Arizona republican., 1907-09-16

" dSd4 WIN ulStdStS. lOf
he served through numerous cholera
and yellow fever epidemics, had COM
mand of the medical service in the
war with Spain and was a member
and secretary of the Havana yellow
Fever commission of the national
| board of health in 1879.
General Sternberg. whose writings
III the science of preventive medicine
are recognized as those of one of the
worlds foremost authorities, in an ar
| ticle which appears among this year =
publications of George Washington
university. shows that the modern
sCinetific warfare against disease is
being carried on in all parts of the
world. Americans have conquered
yellow fever in its home I'm the tropics.
on the other side Of the globe Japan's
war with Russia revealed how well
the little brown men could do In keep
ing their soldiers safe from attacks by
disease. and giving the lie to ihe old
assertion that more men are killed in
war b. sickness than by bullets. 1t is
interesting to note. in this connection
that 1t was a Japanese. trained in the
laboratory Of the famous Professor
Koch Of Berlin. who discovered the
minute bacillus which is the cause of
the plague. for centuries the worlds
greatest scourge. Statements of the
mortality in epidemics Of plague seem
scarcely believaole in these days Of
the twentieth century. SiXty-eight
thousand people died of the disease in
London in 1865: $1,000 died in Vienna
in 1873: II killed 10000 in Stockholm
in 1904. \ brief epidemic in central
Europe in III is estimated to have
caused a mortality of 100000. Even
in the present century, the plague
caused thousands of deaths in China
but its spread was finally checked. In
the Philippines. where the disease pre-
vailed to a considerable extent when
our troops took possession of the
islands. it has been practically exter-
minated through the efforts of the
medical officers Of the army.
The story o{ the triumohs Of the
men who believe In the ounce of pre-
Vention rather than the pound of cure
is graphically told by another set of
figures. DIR. Sternberg finds that. ac-
cording to the best estimates, the av-
erage length of human life In the six
teenth century was less than 90 years.
At the present time, it H. more than
twice as long and during the past %
years the average duration of life
has ben heightened by about six years.
During the first IS years of the past
century. the vital statistics of the city
of London showed n mortality of about
% to thousand. At the present time
the motality i'm that great city has
been reduced from Il to l9 per thou
sand. Even more notable results have
been obtained in many parts of the
world as knowledge and
methods i'm the prevention Of infec-
tious diseases have increased and i'm
proved and as hygienic conditions
have been bettered.
Notwithstanding the story told by
such statistics. there is plenty of
work ahead for the experts in the
prevention Of disease. The census
bureau found that more than $4,000
people died of typhoid in the United
States in 1900. According to the CEN
sus returns there were lIl.OOO deaths
from tuberculosis in the same year
and it is probable that the total num-
Der was at least $4,000. Yet with in
creasing numbers of young men
preventive medicine in
schools such as that maintained by
the George Washington university.
with greater public knowledge of SAN
itation and with improved conditions
Of living. the triumDhs of the past
will be surpassed by the victories Of
the future. So the doctor who never
makes cure will be one Of the most
useful members Of the community.
devOting his lie To- research work and
/" service on boards OF health and
similar bodies.