Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-01

get their patients 70 take ordinary pre-
cautions and he thought that the time and
money spent in registration could be em-
ployed to better advantage in improving
tho sanitary conditions Of the poor: DE-.
Carr said that udne-tenths Of al! people had
tuberculosis At sometime in their lives.
The average man contracts It and gets
over It. as ne does a bad cold. Hardly q
case comes to the dissecting table that does
not show tuberculosis lesion that has
cured itself. II q man IL In a healthy COM
disease. II he is run down, he win have
to fight it and ths two things then TO b
done are to elevate the state Of his health,
and. for the protection Of those around him.
prevent the gathering OF disease germs In
large degree In his surroundingg.
DR.. Carr claimed Il was practically cer-
tain that II q healthy man should sleep
In an infected room whore tubercular germs
were in great numbers he would get the
disease. He thought the best thing to do
would be to take care of the children Of
the poor. give them light. freedom, good
would do more to cut down the rate of
mortality than registration and examina-
ton Of patients.
Dr. Custis. speaking for one Of the medi-
cal societies. said that the medical societies
have yielded to all the demands of the
board of health, but the only reason Of
fered In this case for the Interference Of the
National Society for the Study and Bre-
vention Of tuberculosis was that It was In
behalf Of the education Of the people on
the subject He spoke sarcastically of the
'misled enthusiasm of self-appointed phi
lanthropists." and declared that the bill un.
der consideration cannot be enforced II
enacted into law. He objected to the bill
because 1t would tag members Of families
and operate to their disadvantage in seek
ing employment and homes. He thought
the bill was too violent to the rights Of
patients and Of the community.
Gen. Sternberg's View.
pending Senate BILL He said it was nothing
new for doctors to disagree. and the fact
that a majority of physicians were opposed
to the pending bill did not affect him. He
declared that the majority are not always
in the van of progress, and he recalled the
time when he, with other physicians, re-
jected the bacillus theory. He said that
registration Is only one factor in the cam
paign against tuberculosis, and he did not
think it would be proper to draw line be-
tween the wealthy and the poor when it
came to that.
Gen Sternberg read an extract from an
article written by Dr. Carr who had pre-
coded him. in which extract Dr. Carr ap-
peared to take the ground that consump-
ton weeded out the weaklings Of the human
race.
Census Bureau Statistics.
DR.. John P. Thomas read from the census
bureau reports to show that in many large
cities of this country where the plan of
registering consumptives has been put into
effect there has been no decrease in con-
sumption in five years He included in these
cities Buffalo. Camden, N. J., and Cincin-
natl, where he said there was actual in
crease. In Rochester there was no change,
In Trenton, N. j., and IN Elizabeth. N. j..
there was an increase. There was q slight
decrease in Lowell. Mass, but an increase
In Bridgeport, Conn.
DIR. Jacobs of Baltimore said that since
the. careful registration Of consumptives
mad begun. and especially since reports had
been made on such cases from three dis
pensaries, the number of cases actually
found and registered as consumption was
greater. because formerly many cases were
overlooked.
He told of what Is being done in Mary
land in order to control consumption, and
said that for the first time many incipient
cases are being discovered and reported.
During the last four months he said forty
patients had been admitted to their tuber-
culosis hospital, and there was not one who
was not improving.
The hearing was then concluded, and
Senator Gallinger announced that the COM
mittee would endeavor to come to some
conclusion on this bill.
Comparison of the Medical Society SUBJ
stltute with the pending bill shows that the
main difference between the two in essen
tial principles is in applying the regulations
as to registration only to INDECENT persons
under the substitute bill, and to giving
wider latitude to physicians in dealing with
tuberculosis cases in their practice.