The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-12-09
Members of Wayne County An
ti-TubercuIosis Society Be-
Iieve This Statement True
In All Respects.
RENEWED ENERGY MANI
FEST IN CAMPAIGN,
Said If People Do Not Do All in
Their Power to Prevent Dis
ease They Are Not Perform
ing Duties of Citizenship.


The Wayne county anti-tuberculosis
society, has inaugurated one of the
stiffest campaigns against the on
slaughts of the dread disease, that has
ever been attempted in this city or
county. Statistics STOW that this
county is affected more than many
others in the state and the organiza-
ton claims to have good grounds for
renewed energy along lines directed
toward benefiting conditions. That it
is a religious duty to fight the disease
that others may be protected against
its ravages, is thought by all mem
bers of the organization. That peO-
pie may be impressed with the duty
which falls upon them, the society has
asked the Palladium 20 publish the
following in which this feature is
brought forcibly to the minds of all.
"TubercuIosis and Religion"
THE famous French physicist. Pas
teur, believed that it was in the power
of man to make all infectious diseases
disappear from the world. Special
isis today are at one with this opinion,
at least in so far as the great white
plague or tuberculosis is concerned.
This disease, popularity known under
the names of consumption. decline,
scrofula, marasmus, wasting disease,
hamilton, lupus, hip joint disease and
white swelling,' is caused by micros-
cOpic disease germs which are carried
from one to another III little particles
of waste and enter the body with the
food, or are inhaled with the breath,
The whole life history of these little
lmicro-organismS has been carefully
studied and it is now known that they
can easily be collected and destroy
ed
With some the old idea that tuber-
culosis is inherited Sill prevails, but
nothing is more untrue. No new
case of tuberculosis can arise without
an old one If, therefore, you can
absolutely avoid every source Of in
fectiOn you are safe whatever predis-
posing cause you NAV labor under.
All specialists on the subject now tell
us that with little care and the per-
feet cooperation of the public, the
disease can be completely stamped
out in one generation, and forever
| banished from the world. They re-
! peatedly assure us that mans power
| to control the spread Of the disease is
absolute He can do this, too, with
out depriving himself of any of the
comforts or Of the companionship of
his relatives and friends Nor is this
all, for many cases can be permanent
ly cured where proper care is taken in
time. Yet in the face of these facts.
| tuberculosis is the most common
cause of death in civilized society to-
day and notwithstanding the persis-
tent appeals of a few heroic souls
who are alive to the possibility of it's
control and eradication. and notwith-
standing some helpful laws in a few
of the states, the disease continues
to spread, and the general public re-
mains peacefully Indifferent. Here is
situation where ignorance is folly
and inaction sinful.
THE new industrial conditions and
the specialization Of labor of the pre-
sent day increase the possibilities for
spreading the disease, and bring new
responsibilities for disseminating ae-
curate knowledge, and exercising add
ed care. When food stuffs were
grown close to the consumer and
cooked by a member Of the household
| few peO . handle them, and the
chance of their being contaminated by
diseased persons and infected cars or
store-rOOms was much lessened To-
day nearly every article of clothing
and food is handled by at least ten
persons where it was handled by one
a generation ago. The recent agita-
! ton concerning the careless methods
prevailing in some of the large meat
packing houses is the revelation of a
case in point, which vivdly illustrates
the possibilities for infection which
our intricate system of modern living
affords
And these new possibilities involve
moral questions to which We cannot
shut our eyes. The health and well
being of ourselves and our children
| depend upon our care, forethought
| and cooperation. At the present time
the gulf between the accurate knowl-
edge of the expert on the one hand
and the general practice of the COM
/ mon people on the other. is the great
obstacle in the way of progress; yet
| the means of relief are so simple. and
the result OF proper care so far-reach-
! ing, that it become religious duty TO
| help bridge the chasm. To many the
| tuberculosis question may seem a lit
tie foreign to religious life, but when
we realize that ignorance and neglect
may deprive us and our family, or our
neighbor and his family, Of health.
and in some cases, of life. we become
aware-possibly painfully aware-that
it falls within the pale Of the Ten
| Commandments; and casual study
of the conditions which exist in many
homes and factories in which our
clothes are made and our foods pre-