The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1909-11-04
Things About Doctors That Doctors
And Other People Ought to Know
Notable Address Given by DR.. Mccormack in this City
This Article Should Be Preserved and Might Well
Be Studied in Our Schools

OOA 0~A4OOAO
spite of the rapid advances, of the
professional, and the heroism and in
dividual worth OF it's members, this Is
almost as strong as it was genera
ton ago. j speak in the light of an
experience which has come to few
men. have been State health off,
cial, and as such, represented my pro-
fession before my legislature for 80
years, and often before the Congress
at Washin gton. Once or twice al
most every day for six years have
spoken on this subject to popular
audiences in every section of the
Union, laymen discussing it freely at
the close of my talks. In this way I
have been able to make a study Of
doctors and what the people think
of them in a very broad way, have
found this sentiment almost univer-
sal, and it IS on this account mainly
that it has been so difficult for US to
secure and enforce our legislation.
You will first be shown how this
feeling against doctors has affected US
as nation. For lack of authority for
medical officers during our war with
Spain, we lost 16 of our soldiers from
prventable disease for every one dy-
ing as result of battle. and IS of
each 100 were inmates Of the hospitals
During the longer apd more severe
war dn Manchuria, with full author
ity and rank for their doctors, Japan
lost but one man from disease for
every four killed in battle. and but Is
Of 100 were In the hospitals. We had
KNOWN Of this danger to OUT armies,
and had begged for proper authority
fors our army sruEeons, Tor, 25 years,
and since these, wars. with The object
1essons Of Cuba and Manchurta before
the congress and country We are
still begging, and practically the same
dangers yet face oaE. ARMIES II the
event of q; foreign war. Facts Of Tho
same kind almost without number
might be given to show that except IN
the emergency Of epidemics, no other
nation has been and still Is 50 GRIM
inally negligent Of the health and
lives of both its soldiers and its cit
izens.
Bad as Is this record Tor the ma
tion, that FOR most states IS little bet
ter. Probably at least >one-third of
those sick and of those taken to your
cemetries every year are afflicted with
diseases which ought not to occur.
About one Of every ten deaths are
from consumption, and in spite Of all
the talk about preventing it, you now
have large tubercular population.
This is not an inherited disease, and
if all the expectorated matter from
every case now in the state could be
collected and destroyed, as your
health officials and physicians are
earnestly trying to do, until all now
sick of it either rcover or die, and
other necessary precautions be taken,
you would soon have none but import
ed cases. You have large sick and
death rate in the state from typhoid
fever every year. This is not only a
preventable, but the most typical Of
the filth diseases. No one can have
it except by getting into the mouth
something from the bowels or kid
neys of some one who has the disease,
usually carried there by water, flies
or milk. Medical literature abOunds
with accounts OF fatal eptdemics from
all these sources in cities, towns,
country districts and military camps.
II these discharges from every case
OF typhoid fever could be systematical
ly disfnfected, clean water and milk
provided, and flies gotten rid Of, there
would be no typhoid fever. There is
ALSO large sick and death rate from
diphtheria, dysentery, scarlet fever,
measles, whooping cough and like
diseases, to say nothinG5 ofs the cruel
slaughter of babiess during every hot
season. from tie: use OF dirty OF ID
lulteratsdsmilk. Oaes ana al thsss1 a.