced
as Commissioners bill in both houses of
Congress- a number of letters on the subject
from health authorities in all parts Of the
country and a summary of the status Of
the question Of free examination of sputum
| in suspected cases of tuberculosis in princi-
pal cities of the United States. =.
According to the subcommittee report the
committee the prevention of consump-
| ton went on record as being in favor of the
compulsory registration of cases of pull
| monary tuberculosis nearly three years ago,
| when on January %, 1904, 1t adopted two
resolutions introduced by Gen. George NJ.
| Sternberg. One specified that physicians
practicing medicine in the District of Co.
! lumbia should be required to notify the
| health officer Of the name, age, color and
| address Of every case Of pulmonary tuber-
culOsis coming under their professional
| care as soon as the diagnosis is estab lished."
Examination Of Sputum.
The other resolution carried the recon-
mendation to the District Commissioners
mat the nealth- oi'cer pe empowered 10
u1'oer'ahe 'iie ilee examination Oh sputu"
on request IN al cases "nere the existence
lac
| quently Dr. woodward, who was then
| chairman OF the committee, addressed let
| tiers to the two medical societies OF the
District asking their opinion concerning the
| matter and the action to be taken in case
registration OF cases should become an &C
compllsned !act. ADout eleVen months later
the MEDICAL society OF the District re-
| ported the passage OF resolution calllng
| upon the health omcer TO prepare printed
matter concerning the metnod OF prevention
in cases of tuberculosis. which should be
| furnished TO the medical profession for dis
tribution as they might think advisable.
sui iater IMAM that the Homeopathic Medl-
! cal society recommended ponce census,
and while it was being taken that physi-
| clans should report cases OF tuberculosis
AT meeting June i, 1900, 1t Is set forth,
| the matter again came up, and. instead OF
| reanrmlng It's previous actlon, the COM
mittee appointed the subcommittee to ascer-
in other cities In it's preliminary work
the subcommittee spent six months investi-
| satIne me situa.toh In eishey -nve OF tue
| course Of which II addressed a form Of in
quiry comprising questions bearing upon
| every detail of the work incidental to
cesiloat M cohsuLip 'ioh u ehe clilel health
|
Result of General Inquiry.
| The r.su,+ of +b;s ganaraI ;no,,ir,, mo q
me resui' VI 'ms sehelai inquiry was
| repoi'eu' III paa - 40 ioiio"''
"Of the eighty-hve cities covered Wash
| ington Is the hfteenth In size: only Chicago
| and New Orleans, OF those larger, do not
! require compulsory reports. Chicago ex-
| cuses itself because II is too poor, and the
health authority in New Orleans seems tc
be following the lead of a physician who Is
I opposed to the present belief that tuber'
| culosis Is caused by bacillus and who Is
SO far wrong In his facts In this matter
as to cite Chicago as one of the examples
ineffective.
| aside from Chicago and New Orleans
the only cities having more than 125,OOt
which have no law requiring compulsory
| reports are Newark, Jersey City, kansa:
City and Denver
| 'Of the cities having 10000 and over, Of
which there are fifty-six besides Washing
ton. 20 per cent have laws making report:
| of cases of tuberculosis compulsory, anG
only in the twenty mine smaller cities does
x..,;, p.,or+. br;r.+e
Aeepins "ePoi's
| LAS to keeping the reports private, thirty
| cities state distinctly that reports are KEEP,
,,ri,,ot 70 and that they have no dificn,tv II
\ go, -. -. 49,, ..-
Kent private, and two, that they have ne
| difficulty in keeping them private.
| las to the free examination of sputum
the returns show that this is provided fol-
| by the city authoritles; or IN some cases o!
o tS exa ~, s free for those whl
are too poor to pay for it, making sixty ir
| all. There is no provision for free exami
| nation in twelve. and no reply to this ques
ton has been received from the other thir
| teen.
DIR Herman Biggs, medical officer of The
| New York health department., writes:
LAT the present time 1 cannot conceive
of there being one single valid objection
to the regulation requiring the reporting o.
cases of tuberculosis. The practica bility
and value of this procedure has been def
nitely and positively established by our ex