Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-12-31


hygeinic educators to individuals and
families, but as instructors in hygeine
to whole communities, the unscrupu
lous cleanliness of employees and in
mates of such sanitoria thus bearing
ats fruit.
ut is evident from the utterances
of the numerous authors THAT tuber.
culosis is in reality social disease,
whose source Is to be found not so
much in single circumstance Of in.
lection as in the conditions of society
the prevauence of poverty, ignorance,
alcoholism and other degenerating in
fuences, and that the Importance of
public instruction in regard to the
manner in which the disease is spread
and the causes predisposing to It,;
the need of early diagnosis and treat
Lent t. order to remove the focus of
infection, which each case constitutes;
the report Of all cases to the author
tiles; the value of hospitals and sani-
toria in solving this problem; the i'm
.portance of control of the supply
milk and meat, so that tuberculous
infection of bovine origine may he
excluded; the sanitary supervision of
public places and of tenements; the
disinfection Of houses in which con-
sumptives have lived, are obviously
desirable methods of checking the
spread of the disease.
"The social problem of tuberculosis
is an immense one and to get at the
root of the evil we must first i'm
prove the conditions and dwelling
places of the laboring classes. AS
long as the law allows the construc-
ton and existence of tenement nous
es in the cities, which are built for
purely monetary reasons, without pay
ing the slightest attention to the first
principles of hygiene, so long will our
special hospitals and sanitoria simply
serve as recipients Of the supply OF
newly created tuberculosis patients.
We must provide for the education OF
the poor in hygiene in cooking, in the
care and feeding of their children and
in temperance.
1T is not so much the poverty as
the ignorance of these people which
causes them to he insufficiently fed.
1t is a known fact that rich people
do not waste any more nor as much
as poor people This is due to the
lack of knowledge Of household econ
omies among the latter class. They
do not know how to prepare a good,
substantial meal with but little cost.
Therefore all girls should receive in
structions in school in the hygeine OF
the household, and here is where
women who are philanthropically in
clined, can find a good field of labor
The sources of infection in the school
room are Very numerous, but the pro
lection of the child from the contag
ion Is more important than the ex
clusion of the infected children from
the school, because as Heubner has
shown, the large majority of cases Oh
served during the year OF attendance
at school are due in reality to contag'
ion in the family, and it is to the pre'
vention Of this contagion that efforts
should be directed.
"The evils of intemprance should he
impressed on all school children be-
cause alcoholism is predisposing fac
tor of consumption The young man
who becomes Incorporate may be-
come readily tuberculous. These con-
illusions were confirmed by the ein'
vestigations OF J. Notr, in regard to
the causes of tuberculosis among the
poor. He says: To the crowding
and the insa1ubrity of dwellings. alco-
holism is added as an important fac
tor in tuberculosis. Children of tub
erculous parents seem indisposed to
the use of alcohol in their youth.
Likewise the children of alcoholics
seem predisposed to contract tubercu-
losis in their youth.
"The question Of what is to be done
with the numerous consumptives and
poor families in which tuberculosis
exists, is a very difficult one to an
swer, and the state and municipalities
will nave to combine with the phil
anthropical institutions in order to
solve it, If any government is in
earnest in it's endeavor to combat
tuberculosis effectually, 1t must take
upon itself the care and treatment of
the durable and incurable tuberculous
patients among the poor and those of
limited means. BY limited means /
mean a financial condition which does
not merit a tuberculous patient to
enter a private sanitorium, or to'have
at home such medical, hygeinic and
dietitic treatment as will give the
patient the best chance of recovery.
The demand on every state and city
treasury are enormous, and most Of
fcials hesitate to incur additional ex-
pense for work which does not appeal
to them as vital. The first step TO-
ward gaining their cooperation in this
movement is to convince them that it
has an economic as well as a medical
aspect. The effort has often been
made and temporary interest arous.
ed. That this interest was not perm
anent is due to lack of persistence on
the part of the agitators.
TT is not necessary to erect; ex-
pensive and elaborate buildings. and
it has been shown that adequate ac-
Communications can be provided for
from $4,000 to $4,000 a bed. AT this
rate the state could care for its tuber.
,culosis patients at a minimum cost,
and through the isolation and control
Of such cases remove one more focus
of infection from the community.
"The great social and economic ad-
vantage resulting to community
which takes care of the tuberculous