Evening journal., 1910-09-30
FOR WILMINGTON CONSERVATIVES.

a STEP forward for Wilmington was taken
n when the New Castle County members of
the State tuberculosis Commission and rep
resentative of City Council conferred with the
Trustees of the Poor on Wednesday of this week,
as to constructive plan for dealing with the des-
titute consumptives of Wilmington With city,
state, and county working at the subject in full
accord il looks If something adequate will be
done
But it should be adequate The State Commits
sion reports that it has discovered and put on
record in its dispensary indexes SIX hundred cases
in Wilmington. This means six hundred menaces
to the public health, six hundred perils for the
life of every strong, useful citizen; for consump
ton strikes hardest at those in the prime of their
youth, and takes its toll from the most valuable
lives in the town, workingmen and families de-
pendent on Them mothers with children around
their knees. In the last ten years this city has
lost 1891 inhabitants through consumption; and
yet every case was preventable in the beginning
and durable in early stage. The full horror Of
consumption is that il is unnecessary; and as
cities realize this, they act. Wilmington is just
commencing to realize, and the next step must
be concerted action
Boston, one of the most pubc-spirited and in
telligent communities in America began concerted
action long ago. This year after the establish
ment of dispensares and hospitals of the highest
type during the last haf-dozen years, Boston an
nounces that tuberculosis is under control within
its borders, and that within generation at the
longest il will be an extinct disease in the Hub
Oxford town of three thousand people in Mass
achuSetts has reduced the deaths from tubercu-
losis in the town from AZ, for the years 1885,
over ten deaths year, to % deaths for the years
l90i-7, a little over three deaths year Cam
bridge Massachusetts, city with a population
about that of Wilmington, has just appropriated
$4,000 for city day-camp for its consumptives
and besides this, has for some years maintained
a considerable number of advanced cases in pri-
vate sanatoriums. Portland Maine, with about
half the number of inhabitants that Wilmington
has has lately appropriated $4,000 for the pro-
per treatment of its conservatives.
Wilmjngtons poor taxes paid, not TO the city,
but to the Levy Court, and the Trustees of the
Poor use them in caring for the county, including
tfN Wilmington, poor. The City Council and the
State Commission therefore clearly right in
putting the matter up TO the Trustees of the Poor
and entitled TO full consideration of the plan
they present, which is, that the Trustees OF the
Poor, acting in their various districts shall send
advanced cases to sanatoriums for treatment II
appears to be the mistaken opinion of some that
the thing asked for is appropriation for Hope
Farm. But Hope Farm is merely a side issue
in the question, a place where city consumptives
can be sent and the only place in the State far
available that is all. The true issue s-Shall Will
mington, paying poor tax of many thousands,
have her consumptive poor cared for, or not?
And more important yet, shall Wilmington allow
consumption to propagate and feed upon her peo-
pie, or shall it be controlled and extinguished as
smallpox has been? There is surely but one civil
lied answer to this question.