The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-03-24
N. STILES SPEAKS
ON TUBERCULOSIS
PAPER READ BEFORE MEETING
OF WALLA WALLA MEDICAL
SOCIETY.
"Quarantine as ProphyIactic Meas
ure" Was Subject Of an Able
Lecture by Health Officer.

county Health OIHCoT M. 0tllcS pre-
scented a paper before the regular meet
ing of the Medical association held in
the office of DR.. Stiles last night, deal
ing with the steps that should be TAX
en- for the regulation of tuberculosis,
the subject of the paper being, quar-
antine as a Prophylactic Measure"
Following the reading, an earnest dis
cussion of the question was indulgeG
in by members of the association, who
educating the public to a point where
precautionary measures, such as are
employed with other infectious dis
eases, may be put into effect.
DIR. Stiles paper follows:
IF you will, at your leisure, turn to
your encyclopedia you may read of the
great plaques that have swept un-
checked over all Europe. The destruc-
ton of life was so great as to be ap-
palling. In London the cry Of the
drivers Of the dead wagons, Bring out
your dead was heard on every street
The great fire of 1866 in London was
the first check the epidemic received
I'm the early history of our country
there were several epidemics of chol-
era that simply wore themselves out
without a hand raised against them
In 1896 the Bubonic plague slew it's
thousands in India. Here ignorance,
superstition and religious fanaticism
stood in the way of any effective meas
ures to suppress it. These facts, men
toned from memory and without any
effort to be precise, are noted simply
to call to your attention what has not
been done in regard to them. The
past, with it's cares and mistakes has
gone and we have learned much. Jen.
ners' discovery of cow-poX and vac
cination, in 1896, was one of the most
important made at that time.
"The number of lives saved from
death by smallpox would number into
the hundreds of thousands; great
events come slowly, and it was not
until within the recollection of each
of us that the Klebs Loefier Bacillus
and the serum treatment for dioh-
iberia was discovered. My imagina-
ton fails me when I try to conjure
up the good this treatment has done.
With modern quarantining and. the
anti-toxine treatment, diphtheria has
lost it's terrors.
I firmly believe that in the not far
distant future we will be treating
scarlet fever and typhoid fever with
the same success that we now treat
diphtheria. In the meantime We have
reached such degree of knowledge
in sanitation and quarantining that Sc
we're epidemics from these diseases are
growing less each year. But we are,
and have been since a time that his
tory tells us not of, living under the
blighting influences of the great white
plague. What is the length and
breadth of the column that has yearly
marched to the grave under it's with
ering fire?
"Till within the last few years we
have been but interested spectators to
the yearly destruction of life. But
now, thanks to a few earnest investi-
gators in our ranks, light is breaking
in on this calamity and the bright bea-
con of hope is held out to those af
ficted In short, we have come into
possession of one of the most momen-
tous facts Of modern times: CON
SUMPTION CAN BE CURED.
Toward accomplishing this great
result. something has been done, but
much more remains to be done. one
O. the great things so far achieved is
the arousing of public Sentiment t. the
tact shat help is III SIGHT. we neCd
probably a still further awakening of
public sentiment as to the means to
he employed to the end that prophy-
Tactic and curative measures may be
EMPLOYED to attain the quickest and
best results In many cases the pub
lie has to be protected against itself.
I would invoke the parental care of
the state. Have every person found
suffering from tuberculosis immediate
ly quarantined in a sanitariun1, either
owned and controlled by the state or
by private parties, and kept until
cured; or, failing in that, let the state
establish home for incurables and
keep them as long as they live.
"My idea is that patient suffering
from pulmonary tuberculosis should
not be allowed to attend public meet
ings. walk the streets of our towns.
nor in any way mingle with the pub
lie. We treat smallpox in that way
and no one raises single objection
to the practice I am well aware of
the storm of protest that such course
would raise, but it is both humane
and practical