Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-12-20
WASTE OF LIVES RUNS
INTO THE MILLIONS
Physician Tells Of Easily Avoid,
ed Sickness---Doctors Held
10 Distrust.

New Haver, Special: That one
third Of the $780, 900 persons who were
III or died las year could have re-
NAMED in peril ct health through the
observance of s mple health rules was
the statement n ade by DIR. J.. N. Nc
Cormack, chairman of the committee
on organization of the American Medt-
cal association. DR.. Mccormack was
Speaklng before a meeting OF the COM
mittee of 100 in Wooley hall, Yale uni
versity.
Much of his suffering was due. he
continued, TO the fact that the laymen,
as a whole, regard physicians as work.
ers In the occult field. not practical,
and unfit to make the laws of the state.
RMS belief, he said. continues ever to
the legislators. DR.. Mccormack said
in part:
AS an argument for peace we are
told that 100000 men died as a result
or battle In both armies during the civil
war. AS an argument for better health
laws n policies, we tell you thai $780,
900 people died OF tuberculosis In the
United States during the last four
years, hat at least half a million
are constantly sick of 1t. Should not
an EFFORT be made to prevent this dis
ease as well as typhoid fever, diph-
iberia, scarlet fever, cholera infantum,
dysentery, and the other domestic pes
tilences.
Spanish American War.
During the Spanish-American war.
we ioSt sixteen Of our vigorous young
soldiers from ~preventable disease, for
every one lost In battle, and e%ighty-lve
OF each 100 OF them were inmates Of
our hospitals during that short strug-
gle from the same class of diseases.
Bad as Is his record for the nation,
the facts and figures make that for
your own state ever worse. During
the year about one In ten Of your
deaths were from consumption. II Is a
common opinion that this is an inner
lted disease. but 1t should be known
that even IL your father and mother
dled or 1t. at the worst you can only
inherit the kind OF constitution which
makes you especially liable IL exposed
10 IT. But no matter what you have
inherited you can no more have con-
sumption without getting into your
body the germs from a previous case
than you can raise corr on one Of your
farms without seed.
You had a large death rate from ty-
phoid fever and you have thousands OF
cases OF this disease every year. This
Is not only a preventable disease, but
the most typical OF the filth diseases. In
cities 1t usually gets into the mouth
through injected water. Instead Of
profiting by this we are rapidly con-
otlo n lIIlo
open sewers and pools, regardless Of
the complex sanitary and economic
problems thus created Of our own gem
Grafton and the teeming millions to fol-
low us.
Seeks Central Health Bureau.
You had last year a heavy sick and
death rate from diseases of children.
caused by the use of dirty, adulterated
or spoiled milk. You had many deaths
and much sickness from diphtheria ard
scarlet fever, all distinctly preventable.
and still more from pneumonia, another
germ disease which we ought soon To
be able greatly to restrict or entirely
prevent.
"A great central health organization
at Washington, endowed in accordance
with the owe and wealth OF our fed
eral government, is just as much a ne
cessity, IL our people are to have the
Dement'S OF modern scientific knowledge
applied to their daily needs, as the SUI
preme court of the United States"