The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-05-08


sjp detail, / VIII only consider the nor
i important points and produce som som
4 facts and figures, which may be hcltf,
y In your deliberations.
n First Of ali. / wish It to be DISTINCT
understood that my action does not pro
coed from the desire to retain the f,ost
X tloli Of president of tho Board of Health
held W me for ogtteer1 Years da mere IS,
tried to do With the limited means a
my disposal. In this work l have beci
assisted by&two gentlemen. cuch Of wiion
receives the pltta1nca OF one h NJ "n,n
pensatlon my colleagues have gone be-
yond their specified duties. rendering cN
pert assistance aud hazarding. their lives
Iii the diagnosis. and suppression OF con
4 taEieus diseases.
credit to Dr, Levy, who complied the
report, and WHO Ineorporated la, at e ,15t
one or two original paragraphs t1is 4
Work is excellent, and deserves praise
n finder the heading Organization nnd
Ordinances, tho committee announce
& that no member Of the board ms ms re-,
necessary to make n good public health
officer 1t is true that none Of the mem
btrs have attended schools OF Technology.
but they keep IN touch with me latest
sanitary and hyglcnc thought through
literature and observation, and each Is
az well posted ms the average official
occupying q similar position.
tSIaAI Inc ordinances governing tuc aHthilil
department have never been complied
II In n distinct volume, but are interspcrsed
among others in the city code. The
board. however. Is sufficiently cogniSant
Of the laws 10 have them enforced when
ever the means are available. 70 make
E new ordinances without insurlng their
enforcement is only to teach people to
disregard law.
Death Certificates.
Under tile heading Vital Statistics,
numerous criticisms nrn made. 1t is
completely filed out. but they probably
contained all the data that tho doctors
i could secure, and could not demand
more. In ell the wears that certificates
have been collected they have never fall
Is ed to fulfill their civil and criminal ends.
! They also show the causes Of death
clearly enough for us to ascertain what
diseases may BIO cradicated. =
In tho zeal of he committee to pick
flaws, many correct certificates were ln-
Justly criticised. have some with me
Tonight. Frequently 1t was said Of
certificate that no age was given when
the dates Of birta and denth were. plainly
recorded. Given these figures. It does
not require an expert mathematician 20
compute the ago. Again. It was com
planned that the names Of institutions
such as st. ,Luke's, the Memorial, the
Retreat or the Virginia Hospital were
not recorded; but the numbers and names
OF the streets were always given, and a
wayfaring man. though Il fool. coltd not
objections were made to some SO, Of the
viously q point beyond our control. There
is no law. prohibiting an osteeaath, for
example, from signing u certificate. We
fully appreciate tho value of death GER
! tifca ties. and we maintain that all in
formation that can reasonably be do
mandcd can be obtained from the docu-
ments in the office,
Although I admit the Justice Of some
Of the criticisms, many 1norc were un-.
just. unreasonable, and Of no practical
value.
The number Of still births In Rich
mond Is enormous Hundreds Of such
cases have been referred to the coro.
ner for investigation, but recall no
s seen to estcss s 9 se arc
Health, yet he has given us no as
sstance or recommendations In all
salary of $4,000 year.
Contagious Diseases. \
AS people are not allowed to roam at
large with contagious diseases, We can
as regards diphtheria, scarlet fever. |
smallpox and the like In the last ten
years there have been only nineteen |
fever. In the last eleven eve Years there
have been one hundred and forty-two
DEATHS from diphthern, Of which eighty
5cfghtswere white and ffty-four c~.torod J
These figures are about as low as those
Of any city in the country. One reason
is that the Board Of Health supplied |
antitoXin to every person who could not |
buy It, and tho doctors promptly in
jected this potent remedy without walt
ing for meteorological examination to |
be made.
There have been five hundred
the hospital from March 6, 1899, to April
IS, 1906. One hundred Of these were
from the county. and the city was re-
imbursed for their maintenance. There |
were only twenty-one deaths among all |
patients. city and county included
Seven years ago over $4,000 people were |
vaccinated at one time III other words,
a general vaccination was conducted
vaccination has been done. from time to
time. at the discretion of the board.
The question has arisen regarding q
stricter quarantine OF these infectious
diphtheria. smallpox. measles, whooping
cough, etc, infcst the streets for days
before seeing n physician. BY tho timo.
the doctor is called In the patients symp
himself, but long before this tho dam
age has been done. do not wish to be
understood as opposing the quarantine
ing of sufferers from contagious Diseases.
but believe where one persons con-
tracts a disease from a patient who has
gone to bed. ninctynine arc infected
without knowing they have como in
contact with case.
Fresh air is certainly the best pre-
ventivc, and where diseases arc uuaran-
:lned. the more thorough the ven,ia-
Sion. the quicker the germs will die.
Tulnigation, OF course, should be rigidly
practced G'
. 1t is claimed that In dlphtherla re-
lease cultures should be made. This
means that the throat he mopped out and
the mop sent to the city bacterlologlst,
and the examination repeated after ali
Clinical vestises of the disease hNvc dis
al peared.
- have ADOPTED 1'lis plan on several
occasions. 1T has not gone into regular
execution because the hoard thought It
best TO walt until the physicians were
assured Of the good results of the pro-
cedure, AS the germs are frequently
found in tho threats of apparently
healthy people. who carry them to others
more susceptible, 1t is we'll to consider
20 what lengths these precautions should
be carried.
In Doctors Throat.