The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-02-07
THE OTHER SIDE
 OF THE QUESTION.

Editor of the Evening Farmer:
 Sir-In the annual report of Health Officer Mcclellan. just made public. the subject of medical inspection in our public schools is again given proml- hence The Doctor makes a strong plea for it. and also recommends the employment of a. tra,ned nurse, who would devote her entire time to the work The recommendations are not based on past experiences. for the re- port says Bridgeport has been most fortunate hitherto in escaping serious outbreaks of contagious diseases; but should such occur. no adequate pro- vision is made to meet them.'
 If Bridgeport has been so forum ate in the past is there any good req son to suppose that she will not con- tinue to te so in the future? Are we not steadily advancing in hygiene and sanitary improvements, and should not this. of itself, have a ten oency to improve conditions in the fu- ture? The trouble With medical in- spection in the public schools is that 1t is the first step towards compulsory medicine. Surely this is wanted by no one. and the good Lord knows we are doctor ridden enough without it now. The report states that ''the only measure that could be adopted under the present conditions would be to close the school or schools affected, and this demoral:zes the schools" How let me ask. could the closing of the schools be avoided. if serious dis ease broke out among the scholars, even with medical inspection estab lished? In other cities. where med fcal inspection is established, the schools have been closed more fre- quently, and for slighter cause than ever before; and the demoralization of the schools. caused thereby, does not seem to have been considered any more than when large number of children are excluded for long per- iods, because not vaccinated. It looks we'll in print. and seems good to read that we are ob igated to use all pos Sible care for the protection of the children in the schools from disease, but when we remember how deter mined and persistent some members of the medical profession are to disease ali school children with the foul pro- ducts of diseased beasts and men. as in vaccination. compelling them to submit under penalty. of exclusion from their studies. we are compelled to exclaim Consistency, thou art jcweP'. and add. seldom found among members of the medical fraternity.
 That medical inspection. and em- piovment of ''trained'' nurses in the public schools. should be- strongly urged and recommended by doctors is natural. Ihey are unanimous Tn de- claring it a success. and it certainly has been flor the doctors'' wherever established. In New York city a sum of s147.000 was appropriated in 1904 for medical inspection in the public schools, and the year following the doctors were able to get this vast sum increased to s2O0 coo. There is no question about the success of med cal inspection "to the doctors when they were able to get the appropriation in creased by $53.000 in a single year. But success is usually measured in dollars and cents "by those who get the money. and if the thing were es- tahlished in Bridgeport, I venture to predict it woWd become a bowling success to our doctors in a very few years. Just how well the trained nurses would fare I will not venture to predict
 From the report of the New York Department of Health. we find that
 medical inspection is a success in other ways also. for, it says: "As re- suit of having inspectors to run down disease the operations at the dispensar- ies have increased largely. and that for some reason parents object to dis pensaries. Perhaps the reason for ob-