The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-09-19

THE department. of agriculture
spends $1,000 900 year on plant health
and animal health, but congress has not
directly appropriated one cent for the
alienation or cure of diseases of the
heart and kidneys. pneumonia, tuber-
culosis or the other scourges of the hui
man race" This is the statement made
by Professor J. P. Norton of the COM
mittee of one hundred on national
health. This committee, organized I'M
der the auspices of the American So
ciety for the Advancement OF Science,
Is endeavoring 10 remedy the condition
so aptly stated by Professor Norton,
both by means of national and state
legislation, and by the arousing of pub
lie sentiment.
The first move of the committee of
one hundred. which numbers among its
members the most prominent public
men and philanthrOpists of the country,
is TO secure the establishment of a ma
tional health bureau which will oper-
ate, under federal supervision, much in
the same manner as has the depart
ment of agriculture. The plan under
which this bureau is TO be organized
will consolidate the government work
on hygiene and prevention of disease
under one head, where il is now dis
tributed among several departments,
and will Increase the efficiency of the
work 10 an enormous extent.
Health League Organized.
The committee of one hundred has,
as an initial step toward this end. or
ganized the American Health League
which has for it's object the protection
and conservation of the national health
and which has already enrolled over
$4,000 members. An effort is being
brought TO bear on every member of
congress and every candidate for a con-
gressional or senatorial seat 10 secure
their support OF the measures drafted
by General Wyman. chief of the Marine
hospital service. which provide that the
government departments dealing with
the public health be consolidated under
one department. The movement has
been widespread throughout the coun-
try, and the Republican party in Ohio
and the Democratic party in Connecti-
cut have embodied the ideas OF the
committee of one hundred in their state
platforms.
President Roosevelt has expressed
himself heartily in favor of the
movement, as have William Jennings
Bryan and William II. Taft. At the
present time IL is not the intention of
the American Health League TO intro
duce state legislation. They purpose to
have the national health bureau act in
conjunction with. the city and state
boards Of health. and believe that
through this centralized effort better
results will be obtained than by enact
ing special state laws for the preserva-
ton of health.
Professor Fishers Address.
The formation OF the committee of
one hundred grew. not from the efforts
Of medical men. but from an address
by Professor Irving Fisher before the
political economy section of the Amer
lean Association for the Advancement
of Science. Professor Fisher i'm this ad-
dress showed that the average yearly
cost Ia the United States from pre-
ventable sickness, not in doctors bills
but in loss Of production and efficiency
amounted 10 $4,000. 000, 600 or nearly
$40 5000 900. He showed that this loss
could be absolutely prevented and the
incalculable loss through morbidity on
account of sickness, and the loss
IhroHgh criminal tendencies superin-
duced by Illness and improper physical
environment, could be reduced to a
minimum through carefully organized
national bureau of health. The figures
compiled by Professor Fisher of the
life waste through improper conditions
and ignorance were astounding. Care
fully estimated statistics show that
during the next ten years 1O. O00, 900 ba-
bies will die on account of improper
surroundings and ignorance on the part
of their parents. II is estimated that
6.000.00 citizens OF the United States
will die of heart and kidney trouble,
which can and should be prevented
Pneumonia will carry off 100000 men
and women during the next ten years,
and professional men state confidently
that these death rates might be cut in
half by proper action by national bu-
reau of health.
Mortality to Be Cut in Two.
This address OF Professor Fishers
caused the immediate formation of the
committee of one hundred, and their
work has been unceasing since that
time. That the mortality of the United
states can be decreased one-half, and
that the average span of human life
can be practically doubled is more than
proved by the results achieved in this
country against special diseases, which
in former years were regarded with alb
s9lute terror by ignorant people. Lep-
rosy has been practically wiped out by
careful quarantine. Smallpox, which
was a scourge feared by all, has been
almost eliminated by compulsory vac
cination. Yellow fever has been almost
entirely conquered. not only i'm the
United States. but in Panama, by the