The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-10-11
THE NEW GOSPEL OF
HEALTH AND LONG LIFE

az the Knights of Pythias hall and
the Robson opera house,
The regular meeting was to have
taken place today but the society
was to listen TO a lecture delivered
by J. \. Mccormick OF Kentucky,
lecturer for the American Medical
Association of the United States. with
headquarters in Chicago, and there
fore had TO advance the regular
time OF meeting one day.
Yesterday afternoon was spent by
the physicians in rendering a re-
ception to Ur Mccormick and lis
tenirg to shor, address by him.
Last night the Robson opera house
was comfortably filled to listen to
the doctors lecture ON the New
Gospel of Health and Long Life"
Following I'm part is Dr McCormicfs
address:
THE greatest asset of any nation,
lis most important resource to he
considered Is that represented in its
vigorous population, its children
women and men. In fact, farms,
for ests, factories and similar things
called wealth, have little more than
an abstract value. except as there is
such population to operate and
enjoy them. The drain upon this
asset in this country from diseases
now known to be preventable, and
as a result of vicious and immoral
living, is estimated at more than
one-third of the entire sick and
death rate every year. The recognl-
tion of this drain and its causes, and
comparative study OF the results
OF better sanitation in other coun-
tries, and in some section of our
own country, have so impressed
economists. teachers and other lead
ers Of thought, that the American
Health League, a lay organization Of
10000 members, has been formed,
with headquarters at Yale, to arouse
and educate public sentiment on
the subject.
1T is shown that In ten years
on national government has expcnd
ed stO,O0O,0OO and now proposes to
appropriate $25O,O0O,OOO more, to pre-
vent tick fever i'm cattle. cholera in
hogs and chickens, pests to crops
and trees, and to protect other In.
terests having money value, while In
all its history It has never spent
dollar or lifted a hand TO protect
the people from these far more I'm
portant domestic pestilences. There
are experts and funds in abundance
al Washington to go anywhere for
investigation, or to prepare litera
ture in regard TO any animal or
plant disease, any agricultural re.
source, water power, or other condi'
llDlI uutANlll6 NoLliAll'l'ldl III 'i'1Not
but the citizen will inquire in vain
for information about protecting his
family from typhoid fever or other
sickness.
When we have urged legislation
for these purposes, otherwise intelli-
gent congressman and state legisla
tors have not hesitated to say that
doctors asked for these laws for their
own benefit, without stopping to con
slider that in so far as they prevent
sickness they diminish their own
incomes, the very unselfishness Of
the movement causing it to be mis-
judged, as legislation saw no other
vocation there working against its
own interests.
Had doctors been as united and
taken the same pains to keep in
touch with, and guide the people
during the formative period of our
government as the lawyers did,
health and medical boards would al
ways have been as much a part of
the warp and wOof OF our county
state and national machinery as the
courts. They ought to have been be
cause more important just in pro-
portion as health and life are more
important than property interests.
Whether It will be necessary for
physicians to go into public life in
the interests of these reforms, as
they were forced to do in Europe
is a question for the future. For a
century our legislative bodies, state
and national, we're dominated by
high class lawyers. Better oppOrtun-
itics are now open TO this class
and such positions are sought by
lowor grade OF lawyers and others
who make a business Of politics (
With this change, others have come .
The problems before this country
were meyer before sO COmDlpT or