Omaha daily bee., 1909-07-05
Iowa
IWOAFIGHTlNG WHITE PLAGUE
New Law Allows Counties to Provide
Open Air Treatment.
LETTERS BARE EARLY HISTORY
Correspondence OF official Nature in
EARLY History of state Throws
Light on PoIitics-FiEht
on OleOmargArine.
From a stall correspondent

DIES MONIES, July A-ISpeCial)-If sac
riflce OF personal interests In its behalf
Will have any effect the campaign in Iowa
against the tuberculosis plague ought 10
meet with great success. h new law
which has just gone into effect TO permit
counties TO tax themselves to put up county
hospitals, is on the statute books because
Of one such personal sacrifice.
While 1t is known TO but few persons.
the fact is that Dr. Monger OF Spencer. la.
came TO Des Moines at the opening OF
the legislature with a carefully prepared
bill In his inside pocket. He induced mem
bers OK both houses to Introduce the bill
and then stayed in Des MOines through
the entire session of the legislature, spend
ing his own money and leaving his medical
practice in the hands OF others, and his
work secured the passage of a law pro-
viding for one Of the best moves the state
has made again tuberculosis. DR.. Monger
did IL, too, without any hope Of reward Of
any kind, since even the people are lgnor-
ant Of the gratitude they owe him. II vas
his first experience with a legislature,
Members Of the legislature, Of course, did
valiant work, but If Dr.. Monger hadn't
camped out in Des Moines for the session
the law would not likely nave been en-
acted.
One Of the first things discovered when
Iowa started on the campaign against
tuberculosis was that it would be lmpossi-
BILE for the state to take care OF all the
people afflicted with that trouble. There
are about 10000 in the state who ought to
be having treatment One institution that
would take care of all OF them would be
almost impossible, and II possible would
be undesirable because so many persons
gathered In one place with that trouble
would not do well. The state has built
one hospital. that will take care Of 200. 1t
is for demonstration work. 1t became APP
parent that II the work is TO advance eacn
county must take up the work on its own
account. Each county should have a hos
pital anyway, to which all persons are ad-
mitted, of whatever trouble, but especially
for tuberculosis.
Provides for County Hospitals.
So the legislature passed the Monger bill,
which authorizes counties to erect hos
pitfalls by taxing the people. The people
must first, by ballot, authorize the tax
ing. There are ninety-nine counties In the
state, which, on the average, makes about
100 tubercular persons in each county. The
bill is very carefully drawn. 1t prevents
the hospitals getting in the hands Of any
click or school of physicians. 1t provides
that the superintendent cannot be a prac-
ticing physician. That prevents one doctor
with a large practice using the hospital as
a sort of private hospital for his own pa
tents.
Polk county has been one of the first in
the state TO begin the agitation Of erecting
a county hospital for tubercular persons.
The hospital will be established where the
open air treatment can be administered
The erection OF such a hospital is not an
expensive proposition, for the bulk Of II
consits in open air. lightly constructed
cottages Of but one or two rooms with the
sides all open, where the patient lives
night and day in the open air. The mat
ter is. therefore, not burdensome to the
taxpayers.
To Develop Barley.
Iowa has so long been known as a great
corn state that few people realize that one
Of Iowa's chief products is barley. The
barley product of the state in 1905 amounted
10 over 10, 900, 900 bushels, while the wheat
crop was only a little over $50, % 900 bush
els. Barley lie counted as a good crop In
making up a rotation to preserve the fer
tility OF the soil. 1t Is a valuable product
in many ways to the state.
One of the big brewery companies has
now taken up the task Of trying to induce
the farmers to raise more and better bar
ley. It has offered a prize of $500 to the
farmers Of the state who raise the best bar
ley. A plan is now being devised for the
proper distribution OF the prize money.
Is Rich I'm History.
One Of the subdivisions under which
the correspondence and other papers of
the state offices is filed in the archives
department at the historical building is
headed "Cranks." All state offices regu-
larly receive their proportion OF crank
letters from citizens with bats In their
belfries." who nave all sorts of schemes.
The letters in the past seem to nave found
their way to the letter files and the
archives department must devote a section
to them.
All the papers OF the governors and sec
rotary of states offices are now in the
archives department, but not all have
been sorted and indexed. A start has been
made on indexing those OF the auditors
office. The governors office is practically
completed and the secretary OF states
nearly so. As may be imagined the cor
r~espondence that went through the gov
ernor's office is much Of II very highly In
teresting. There is a letter from the late
Senator Harlan, in which he criticises in
no very uncertain terms the figure Of the
nude woman on the north side OF the SOL
dier's monument that is supposed TO rep
resent Iowa. There is correspondence
bearing on the senatorial contests OF $50
and 1878 that would have been highly in
teresting reading during the last campaign
or at any other time. There are letters
there that are OF priceless value from a
historical standpoint, and as soon az the
men and issues Of those times are dead 1t
will become the work OF the historian to
tell the story. The issues are a little too
recent for the story TO be told now and
besides some OF the men are now livtng( 80
II wouldn't do.
The man who gets the closet perspsc-
tive frequently has the most exaggerated
idea Of the importance OF a work. The
RAILWAY TIME CARD-oONr