Evening star., 1909-05-14
DR.. JANEWAY ELECTED
Chosen President of Tubercu-
Iosis Association.
STERNBERG is TREASURER
National Department Of Health sug-
gested in Resolution.
VITAL STATISTICS LACKING
Derediction Of United States In Car-
ing for Physical Condition OF
People Discussed.
STERNBERG IS TREASURER
VITAL STATISTICS LACKING


department of health AT u'e
session this afternoon.
The election. which came at the ciose
Of the business meeting, resulted as fol
lows: President. DR.. E. g. Janeway OF
New York: first vice president, Edward
T. Devine. New York: second vice presi
dent. DR.. Henry sewalI Of Denver, Col:
secretary. DIR. Henry Barton Jacobs OF
Baltimore; treasurer, Gen. george NJ
SternberS OF Washington.
The executive committee is as follows:
I)r. wiIIiam H. Baldwin OF washington,
DR.. Herman NJ. Bfggs Of New YORK.
Edward T. Devfne OF New York, HCnsf
Folks DR.. George NJ. Kober Of WASH
Oi1io. and Or. Joseph Walsh OF Philadef-
Al the public meeting. held in the New
willard at o'clock, speeches were mace
by Speaker Cannon. Ambassador bryGs'
Dr. William Osler and DR.. William H.
Welch.
National Secretary Suggested.
c. A. Greensfelder of st. Louis at the
business session introduced resolution
~hich would pledge the association TO
ask the nation for new cabinet omcer-
namely, a secretary of health. In the dis
cussion which followed there was srea.
in any of the previous meetings.
DR.. John S. Fulton we'll known In
Washington as the man VINO pore tne
burden Of the last international congress
on tuberculosis. defended the resoiutioh.
He explained that the United States 10 the
laughing stock of Europe on the mere
matter of registration of births and
deaths.
''It. is not generally known" said ne,
srbut the United States has had, since
xu-ifh foreign nations which
called for an up-to-date registration or
births and deaths, and the census office
has undertaken to show foreign countries
the mortality rate among immierants
fact the United States has been In almost
daily default of this treaty"
1t was explained that the United States
has sixteen out of forty six Of Its states
where the registration Is up TO inc EuFe-
pean standard.
Mr.. Greensfelder in defense OF this reso-
luton said that the United States looked
after everything except its health. and
that the people OF the United TED, states .hss
would. would ne never get anything until they
Gen George M. sternberg of washing
ton was one of those who opposed this
resolution. saying 1t might be good
thing to have a political M. D. at The
head Of the nations health.
After some sharp discussion the matter
was laid on the table. There was adopt
ed, however. resolution which voiced
the sentiment of the association toward
the Capitalization Of the health activities
of the United States government.
Tuberculosis in Children.
The section devoted to the study Of
tuberculosis in children met this morn.
in1 at $50 o'clock in the ballroom Of
the New Willard. In an address by the
chairman. DR.. John H. Lowman Of Cleve-
land. many new statistics were presented
relating to mortality among children
from tuberculosis. DR.. Lowman de-
ciared that very young girls are more
susceptible to tuberculosis than boys.
Accounting for this, he explained that
boys do more playing and romping in the
open air, and girls. as a rule. stick to
the home. where the tuberculosis bacilli
lurk
A startling upward trend In the mortal
ity curve was shown to illustrate the
fact that at the beginning of the school
tuberculosis at an alarming rate. In
spite OF the fact that school conditions
are now admirable In nearly every case.
and in spite Of the scientific care which
teachers now give to the health of their
pupils, tuberculosis makes a great ad-
vance among school children, according
to DR.. 1oWrnan.
This he attributed to the fact that chill
dren associate with a band of physically
uuDuISSu UciHSS, dIlu COHCIuuCu tuuI
the danger from human contagion was
greater than from almost any other
cause.
Milk Not Greatest Menace.
Dr. Henry l.. X. Shaw Of Albany in a
paper prepared by himself, and Dr. Ar
thur T. Laird of Albany made the state
ment that the danger to children from
tuberculous milk was far less than the
= ~, ;,fa
the position that the public should know
that there was not SO great danger
from milk. II. they argued, tuberculous
milk was as Eirulent as SO many declare,
1t was difficult to conceive how SO many
children escaped contracting the disease.
A diagnosis of tuberculosis in child
by rational symptoms alone was impossi-
BILE In the early stages. was their conten-
ton. They declared that the history of
tuberculosis in the family Of a sick child
was almost a priori evidence of the pres
ence of some form Of tuberculosis.
They pointed out the enormous danger
to children in the home of the tuber-
culous adult. Dust from a room in
had been found virulent for six weeks.
Towels. they said, were a fertile source
OF infection. Other dangers were in
unhygienic surroundings and improper
food.
"Bottle Babies" in Danger.
That tuberculosis occurred more fre-
quently in artificially fed infants was
another view expressed by them. They
maintained, however, that this was not
necessarily an indication that the in
fection was always of the bovine type
and contracted from the use of milk
from tuberculous cows. They declared
that bottle-fed babies had a greatly less
ened resistance to any infection.
A campaign against tuberculosis
could only be waged with success, they
insisted, II its occurrence could be pre-
vented during childhood. Drs. Shaw and
Laird urged the association as such and
individuals to bend every effort to pre-
vent and arrest the spread of tubercu-
losis In children
Education for People.
At the meeting of the advisory council
last night a paper written by DR.. Victor
c. Vaughan and read by DR.. Livingston
Farrand sounded the keynote of the as
sociation's desire to obtain sufficient leg
islation to educate the masses on the SUBJ
lect OF tuberculosis
In the discussion which followed. ad-
dresses we're made by Homer Folks of
New York. DR.. Arthur T. Cabot of Bos-
ton. DR.. Marshal l.. Price of Baltimore,
DR.. c. o. Probst OF Columbus and DR..
William c. White OF Pittsburg
Dr. White had much to say about tu-
berculosis and children. He said in part:
Ninety per cent of all school children
in our large cities have tubercle bacilli
before reaching nineteen years 1t seems
absurd that a state like Illinois shnuId
spend 1.5OO.OOO for public education when