The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-07
Or, LULL CHIDES
GAMBLER OUTBURST
Praises Rockefeller for Aid In
Hookworm Fight
TOO MUCH PRIDE SHOWN
South Should Be Glad of Any Finan-
ciaI Means to Combat Plague
Which Is stunting Thousands
of AngIo-Saxons.
TOO MUCH PRIDE SHOWN

great and good Bishop Gambler, in regard
to Mr.. Rockefeller's gift of 100000 for
the fight against the hookworm disease
in the south.
He is quoted as saying that he resents
''Mr. Rockefeller's plutocrauc efforts &c
take charge of both our heads and our
stomachs, to purge our brains of ignor-
ance and our bowels of worms" The
south is able to clear itself of worms
without Mr.. Rockefeller's "million-dollar
dose of vermifuge" This is not the ut
terance of a political demagogue seeking
little cheap notoriety by stirring up
class and sectional hatred, but comes
from a devout man Of God, a great
! scholar and theologian. a leader In one
of the great evangelical churches.
This will give weight and dignity TO
the opinion. especially among the humble
adherents of his sect, and already certain
newspapers taking the cue from him have
begun their gibes and sallies of wit.
The whole trouble seems to be that Mr.
Rockefeller referred especially to the
prevalence of hookworm disease in the
south and expressed a desire to do some
service among the unfortunate people
of a section he had come to know and
| esteem since his short residence there.
Now. the result OF Mr. Rockefellers call
ing attention to the prevalence of the
hookworm scourge in the south will be
/ the creation Of prejudice elsewhere, and
! the keeping off Of immigration"
| The experience of the south with other
diseases which were thought to interfere
with commerce and immigration has
taught that concealment and attempts at
self-deception have proven costly and in
| effeotual.
There is not an intelligent person north
| or south who reads the magazines and
newspapers who does not know that gov
eminent statistics show wide prevalence
! OF hookworm, especially in the southern
states.
| Every progressive physician in the coun-
| try is constantly recognizing the victims
| of this disease and is doing his utmost
| TO help eradicate its cause Many obser-
want citizens who have read descriptions
of the appearance of these unhappy suf-
ferers can point out whole families and
! communities in our country districts that
are cursed by this malady. 1t is probable
/ that the bishop, If his high office allows
J him to wander In the paths of the poor
and humble, might have seen many g.
scrawny little fellow with thin mop of
yellow brittle hair, a waxy, CHASTITY COM
| plexion, lazy expression in eyes that
stare into space from face which looks
weakened with age and thought with the
parents that he was merely a lazy little
runt." He should recognize in this boy
typical hookworm case, and his great
heart should be touched with pity.
For 10 cents of Mr.. Rockefeller's money
this boy can be saved and given a chance
to develop into healthy. useful citizen,
instead of a physical and moral degen-
crate.
DR.. Stiles of the marine hospital and
public health service, who is the author
ity on this subject in this country, says
in discussing its prevalence and soil pol
luton as the means OF its spread: POL
luton of the soil is occurring in about
6S.5 per cent OF the farms of the south,
and at the most conservative estimate L
can make an average of at least 20 to
Is per cent of the poorer white people.
especially of the rural sand and noun
tain districts. are at present infected with
hookworm disease
| These statistics are based on 10000 OBJ
servations. These facts and figures are
| being published broadcast, and Mr.. Rock
| efeller, who through endowing the Rock
efeler Institute for Medical Research
| has already done more by financial help
| than any private citizen to alleviate the
|
| ward with a generous donation for fight
| ing this evil and Immediately he is
vilifed and his purpose ridiculed by those
| whose section OF country he seeks to
| help.
1t seems to me In the name of common
sense, Justice. religion or just plain hui
mainly infinitely better to frankly admit
that this awful thing is in our midst and
to accept most gracefully this proffered
relief.
Will 1t make any difference to the poor
little devil whose lifes blood Is being
sucked by this lecherous thing whether
or not the means of relief comes through
the tainted wealth of robber oil king ?"
THE south is able to clear itself of
| worms says the outraged bishop. Per-
i haps so, but we were slow to recognize
its existence at first and some Of us are
still denying it. How many southern
states have made any sort of appropria-
ton for this purpose?
Has any southern phlanthropist had
any substantial proposition to make look
ing toward the relief of the situation?
l do not doubt that in the course of
time. perhaps after years of education OF
the people upon this subject, public sem
timent might be aroused that would IA
vor state appropriation for fighting this
evil.
In the meantime / presume we should
urge Mr. Rockefeller to contribute his
wealth to tie relief of the hookworm dis
ease in Egypt, where 1t has wrought its
havoc for years. We should sit down
4 and see our federal government send its
experts to Porto Rico, where one-third of
the population Is affected, and see our
negro dependents there benefit by our
generous and humane policy while our
own Anglo-Saxon kinsmen are left to
their fate as they have been with their
other arch-enemy tuberculosis.
We are a proud, sensitive people, and
brook no meddling in our affairs.
We would object to such a plan as that
of Strauss of New York, for supplying
infants with pure milk, thereby greatly
lessening the mortality from infantile dis
eases.
! Such an institution as the Thomas Will
son sanatorium for sick infants in Balti-
more is a reflection on Baltimore, as II
emphasizes the presence of infantile dis
eases in that locality and undoubtedly
affects the immigration OF infants
| Is 1t not strange to what absurdities
q narrow prejudice will lead us?
, | Such men as the learned bishop may
, | not be in need of the vermifuge Mr.
Rockefeller provides, but we feel that
| they might profit by some of the educa-
tional facilities he offers for "purgin2
| the brain of ignorance" We would ear
| nestly recommend such gentlemen &c
confine their labors to the sphere in which
they seem to be most useful. for instance
solving the knotty theological and eccll-
, | siastical problems. If they cannot hesr
in practical work OF humanity, at least
thay should rarpafu dfscraeflv silnnf a nd