The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-12-21
pR, WILLIAMS RswEREp

Ii. JAO. nOy W1I1lduS generous ap-
proval of some of my remarks in re-
cent issue of The Hustler is highly ap-
preciated but he might have lettza bet
ter taste in the odth kof his headers
if he had not pEsteedeto mi4pepper
and spice with Ms sugar. MfiiIe no
member of the Hpar dof Heath nor
its executive ofadAE elaine t be in
possession of al lthS facts con rning
this great white plagSe and best
method of controlling itand whae they
welcame just fou1 I'd on
facts, they prefer that their teacher be
less dogmatic and more free from
misstatements' and erroneous
teaching When one undertakes to
critieise the acts 0fr those who are
striving for BETTER Health conditions,
he ahould have d kre that his stateA
ments and arguments are based on
factss No caiticismbas better than an,
unjust criticism based on false pro-
misses. When say that there sa lit
tie danger even in living next door to
careless consumpttve, speak ad-
visedly. Perhaps in al DR.. Williams
recent I fsaaing haAasf t6tttSd The
works Of Dienlafoy, the feat Parisia4
teacher published in hSflea IN 1911
and used as a text7hpdk u some msnt,
EcaI schoofs. He rec6snizes eco6H1tasgfonh'
hoth throp gh the alEAta atssanq rss1
piratory tracts. He says:-Expori-
snce has proved that Eh9 5butulh may
be dried, powdered and kept for weeks
without losing its virulence, since. this
dust when inhaled by animals causes
Tuberculosis" Forcheimer says: cit
has been shown that infection takes
place especially by the dried bacillus" 4"
Billings, the talented teacher in the
medical department Of that most mod
orn university which is an everlasting
monument to the great Baptist denom-
ination, the University Of Chicago, said
in 1910 "at present the theory first ad-
Vanced Is still the most log1cal-the
aerial theory" Councilman Of Harv-
ard says, "Dr4ed sputum in ayroom ex-
posed to diffase daylight may retain
it's virHlence two months. -" My latest
lEncycloped up to date, says that to-
Iberculosis is commonly contracted in
three ways ID by Inhalation, (2) In
gestion, that is the food or. drink, (3)
by inoculation, that ia through wounds.
Indeed DR.. Williams is the only au-
thority have found who denies tho
transmission OF tuberculosis through
the air. If DR.. Williams means that
tuberculosis is not carried by pure air,
we are. all agreed. No disease is car
ried by pure air. But the dhst-laden
air! aye, there Is the rub. The infec-
tlous sputum, reduced to powder, Is
blown by the breezes, the dust-laden
| breezee, and is inhaled and deposited
on the mucous membrane of air pas
pneumonia, measles, lagrippe, whoop-
sages already diseased by bronchitis,
ing cough or some other disease. Aye,
| it travels on the wings OF the wind
even from the back yard in which you
do not play because the keeper Is care
less. It establishes the disease on
this favorable soil afforded by the dis
eased, weakly resistant mucous memF
| brane. Thence it may penetrate into
the utmost recesses Of mans anatomy.
Let the reader form his own opinion
as to whether tuberculosis may be
Carried from holse to house by air
transmission" Since the most OF DIR.
tWIlliams' argument depends ON his
unsupported, statement that tubercu-
| losiS is not conveyed by the air and
since H9have ,adduoed good and recent
authority to refute his dogmat1c state
ment that "alI Scientific Experts ac-
Ecept ,his view that, ,tuberculosiS-4s not
Transmitted through the air. We must
give his sarGumente the same crede0ce
we give his statement.
I readily assent and insist tRat II
careful consumptive is not ginger
oTo citizen. Nor will the Careful con
oumntivA resent the efforts or neaItn
authorities to minimize the dangers
fr6TyS,l careless 1carfiers of tubercfe pa
ciln It is the careless whom we WISH
10 roach and teach The careful viii
chaerfully. submit to such regulations
&C will safeguard the whole commun-
i+v If DIR Williams should take
stand on diphtheria and scarlet feVer
.siunffar to his tuberculosis attitude no
I1oIIbtaf1e would "have many support
erssfn the community but such sup
n0rt would be little evidence that reg
istering his disapproveP is "the right
way" to promote public health. 4
The Board of Health fully realizes
that il is impossible TO frame sufficient
an Unsatisfactory regulations for the
control Of tuberculosis. It Is also
5awares Of tie fact that its acts may not
be constitutional, and does not propose
to Enforce these acts till the supreme
court passes on judge PEBBLES dec1-
sion. 1t also knows that it has hardly
touched the greatest danger of conta-
gion, the sputum-abont which there
is already a tower of evidence and
about which every physician is sup
posed to carefully instruct his patients.
It realizes that much more must be
learned and practiced before tubercu-
losis can be banished A progressive
man is ever ready to change his ideas
to suit the facts. / hope the doctor
viii lrealize that careless consump-
tive is just little dangerous to his