Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-28
TO PREVENT TUBERCULOSIS
SECRETARY TAFT AMONG
SPEAKERS ON SUBJECT.
Gen. Sternberg Discusses Sanitarium
Work and DR.. Darlington Talks
of Economics.

| Secretary Taft. Gen. George NJ. Stern
berg. DR.. Thomas Darlington. commits
| Sioner of health of New York city, and
| Dr. F. Fremont Smith appeared as the
| speakers yesterday afternoon at a meet
| ing at the home of Mrs. Herbert Wads
worth, under auspices of the committee
on prevention of tuberculosis of the AS
ISOLATED Charities Mrs Wadsworth
opened the ballroom in her home for the
meeting, and there were scores of society
! folk physicians and others interested in
| the fight against the great white plague
| in attendance. All the speakers advO-
Gated continuance and enlarge nent
of the campaign of education as the only
successful way 10 combat the spreading
of consumption.
Consumption in the Army.
| Secretary Taft. who is a member of
the committee of the Associated Chari-
ties. and who has taken an active per-
sonal interest in the work. particularly
in the army. said. in part:
Il wanted to come here to testify by
m. presence to the Importance of what
| l understand the object of this meet
! form. having reference to the cure of
| scOurge. sometimes called the white
| sCoIrge'-that of tuberculosis.
we have ii in the army. We have 1t
| still more in the Philippine Islands. The
| truth is. the destruction from that disease
in the Philippines is so much greater
| than anything that comes from merely
| tropical diseases that tropical diseases
cease to be a matter of much fear.
We have in the army a place where
we think we cure tuberculosis. and we
| not only think it. but we believe it. be-
cause we send men there who have it.
and they come back here without it,
brought here man to convince you of
the fact. Gen. Edwards was certainly
afflicted with the disease. He went to
Fort Bayard He was treated by DR..
Bushnell. stayed several months under
the treatment they had there. and he has
come back as strong and able to resist
the disease AS any soldier in the army.
The same thing happened. l am informed
by him. with respect to Judge Robb.
whose going to Fort Bayard l was able
to facilitate by making the order.
Now if we have gotten that far in the
treatment of the disease. certainly we
have made progress. because the time is
not so long-it is not so far back in the
| history of the disease when it was re-
garded as incurable. think probably
statement. In the departments we are
attempting to avoid things that are sup
posed to spread the disease
Gen. Sternberg's Theme.
Gen. Sternberg described the work at
Starmont Sanitarium, and his talk was
illustrated with interesting stereopticon
slides, showing the method of providing
outdoor sleeping quarters in tents for
sufferers from tuberculosis. He said ex-
perience has proved that sudden removal
to high attitudes is extremely harmful
to advanced cases of consumption, and
that life in the open air and proper diet
in the environment to which the patients
are accustomed has been found most
beneficial
An interesting resume of the conditions
in the crowded tenements in New York.
where the greatest mortality occurs from
tuberculosis, was given by DR.. Darlingt on.
and he showed many actual illustrations
by lantern slides. Dr. Darlington entered
said that there are 400 deaths from the
disease every day of the year in this
country. and that the annual cost of the
disease to the United States is $330,OUO,-
600
Campaign OF Education.
He emphasized the necessity of cam
paign of education directed first to the
state and its officers so that suffic ent
money shall be appropriated to wage war
upon tuberculosis The speaker also said
the compulsory reporting of cases and the
free examination of sputum by the state
would do much to aid the cause.
DR.. Fremont Smith presided at the
meeting, and amOne those present we're:
Justices Brown and Har.an of the SUI
Boardman. DR.. G. Lloyd Magruder DR.. J.
Ramsay hewitt. the NJ sses I.o~ing of Bos-
ton, DR.. Harlan. Miss Eugenia Bray.
Charles F. Weller, the Hon. Mrs. James
and Mrs. George Young OF the British
embassy. DR.. Darlington. Secretary Taft
and William Henry Butler.