The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-08-04
The WHITE PERIL.
Consumption Must Be Prevented
Rather Than Cured.
STAMP OUT THE INFECTION.

Unless the Germs Of the Oissass In ths
Habitation, Whether Il Be House or
Tent, Are Utterly Destroyed Fresh
Air and "curssr Avail Little.
There Is no cure for tuberculosis,
and probably never will be, accepting
the word ''cure. In the sense OF some
special medicine. disease prevented
is better than cured. for no one Is so
we'll OF physically or financially after
any illness. and particularly does this
truth apply to tuberculosis. The sue
cessful prevention OF disease does
away with any need for its cure"
This Is we'll exemplitied in the case Of
yellow fever. We have never succeed
ed in finding cure for that former
scourge OF the south. but we have
done far better. We have wiped out
the disease bodily. bag and baggage,
by simple preventive methods.
So writes DR.. #. G. Walsh In the
Technical World Magazine. and he de-
clares that Notwithstanding the Top
timists," the disease is on the increase.
He singles out and lays great stress on
the fact that consumption Is conta-
gious disease and on the contention
that It Is not contracted to any great
extent through infected milk or even
by the using the drinking cups that
consumptives use or through the spit
ting nuisance" Its spread Is through
the infection OF the habitation. Here
Is one Of his parallels:
Brown had moved in the month OF
May into house in another part OF
the town where he had always lived.
BY fall he had contracted tuberculosis.
1t was discovered later that several
different families who had occupied
this same house In succession had lost
several members from tuberculosis. No
attempt had ever been made to disin-
feet the house. Brown went to far
western state. pitched his tent on q
certain spot. and never made any
change from that one spot until his
death. Note that fact. AS a result
! the soil over which he slept night
after night became saturated with the
accumulated germs which he expelled
In coughing. so that he was continually
at night rebreathing into his system
the very '.seeds'' which cause the dis
ease. he was repoisoning himself
nightly and didn't know It. His sys-
tenn would have been able to throw OF
the original germ poison" which II
contracted. but 1t was not strong
enough to Withstand new dose OF
the poison every night, Had he chang
ed the location of his tent daily he
could have slept each night in an at
mospbere practically germ free.
Jones is another victim. He goes tc
the same state. He has an idea that
he can get along without any tent and
sleeps with only the stars above. rolled
4 up In his blanket. He naturally moves
4 from place to place, each day sleeping
on new and different ground each
night. He ends by being cured.
Smith has the disease and goes t.
the west. He feels and looks In per
feet health long before a year Is gone
He returns home. satisfied that he Il
cured In less than four months he Il
again 10 the tenacious clutches of tn.
disease
There is q lesson in this. The opei
air treatment is all right. but 1t mus
be carried out by right methods. Al
early cases of consumption whicl
have failed to recover by outdoo
| treatment must lay the blame t
, faulty treatment. Jones. who recover
ed. you will remember. did change hi
location every day. having NO tent t
bother him. and In doing 80 avoidet
, the fatal mistake of Brown.
How about Smith? The case o
Smith is OF the greatest Importance
and returned to his home feeling fine
, back to what2 To the very sam
, plague ridden room In which he ha,
first contracted the disease-a roor
reeking with tubercular germ life an
which had been occupied. 1t wa
learned later. by FIVE different cor
sumptives ut various times. The dill
ease got hold on him second tim
. for the simple reason that he cam
a back to the original source OF his dis
ease. He should have sought neV
quarters. or else the house. and partit
ularly the room he occupied. shoul
have been disinfected before being o,
8 cupied by him or any one else. Thes
4 three cases cited are but typical il
/. stances. There are thousands upo
a thousands OF Browns. .Toneses an
q Smiths living and dying this very da
a whose story. If told in Its true ligh
!. would match exactly the simple b,
!. pathetic history Of these three men.
The thing that the doctor brings OF
is that consumption must he prevente
y rather than cured: that prevention
n easy and cheap and lies In disinfectio
v This. In the case Of the consumptive
quarters. he insists. should be at len
once a week The formula is simpl
: "Fumigate every room in the hou,
with vapor given OF by heatir
formaldehyde: wash all the floor
Il windows and woodwork with mild 8
B. lutions of corrosive sublimate al
'r water" Fresh air. either at home
d elsewhere. he establishes, is In itse