Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-19

TVHE federal government deals
| with problems relating to the
| public health through five sep
| arate bureaus, under the ad-
| ministration of five of the
executive departments Foremost among
| these bureaus, by reason of the wide
range of its work. is the public health
and marine hospital service. which is
under the Treasury Department. Through
the bureau of chemistry. which protects
the national food supply; the bureau Of
animal industry. which inspects the ma
tions meat products. and the bureau of
entomology. which is leading the country
| wide fight for the abolition of the fly and
the mosquito. the Department of Agricul-
| ture has a large share in health conser-
walton In the United States. The war
Department is represented by the Medical
to its credit the final proof that the mos
quito is responsible for yellow fever. and
/ the additional credit of demonstrating the
possibilities of modern sanitation and
ment is represented by the Medical
Corps of the Navy. After these have all
done their work along comes the Depart
| ment OF Commerce and Labor, ana
statistics which show the effect Of the
| work Of all the other departments in their
efforts at conquering disease. reducing
mortality and promoting longevity.
That the health of the people is prob
lem Of prime Importance and that it can
be promoted, cutting down the death rate
and frightening the span OF HE, is
abundantly attested by vital statistics In
every civilized country; 1t is estimated Tea
that more than a million preventable
deaths occur each year in the United
States, and that these inflict an economic
loss on the nation Of more than billion
dollars. Between the census years of
1890 and 1900. the average American saw
his journey from the cradle to the grave
heightened from 81 years. 1 month and
q days. to 3j years. months and ~
days. The census of 1910 probably will
show an additional four years added to
the span of the average life.
According to insurance statistics the NOR
tally rate among the industrial classes
do. In Austria and Spain. where ig
norance of the laws of health is wide
spread. the death rate is nearly double
that obtaining in the United states. where
realized, and In India the average life
is but little more than half as long as
the average life in America. The death
rate from tuberculosis has fallen off one
half since Koch discovered its germ. The
death rate from diphtheria is only one
| third as great in Chicago today as it was
a generation ago. Every time the worlds
death rate is cut down one per thousand
1t means the saving of million and
half lives year.
From these statements it will appear
that the activity of the federal govern
| ment in the promotion of the national
health Is one of the most important con-
Germs. m the promotion of these ends
the bureaus concerned with the public
health find vast deal of interesting
work to do. The public health and ma
rine hospital service. presided over by
that eminent sanitarian, DR.. Walter wy
man. has a wide field of activities. Its
work in stamping out yellow fever in the
south a few years ago. its labors In pro-
tecting San Francisco from a threatened
outbreak of pestilence after the great
earthquake its services in stamping out
bubonic plague In California, its epoch
making Investigations Of the hookworm
disease it's work of artifcially growing
the bacillus Of leprosy. it's labor toward
uniting the western world in international
sanitary work and its successful re-
sistance of the threatened cholera cpl
denies which stormed the shores Of Amer
lea in 1892 and 1898. and again In 1910
and 1911, are few instances where it has
come prominently into the public eye. But
1t does a thousand things In the course OF
year which enable the average Amer
lean to feel a greater security against the
dangers of disease than he otherwise
could.
All through every day and night of
every year 1t stands guard at the ports of
the country to see that no 1oathsome or
dangerous diseases are permitted to come
into the country through those ports. The |
first person who boards an incoming
steamer after it takes up it's pilot is the |