The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-04-20
WHITE PLAGUE" IS
4 GURABLE DISEASE
Demonstrated That It Is Com
municable, Preventable and
Durable. !

Consumption is familiar to every.
one. The doctors call it Tuberculosis
of the lungs The disease is wide.
spread, but chiefly found in centres
Of population, in the cities. In Great
er New York there are today 10000
cases, mainly in persons between the
ages Of Is and As, the period Of great
est activity and usefulness. In fact
of all men dying between these ages
nearly one-third die of tuberculosis.
Disease Not Hereditary.
Formerly 1t was thought that the
disease was hereditary, "in the blood"
as the saying goes. It was believed
that any child Of a consumptive father
or mother was almost sure to develop
tuberculosis Of the lungs later in life.
That is not so. Such a child may
start out with a poor stock Of viality
and with a lessened amount of re-
sistance, but never with seeds of the
disease in the system. Brought up
under favorable conditions and with
proper oversight, a child born of con-
sumpt1ve parents may pass through
life in the enjoyment of fair good
health.
In fact, the old time mystery about
consumption has been swept away.
We now know three things: First,
the disease is COMMUNICABLE that
Is to say, 1t is communicated from
person to person; second, it is PRE-
VENTABLE to a large extent by the
exercise Of reasonable care and the
observance of few simple precau-
;rJ z IL,
the majority of cases, if treated in
time, completely and lastingly cur
able,
Cause Of Consumption.
The only direct cause of consump-
tion is the entrance and growth in the
lungs of a certain microscopic organ
ism Cor gem or microbe, to use fam
iliar names) called the Bacillus Tu-
berculosis. When this germ is pre-
sent in the lungs in sufficient numbers
it produces small or larger disease
centres; these centres of disease in
crease in extent and finally cause
much destruction of the substance OF
the lung.
From the lungs of a consumptive
large numbers Of these germs may be
coughed up and spit out. Ordinarily
the majority Of them perish, especially
If they be exposed to fresh air and
sunshine. But 1t is possible for some
to enter Immediately the lungs Of
other people and produce centres of
lie around in damp places, or be blown
disease; or part of the germs may
about in room dust and street dust,
Tor days ana even for weeks: Indeed.
this is the way in which consumption
is spread; both: adults and children
acquire it by breathing in the dried
matter from the lungs of those who
already have the disease.
Contributory Causes.
The conditions under which, some
people live render them more liable
to consumption. Dust and dirt, and
darkness and dampness, as found in
many tenements; old dwellings,; and
farm houses:. insufficient food, food Of
poor quality and badly cooked; neg
lect of personal cleanliness; intemper-
ance; all these are contributing fac
tors. The surroundings in which many
adults and children are compelled to
work-as in some shops and stores,
in cellars, in tenement rooms and
sweatshops-are prejudicial to health.
Dusty work, like coal mining, sorting
feathers and cigar making; occupa-
tions in which the worker bends for
ward and congresses the chest, as in
type setting and shoe cobbling; work
that puts a strain upon the lungs,
like glass blowing; all these predis-
pose to the disease by taking away
from the body part Of its natural
powers Of resistance. So too do the
custom of keeping windows closed and
of overheating the rooms in which
we live and work. #
Children are often consumptive. The
little children take the disease readily
because they play on the floor and on
the ground in the dust; they raise
dust; they inhale the germ laden dust.
and they put their dirty fingers in
their mouths. Parents and others who
are consumptive fondle and kiss the
little ones; this, too, is a source OF
peril. If q child is noticed to become
easily tired, to have pale cheeks and
eyes unnaturally bright, to cough, and
to grow thin, take warning. Go and
see a doctor. Begin treatment early
with children, for the disease in them
is twice as durable as it is in older
people. M