The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-01-15
WAR CLAIMS FEW:
 CONSUMPTION
 A MULTITUDE
Ecenemic Evils Lie at Root of Greatest
 Destroyer of Mankind.

tereSllng Address 0H iuDercllOSlS, us Cause and Prevention, to Board of Trade Members.
 pr. N. F. Wordin made an address upon 'Tuberculosis,' before the Board of Trade. last night. which has the merit of presenting comprehensive view of the subject in few words. Dr. Wordin gives a statement of the of the dread destroyer. Not medicine alone, but material well being, in the form Of better housing, more nutritious food, and better environment are shown to be necessary before the white plague can be wiped out. Dr. Wordin also makes very fortunate comparison of the statistics of deaths by consump' ton and those by war. He states what few know, that the white plague Is more fatal among civilized races than black plague is among the semi civilized.
 There is little need of discussing the advlsabilfty of SuppreSSing so universal a pest as tuberculosis. Throughout the world 100000 people die annually, 1000 every day, every minute. Annually in the United States die ,00O. In New York state about 5000 succumb, and tuberculosis costs that state over $63, ,000, 900, annually Statistics show men than war: for instance in the t'ranco-Prussian war, according to Prussian statistics. 40,951 were either killed. wounded, or died from diseases In our OWE Civil war. which lasted for four years. on the Federal side there lr3y1 federate, S5.o00. In the last four years in the United States alone, over 640,000 died from the disease. Over three times as many as were killed in the war
 In India. in 1896-1907 during the black plague, there died 19 per 1000 while in the United States during the same time the average for tuberculosis was 23 per 1,ooo The White Plague has frmer hold on the people than any other known disease.
 Last month. in Bridgeport, there died IT and in Connecticut 78. Bridgeport, last year contributed 148 to the long list.
 The disease appears in every organ of the body. When 1t is in the skin it is called lupus; in the brain. meningit- is; curvature of the spine. spinal dis eases; in the vertebrae, Potts disease; and when it attacks the joints, white swelling.
 Our hospitals for the insane. our orphan asylums. our homes and hos with the indirect results of tuber- culosis.
 Unsanitary conditions must be pre- vented by the will of an enlightened public. The prevention of tuberculosis is part and parcel of every scheme for the improvement of conditions under which man lives and works: housing rofnrro phi1d 1ohnv oOic al 1o IT regulation of wonlen's work, factory acts, employers liability acts. the sup precision of the proprietary and patent medicine evil, small parks and large ones. the schools. the trade unions. the church, the organization of charity; these things all help indirectly and often forcibly to prevent tuberculosis
 The increase in population increases the proportion of the disease. The first step toward removing the contagion is a knowledge of it's nature. Tubercul- osis is not contagious, but is infectious (communicable). The disease is not in herited, as the germ theory of infection loses the theory of heredity The disease IS proven infectious by taking the tubercule from a rabbit and innoculating it into another rabbit, when the latter became tuberculous.
 The tubercule are small germs, which cannot be seen with the naked
 
 Over 1,500 can be placed on the head of a pin. When a patient throws off sputum he is continually getting rid of these tubercule. This is very danger ous in the case of dry sputum, as in the average patient over two thousand The sputum, becoming dry, arises in the air. as dust. and is then conveyed to the minimizing person.
 In the world there are two kinds of germs. the sarrorhytes which live on dead animal matter, and the parasites which exist on living animal matter All decay and decomposition takes matter into it's elements. Were it not for the action of bacteria the world would long since have been so filled with the remains of the dead that there would be no room for the liv- ing.
 care Of the sputum. A tubercluous person whose habits are clean and who properly disposes of his sputum is not a source of danger to those about him. The patient should carry clean rags or Japanese handkerchiefs into which to spit. The rags should then be burn ed.
 A manufacturer should build his fac- tory on sandy soil, with good drainage, window space, heat ventilation, water closets, retiring rooms, and last, but not least, lunch room for those who find it necessary to carry their meals to their work.
 The tuberculous patient should have the sunniest room in the house, with open windows or devices for sleeping ou tof doors. On popular education we must rely on the prevention of the disease.
 The city must provide adequate light and air space for dwellings, offices, stores and factories. All streets must be flushed and not Gry swept. Night air is the better for the patient in the city, as it contains less carbon which arises from the many factories which necessarily create smoke.
 The only consumptive to fear is the careless cOnsumptive who has no re- gard for the health of his fellow men and who goes about splitting wherever he sees fit, regardless of signs and warnings to the contrary. This evil has the following four friends-darh ness, dampness, dirt and drink; while it's enemies are sunlight, air, good food and cleanliness.
 It is now not necessary to send the patient away for his health It has been found that the best place for the patient is where he can be in the hands of friends who will do the most for him. Still a sanitorium for the care of the sick is a great deal better, as