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

very difficult problem 70 solve, ana any
community viii so state I am sure.
10 quote further: "The record OF the
location Of cases Ct infectious diseases
is not kept, according to m: system elf
important points" MY answer to this is
4 the board cotld not Indulge In l,lxlrles,
y This record would certainly entail IN II.
to the Board Of Health is not even elect
cd by that body, and performs the duties
Of three or four men now, we could not
| keep this record, and the cAllmittee cer-
tainly must know this statement to be
| true.
Paragraph I, page s. says: Hence we
| arc not surprised to find that no syste-
! matte and really efficient means. found
cd on correct conceptions Of the origin OF
Einfectious diseases, arc taken to check
| ttllcir spread
Paragraph 8, same page, says: ."Edu-
cation Of the public In sanitary matters
1,byS special circulars, newspaper articles.
lectures, and so on. Is now recognized rs
d legitimate and valuable adjunct In the
| fight against disease" 1T further says
| that this field has been entirely neglected
by d the mealth Departmle r, H. CON
thorough"
Attaches No Value.
) The members Of Me Board of Health,
are s51nen OF good education. outside OF
They all possess academic de-
sgrees AND sare certninly4of average medi-
cal Intelligence. They do consider that
| they have MS good conceptions OF the
origin of 5infectious diseases as any menu
Der of the committee. q They. have taken
all means possible to check the spread OF
same. No city In the South. or II The
years ye any better than Rlchmond-very
|. few as we'll. I simply cite. snrall-po as
BECAUSE g. rea or cir II
+ As, regards education. in sanitary mat
tiers, personally, attach no GYalpe. to
same Popular lectures on theseSsqbjects
matters are. concerned, we could not in
dulge In these luXures.
ganlzed campaign against tuberculosis
has ben conducted by the Health Depart
mentI The very higi, death rate from
consumptio'n I Is !, but the natural conse-
This IS 4 entirely q aoE !; asse :,
spirit and INTACT. The Board Of
MSah FOR tn soia
~ tion3rend segregation and treatment
or eGtubcrculcS.s, and as the writer "a
~ stated toEthis committee. his idea as
Recommendation.
AS regards the so-callcd high death rate
In Richmond from tuberculosis, desire
to say that tho death rate from tuber-
practically the same-that Is, there is one
death from this disease to every six or
eight OF all deaths. Tuberculosis Is no
more fatal In this community than IN any
other, and my authority for this assertion
is founded on articles from Nothnagles
Encyclopedia of Medicine and the works
of Tyson Anders. Strumpell, and the
mosi s spenK,ng "eo World Dr.. William
tOsler. Of Oxford. If these gentlemen are
correct, then your committees assertion
Is wrong. Tuberculosis Is, theoretically.
so practically when isolated dhe reason
for isolation being, Of course, to remove
the source of infectlon) and treated In a
properly equipped sanitorium. All medi-
cal authorities with which the writer Is
acquainted agree on this point,
Is Up to the Police.
Paragraph II SAYS: "rhere are city and
State laws prohibiting expectoration on
the sidewalks and in public places but
these are not enforced. :" The city ordl-
nance In regard to expe Pc, states .a
1t shall be the duty Of the. chile. of police
to see that this ordinance Is enforced 1t
is absurd for the committee, under the
circumstances, to crltlclsc the Health
l' Para graph 1e says: Numerous wells
and springs are used in various parts
Of tho city," and so on. It further says
TO correct this evil. The Board of Health
has, as far as In Its power lay, closed
many wells and springs. but 1t has not
had the power, and has mot t. the power at
and springs within the city limits. and
this tho committee must have known, and
in Justice to tho board It certainly should
not have ccnsured them for power
which they did not possess.
Paragraph ID says: Mosquitoes are
recognized as means OF conveying GER
tain diseases. No attempt has been made
breeding places of these pests or to con-
troll their propagation" and so on
desire to say IN answer that In my sec;-
ton Of the city have ,i nsh numerous u
served as breeding places for MOSQUITOES;
drained, and several years ago The board
utilized al the money they had (Which
for the purchase of oil for just this pur-
poso at several points In the West End
The committee was equally negligent In
ti lice that Tie board had no money to carry
on this work In any detailed degree.
What Has Been Done,
AS the president of the Board of Health
will probably answer this report In morelI
detail, will conclude with the statementi|
Of q few points that have come under myf|
observation as to the good work whichiI
the Health Department has done since
the writer has been, member Of same,
and would preface these remarks by say
ing that 1t appears to me to be, to say |
the least. rather peculiar that the COM
mittee was 80 sngularlX silent ms regards
anything good accomplished by the pres
ent board.
In 1sOO-'9l tho writer was partly nstru.
mental in securing the establish,,ment Of
Statistics In the office of the Board Of
Health show that the death rate In Rich |
mond has been reduced several hundred a |
year since the creation of this depart
ment; diphtheria and tetanuss antitoxin
furnished free to, the poor for several
years and many lives doubtless thereby
saved
In 1892 the writer made strenuous efforts
to secure the establishment of n depart
ment on food and milk supplies, the de-
tails of which It Is not necessary to so
into now, and every year thereafter,
until 1901. when such department was
crented did all he could t. secure Its es-