The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-05-03
Important Subjects Discussed
 At Tuberculosis Meeting
ATTENDANCE IS LARGE
culosis Question and Speak in
 t Favor of Establishing Public Health Department

Washington, May 2.-Resolutions favor
 ing the establishment of a public health department, similar to the present govern
 ment department; opposing the action of
 the Oklahoma board of medical examiners excluding from practice in that state all physicians who have suffered at any | time from tuberculosis, and also the | Nebraska law which requires indgent | tubercular patients to take the serum course Of treatment, were adopted at tonights session of the National Asso- citation for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, which today began a two | days session in this city.
 Delegates were present from all parts | of the country organized to fight against | the white plague.
 | Dr. Leo K. Franckel of New York, su- perintendent of the industrial department of one of the large life insurance com- | panies of the United States, spoke to- | night.
 l Dr. Franckel's subject was '1nsurance | Against Tuberculosis" He pointed out l that it is feasible to insure against sick l ness, but unless some method by which | every workingman would be sobliged 10 | insure were devised the very classes
 among whom tuberculosis is most preva- l lent would not be reached by this in- l surance because rates would be too high. l He advocated the formation of local | municipal or county departments who l sEould collect taxes based on the pay | rolls of employers of labor, and who | should usAtr this fund for the care of tuberculosis workingmen.
 | of bo nav pf premiums on the part of employees | said Dr. Franckel, "it might be perfectly | feasible and constitutional to have a spe- | cial tax based ori the payrolls of em- | ployers of labor, this tax to be fixed and
 graded according to the amount of the
 payroll and probably also according to l the risks of the industry with reference
 to tuberculosis. Thus, for instance, dusty l trades would be required to pay larger proportional tax than trades where the risk of getting tuberculosis was not so | large"
 The most important topic discussed at | the day session was "A Budget and | Programme for a Local Anti-Tubercu- 1 losis Campaign the principal address | on this subject being by James Jenkins Jr.. of Brooklyn, secretary of the tuber- l cu1osis committee in that city. 1 MT. Jenkins insisted that the chief | function of a local ant-tuberculosis asso- 1 citation was educational and not remedial The society must do its work by means of exhibits, lectures, posters, newspaper | articles, he said, and in many other ways. Another function of the associa- | ton must be that of giving inspiration | and suggestion to others. MT. Jenkins l contended that the tuberculosis commit l tee of Brooklyn, of which he is the secre- | tary, had done its best work when it secured the assistance of the city, pri- l vate hospitals and others in doing work which the committee itself could never undertake.
 | He recommended, in raising funds to secure a large number of small donations rather than few large ones and ad- vised special collections in churches and Sunday schools for special kinds of work. In conclusion he said: Tn some localities the situation is such that a tuberculosis committee is really forced to do certain amount of relief work, but the responsibility for this relief even if initiated by the com
 mittee, should be placed as soon as pos
 s.hle on the shoulders of some regular
 relief organization, which perhaps is not
 fulfilling it's entire duty to the pub
 lin