The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-12-30
PUBLIC HEALTH
E.AND SANITATION
| WELL HANDLED
oN. HIRAM BYRD SUBMITS INTER
GsTINo PAPER, WHICH Is READ
At MEETING or florida EDU.
cATIoNAL ASSOCIATION.

Or. Hiram Byrd, chairman Of the
Committee ON public health and sani'
Sat1on, was unable to be present at
the meeting. but sent his report which
went fully into the subject. The re.
port was read by Prof. Cawthon. DR..
Byrd's report follows:
And in the outset. 1t g to be OBJ
served that the public health prob
lens In one part of the word are one
thing. In another part they are an
other.
For instance, the West Indies have
beon the endemic center OF yellow
fever for centuries, perhaps. while the
rest Of the world, not directly contigu-
Gus, has been free OF this disease.
india, on the other hand, has had its
troubles with plague. A zone about
70 degrees wide betting the earth at
the equator has its troubles with
hookworms. The whole world has to
srapple with tuberculosis, scarlet few
or, Jiptheria and measles. Smallpox.
TOO, Is worldwide In Is distributor,
but certain countries az Germany. ia
pan, Cuba, have dealt with 1t with an
iron hand AND have eradicated 1t,
while others, as the several states OF
America and England. have handled
It loosely. and it remains ore OF the
spnoyaucss Of public sanitation Even
the questions Of personal hygiene vary
with different localities. In the dense
IL populated tenement districts OF
come Of our larger cities, fresh air 10
the crying need, while in the moder.
ate climate of the south, especially
In the rural communities, where most
Of the population is distributed. there
10 no fresh sir problem. 1t Is all
fresh air.
In Florida, the public health prob
lsmS readily group themselves into
those Of sanitation, or the problems Of
communicable diseases. and problems
OF hygiene, or healthful living for the
individual.
Sanitary reforms, usually do, and
logically should, precede reforms OF
hygiene, for the reason tnat they are
more easily understood by the lay
mind, ard that the puDnc will more
readily acquiesce when IL Is proposed
TO change q custom that anects the
public IN general than where it affects
only the individual.
As a rule, 1t ts only after sanitary
reforms have been well established
and popularized that hygienic REFORMS
can get anchorage. The immediate
question in hand then Ia: Are our
sanitary reforms sufficiently establish
I'd and popularized to justify any hope
of success in the institution OF re-
forms Of hygiene? Let IL see. The
answer hinges upon one thing, name
1y: are sanitary reforms popularized;
IL so, yes; II not, no. Another way Of
saying this is: Do we as q people
understand the preventable diseases,
and are we preventing them? In the
DRY We doubtless understand better
than We do in practice. But when
newspapers, which are supposed to re-
nect public opinion, continue to talk
about miasma, and when text books
on physiology and hygiene still think
that there 10 some other way of trans.
uniting malaria than through the mos
quito, and when hookworm sufferers
are still accused of having chrome
malaria and dosed with duinine: And
when We consider the fast that dur.
ing the present year the state Of Flor
ida has had no fewer than nine hun
dred cases and nine deaths from the
most easily preventable Of all COM
municable diseases, smallpox; and up
on the fact that We have at a con-
sentative estimate ffty-thousand chill
dren In the state suffering from the
most easily durable of all grave mala-
dies, hookworms; 1t may be an open
question whether we are sufficiently
advanced as a people to hope for the
efforts Of the State Board Of Educa-
Sior. and Of this committee, TO do
more than sputter and go out.
But on the other hand, when We re.
dect that scientific sanitation is hard.
~ q generation old, and that during
that time some Of the most formula.
BILE foes Of humanity have been more
or less completely conquered. as yell
low fever. for example, and that
though the hookworm has been known
In this country less than ten years,
yet, at least in this state, 1t is receiving
attention TO some degree IN every in
habited community. and that at least
one OF our more advanced comuuni.
ties, ocala, has instituted. Of its own
initiative, a system of medical in
spection os schools. and that at least
one other. Jacksonville. has through
its health department, had a years
study in the public schools Of insect
enemies to life. by Offering prizes for
the best essays on mosquitoes and
dies, and that one other city. st.
Petersburg, has opened a free clinic,
especially for hoolzworm sufferers IN
the peninsula. and that Miami, De.
Land. Quincy and others are pushing
the public health propaganda by ar.
ranging for public lectures on SAM.
tary problems. and that the State
Dental Association is ready to give
its cooperation in the matter Of oral
hygiene. and that the State Fedora.
ton Of Wonan's Clubs IS an active
and aggressive agency in public
health matters. and that there are
about IFS Woman's School Improve.
ment Associations N the state. all
ready and eager TO give their assist.
ancs. and that the State Board Of
Health is issuing . monthly publica.
ton devoted to the very matters II
hand and sends 1t gratuitously to
every one who wants 1t, and in add
ton TO that 10 sending out special Leaf