Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1911-09-01
FIGHT WAGED UPON
TRACHOMA PROVES
SUGGEST Ill
SANTA FE CONVENTION ON
DISEASE is INTERESTING
HuddIing Together of Indians
in PuebIOS Aids Spread ofI
Trouble, Says Dr. Dillon inl
Address,
I Special ni,patch to the Morning sonrnal1

Especial Di>natch Ia the Morning JournaI1
/. Santa Fc, y. N. Aug. 9i.--"Tra-
ehoma among the Indians is matter
for less alarm today than it was
year ago-it is being fought and with
great success among the younger In
dians who 80 10 schools and is thor
oughlN under control in these schools.
In the pueblos an educational cru
/ sade is being made against the raw
ages of trachoma as against ubercu-
losis."
statement OF Or. Joseph r. Mur-
phy, medical supervisor of the Unit
ed States Indian Service.
a feature of the Trachoma eonven-
ton ne" IN session at the United
states Indian industrial school and
presided over by Clinton j. Crandall
who was rendered the honor unanim-
ously by the prominent physicians and
superintendents present, was the pa
per read by Or Dillon of Laguna Pu-
eblo.
DR. Dillon threw the spot light on
the conditions in which the Indian
who has his own way lives TODAY
ana which he SAYS 'is CLOSELY akin to
the slum districts Of large cities barr
ing the fact that we have no foci of
infection such as decomposition of
vegetable matter and we have the
most healthful climate"
He states, without mincing words,
that the Indians lot could be greatly
improved if he could be induced to
live on his ranch and avoid the hud-
died life of the village, but so far
this is impossible as the Indian seems
a true devotee OF the tepee and the
crowded room where the air. should
be highly interesting to every chem
ist.
The convention is stll in session. II
is being attended hH DR. Joseph T.
Murphy. medical supervisor Of the
United States Indian Service and che
leader Of the fight for sanitation
among the red men Of the land. Dr
Keck of the Albuquerque school and
adjacent pueblos Or. johnson Of
Taos: Dr. Holt of San Juan: Dr.. Nc
Chcsncy OF the northern pueblo of the
Rio Grande; DR.. w. S. Harroun. the
well known physician of Santa Fe and
who Is identified with the medical de-
partment of the Indian school here
and Or. A. Henry Dunn who was best
known here as "trachoma expert"
when he started the agitation about
trachoma which may lead to much
good in enlisting aid to wipe ont the
disease among the Indian and po-sib-
ly his pale faced friends.
Besides the physician there were
in attendance A. G. Pollock a prom
inent young official of the United
States Indian service and who is tenn
porarilN in charge Of the United
States school here. Superintendent K.
Perry OF the Albuquerque Indian
school; superintendent Ionegrin of
the Southern Pueblos, Rio Grandc,
and NJ. l.. Dorr. a high official Of the
department of the interior who has
been out here on special work for
several weeks.
1t was an interesting gathering and
one Of great Importance. At it the
status of trachOma among the Amer-
can Indian especially of the southwest
was carefully gone over and statistics
looked into DR. Murphy with Mr..
Door, Mr.. Pollock and uperintendent
Crandall met the representative of
the New Mexican and stated that a
conservative average of the number
Of trachoma cases is probably thirty
three per cent but that there are pu-
eblos where there is practically no
trachoma. These are Zuni. lsleta,
San Felipe and in Arizona there is
no traehoma among the Pinas, APP
aches and Papagos Indians
Not Started by Dust.
DR. Murphy said that trachoma is
due to an infection but the germ is
ultra microscopic
He said that he did not think that
trachoma is necessarily more preva-
lent in dusty countries than in others
for in certain places Of Arizona where
the dust is thick enough to cut it with
q knife there is no trachoma among
the Indians.
DR.. Murphy stated that in the pasl
year at the United States Indian In
dustrial School here that of 33 per
cent of eases of trachoma observed,
10 or 10 per cent had gone away prac-
tically well and 20 per cent now un-
der treatment show the most encour-
aging prognosis. This is just what
the fighters OF trachoma among the
Indian desire; to control and cure the
disease among the young Indians, for
Il is more or less a hopeless task to
prapple with ii when 1t has worked
its ravages for years on the eyelids
of the older people.
MI. Crandnll stated that the state
of New Mexico" ought certainly TO 1
have some regulation for the exami- |
nation of all children in schools for
the purpose Of detecting trachoma IN
the early stages as other diseases. DR..
Murphy took the same view ana
pointed out the attention that Is paid
to scarlet fever. smallpox and measles.