The Washington herald., 1908-08-02

The meeting Of the Pan-American Med /
IcaI Congress in Guatemala next Wednes- |
day Is another proof OF the great national !
and international interest in the health !
OF the worlds people. another evidence Of /
the progress Of the worlds physicians in I
their chosen work The United States
and the Laun-American countries VIII be
represented, and leaders Of the various
branches OF the medical profession will
discuss new methods. new cures, new
discoveries. Our own national interest
in the matter OF public health IS increas-
ing marvelously. In the Democratic plat
form adopted at Denver there is plank
advocating the organization Of national
bureau Of public health. and the Repu5-
Iicsn convention advocated similar legis-
Iation- Public recognition. though tardy
AZ first has been accorded the victory
over yellow fever in New Orleans and
Havana, and over the bubonic plague IN
san Francisco and Manila. Public senti-
meDt has called for a sweeping pure food
campaign. for a war on flies. mosquitoes.
and rats as disseminato-s Of disease. and
fo- a worldwide crusade against tubercU-
losis
Where the beginning Of the nineteenth
century saw helpless patients physicled.
biistered. and bled. and deprived Of air
and water IN al effort 10 eradicate dis
ease. the beginning Of the twentieth sees
a rational awakening Of the civilized
world. Doors and windows are opened 70
all the winds Of heaven. there is a rush
back 20 mother nature for her simplest
I remedies. and the slogan Of to-cay's
health worker Is Fresh air. pure food.
/ pure water. and cleanliness-' Heaters
l Of less than a century ago are said 20
| have worked on the hypothesis that dis
case was normal that health 7- Cnly an
abnormal and acquired thing To-day the
/ opposite and trus conception IS the basis
{ on which physicians WORK
/ Nothing has been more remarkable than
I the progress Of medicine fin recent years
/ The meteorological laboratory has be
/ come part OF the Office Of the modern
I physician. where he grounds himself in
/ the principles Of contag.on and preven-
I ton and establishes new theories The
I discovery Of the germ and its responsi-
bEity for most OF the ailment Of man
Z kind las revolutionized medical practice
and saved millions Of lives The world
I has grown more rapidly in population in
the past 100 years than IN any other time
with which statistics deal. Medical sci
ence IS largely responsible for This IN
elrnes past more than one-fourth of the
Z worlds population died before reaching
the age Of six years Medical science is
I robbinE childhood of danger from GER
tain diseases. and millions are now saved
every year. Il IS estimated that to-day
al least 50 per cert OF children born into
the world I've 20 be sixteen. whore q
century. or so ago only 50 per cent reached
that age There are now approximately
1.11e 0co more births than deaths every
year. and while In some localities race
! suicide may be lowering the annual birth
rate this is out-disranCed at every
point by the reductions n the death rate
that medical men have uade possible.
i OF more importance than the direct sp-
plication OF medical science 20 suffering
humanity is that great boon OF preven-
tive medicine Since the discovery OF the
principle Of vaccination medical rner
Ihzve been learning how 90 put 81 prac-
tice the tius-h0ncred proverb that az
ounce or prevention IS worth a pound o,
cure. Sometimes they have. fguratively
had 70 GEht f-e with fire, as IN prevent
ing smallpox. More often they have had
90 fight disease with cleanliness. But
whatever the method. they have gone for,
ward. forcing back disease inch by inch
until this beginning Of the twentieth cen
tg-y marks a notable era in the public
health.