Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-08-01
WHY THIS ECONOMY ?

council IL was r6pOFUou UIldO d h1oo'7
is soon to be introduced which VIII
cause discontinuance of the medlcal
inspection in our public and parochlal
schools This, we learn, VIII be Done
for economic reasons, we are ashamed
to say. The health conditions III
Wausau for the past five years is TOO
well known to need reviewing. we
have had scarlet fever and diphtherla
with us to more or less extent each OF
those years, sometimes assuming the
proportions of an epidemic. Deaths
have resulted from both diseases ana
several who have recovered are left IN
a defective state.
Mass meetings have been called 10
devise means of stamping out these
diseases, and Wausau newspapers
have demanded a more rigid quaran-
tine than was maintained and also
conducted a campaign for the estab-
lishment of medical inspection in the
schools. The results are apparent TO
her think tank. Gradually the two
diseases are being stamped out. 10
day, for the first time in several
years, there is not case of diphtherla
in the city, and scarlet fever cases
have been reduced to six, four OF
them being in one locality in Parcher-
vile.
We don't claim that medical in
spection in the schools has been the
sole agency for doing all this, but it
has in large measure been response
BILE for the attainment of these condi-
tions. Moreover, medical inspection
in our schools has resulted in waking
parents up to physical defects in
their children. A lot of children
were withdrawn from school on &C
count of being afflicted with adenoids,
defective vision, ETC., and have since
been given medical attention, and
have either recovered or are on the
road to recovery.
Concerning medical inspection in
schools, read the following, quoted in
the American Medical Journal, from
well known Wisconsin physicians:
DR.. Richard w. Jones, Wausau:
Mandatory inspection of publicschools
is mOSG important matter. The
system of inspection has been in vogue
in Wausau for a year, and the out
look is very promising. The cam
paign is practically one of education.
DR.. George p. Barth, Milwaukee:
Inspection of schools in Milwaukee
was begun April, 1909. Since then
ten physicians have been appointed
as medical inspectors, and one dental
inspector has been appointed. The
results are gratifying. Hygienic con-
ditionS both in the school and in the
home are greatly improved. Special
attention is sought to be given to
mental and physical detectives; to the
establishment of outdoor schools; to
the proper seating of children; segre-
eating the especially backward and
exceptionally brilliant pupils, and
giving proper school facilities for the
exceptional students. Special study
is given to truancy, it's cause and
cure.
DR.. @. r. Bardeen, Madison; The
need of medical inspection in the
schools is shown in the examination
of students for admission to the uni
versity. The medical inspector re-
ports that only twenty-five per cent
of the young men and six per cent of
the young women are perfectly nor
NAL. Because of ignorance Of the
Importance of medical inspection, the
public is rather niggardly, and should
be educated to the Importance of be-
ing willing to pay literally for the
protection of public health, and not
require this protection, as at present,
to be in the nature of practically a
free gift from the medical profession
to the public. The University of
Wisconsin will start next year a
course for public health officers.
Dr. Charles s. Sheldon, Madison
The school should be a place where
health is promoted, not place, as is
too often the case, where health is
threatened and disease contracted.
The economic waste resulting from
our carelessness is enormous. There
should be ultimately a state inspec-
tor to systematic the work and give
proper instruction. Local inspectors
in places of considerable size should
devote their whole time to the work
and should be we'll remunerated there
for.
DR.. John NJ. Beffel, Milwaukee:
The time for the state to begin the
medical inspection of the child is at
the beginning of the child's life, and
the state should not wait until the
child enters school at the age of five
or six years. The state controls the
child so far as contagious diseases are
concerned, yet only eight per cent of
the children under five years of age
suffer from contagious diseases. If
the state could follow the child
through the first year of its life, it
could control the fifty per cent death
rate of preyentable diarrheaI diseases,
and reduce it almost to zero. Men
and women are trained for every oc-
cupation except fatherhood and
motherhood
A biased individual might say that
the profession will boom medical in
spection because it means dollars and
cents to its members. 1t was at one
tina clio mad thnt tho nnrtl, l. 90