The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-05-14
DR.. c. A. Harper, Of State Health
Board, Fires Opening Gun in
the Consumption War
SAYS DISEASE IS DURABLE
Tn Notable Address the State Official
Tells of the Spread of the Dread
Disease and Plans For
It's Prevention

right living and proper rest.
These declared DR.. G. A. Harper
secretary Of the State Board of Health
are the preventatives and cures for con-
sumption at his lecture at the Rhode
Opera House Thursday evening. DR..
Harper came, to Kenosha to speak under
the auspices Of the Kenosha committee
Of the state organization to fight the
spread Of the white plague and his
lecture proved to be one Of the most
interesting ever given in the city. The
great interest in the subject was shown
by the fact that notwithstanding the
bad weather, nearly four hundred peo-
pie were present at the meeting. Prom
inent members of the state committee
of the international congress came to
Kenosha to attend the meeting and
Racine sent a delegation Of some ten
or twelve physicians and their wives
DR.. Stalker, president of the Kenosha
County Medical Society, was chairman
of the meeting and after prayer by
the Rev. E. T. Farrill, pastor of the
First Congregational church, Dr. Harper
was introduced by DR.. G.. Windesheim
who has taken an active part in the
advancement of the work of the com
mittee in Kenosha. At the close of
the meeting, DIR. Windesheim announced
that the further work of the state com
mittee in Kenosha would be carried
out by local committee composed of
Mrs. z. g. Simmons, Jr., Mrs. Nathan
Allen, Mrs. James Cavanagh, W. I'll.
Purnell, W. 7. Marlatt, DIR. J. B. Spald-
ing and DR.. G.. Windesheim.
The address by DIR. Harper was one
which thoroughly covered the subject
and it brought to the people of the city
some idea Of the great work that is be-
ing done to eliminate consumption and
tuberculosis in all it's forms not only
in Wisconsin and the United States,
but throughout the world. He spoke
of the work to be done in this county
in common with the work done by the
state committee, of the plans Of the in
ternational congress on tuberculosis to
be held at Washington in September
and October and of the exhibit which
Wisconsin is planning to send to this
worldwide meeting. He declared that
Wisconsin would be one Of the thirty
six states to send exhibits to the ma
ti0nal and international gatherings and
! that later these exhibits would be
brought back and sent to the cities Of
the state for the instruction of the peo-
pie. cit is the purpose Of the com
mittee,' said DIR. Harper, Ito show the
people just what is being done and
what can be done to stamp out this
white plague and by it we hope to
teach the people that consumption as
(, it is commonly called is not only cur
able but a preventable disease. Tt is
work in which royalty and peasants
are touching hands throughout the
world and Wisconsin which has been a
leader in stamping out bovine tubercul-
osis will not be behind in the work Of
fighting for the human race
"Not many years ago." said DR.. Har-
per, consumption was considered an
incurable disease and the patients were
pitied, but left to go to their graves
with nothing being done for them, but
now we known the prevention and the
cure and it is open to every person be
he rich or poor.
! He spoke of the deaths of soldiers
from disease in the Spanish-American
war when for one killed by the bullet,
fourteen died from disease. He con-
trasted this with the death lists Of the
Japanese Russian war and showed that
in the Japanese army one died from
| disease where three died from bullets.
He stated that this was due to the fact
that the doctors were sent before the
japanese army and prepared the way
for the soldiers while in the Spanish
war the doctors followed the army only
! to find it was too late to adopt sanitary
measures for the saving of lives of the
men in the army. "What has been
done by the japanese army" said DR..
Harper, "can be done now.'
DR.. Harper stated that we are fight
ing disease which kills more people
annually than all other constagious dis
eases combined and that it was only
recently that it had been discovered
that the disease could be cured.
Consumption, said DR.. Harper, ssis
a disease which follows in the wake of
civilization. The American Indian and
the Fiji Islander never knew the mean
ing of the dread name consumption
until the white man taught him civillz-
ed habits. Consumption came when
men failed to live in the open air, but
huddled together in cities and villages
and it is strange that the cure for the
disease was not discovered years ago. =
He spoke of the work done in Venice
in the 18th century and Of the dis
covery Of the germ Of the disease by
Or. Koch in 1882 and the study Of the
habits Of the germ since that time. He
spoke Of the fact that the germ de
Veloped most rapidly in places where
there was a lack Of sunlight and all
and declared that in properly lighted
land ventilated room the germ Of the