The Washington herald., 1912-09-19


OF a government in which / have nc
voice. said DIR. Wiley, and whose peo
pie live under the sway of appointed
governors. II practically would fal
upon those governors, but why should
they welcome you to the city. for they
are not of the city. am chosen for tbs
task because ! am a Hoosier.
Political Mortality High.
Il do not know where you can do bet
ter missionary work than here. We lead
the country in a good many respects
We have one of the highest typhoid
rates in the country, and the death rate
is very high. though not so high ir
many quarters as / would like to see g.
However. political mortality is greater
in Washington than anywhere else IN the
country II has been fearful in the
past and promises TO be even greater IN
the near future We have our chief
pleasure here in welcoming people who
come up here at regular intervals in all
their wisdom-and leave later"
Referring to the psrsimony of Congress
toward the Health Department, Or. Wiley
sad:
Here we have a Congress which APP
pr opriates annually for various purposes
more than N.1a COo00o. 4 few years ago
Il voted to the health officer of the Dis
trIct the huge sum of 500 to equip his
Ia boratories for the study and proven
ton of contagious diseases. This year
Congress did better. II gave. l under
stand. the munificent sum OF $40 to tight
contagious diseases in the District for
enc year.
{S have said Ollf side
CT Washington and l think l have the
courage to say il here. l wish all infec-
tious diseases in this District would at
tack only families of members of Con-
gTess and leave the rest of us free Then
W, would be able. one candidate for
President expressed it. to make this the
model city of the world. 1t is model
city nova model TO be avoided.
In telling the delegates that their duty
as public health officers was to con-
serve life, DIR. Wiley made a plea for
the prolongation of life beyond the pres
ent average duration IN this country.
Average Life Forty-four Years.
Statistics show us" he said, that
the average expectancy Of life in this
country is forty-four years. Other sta
tistics show us that men and women at
tain their greatest degree of usefulness
toward the public between the ages OF
sixty and seventy. In other words, We
die in this country sixteen years before
We reach our period of efficiency.
want to see more gray hairs and fewer
bald heads. This country is not full of
people. We have only 1OOO0O,OOO. We
nave room for 5O0,0oO,OcO children, youths.
fathers and mothers. grandfathers and
,l,,-N A,,l haf {S fna
you are to preach. the doctrine of the
prolongation of life.
THE time liz coming-it is here-when
the conservation of man will be more of
a theme ard be more discussed than the
conservation of natural resources. 1t Is
bad enough 10 follow to the grave an
old man or woman. but how much
greater the sorrow as we follow the
infant or the young man and young
woman"
DR.. wiley's address followed the invo-
cation by Rev. James Shera Montgomery.
Responses to the address of welcome
were made by DR.. Henry D. Holton. Sec
rotary of the Vermont Board of Health.
for the United States: DR.. P. II. Bryce.
of Ottawa. for the Dominion of Canada; ;
Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, president of the
Superior Board of Health for the City
Of Mexico, for Mexico: DR.. Federico
VI inc
Board of Health and Charities, for Cuba.
Dr. John y. Hurry. in the address Of
the president. sounded the keynote of the
days session when ne spoke for work Of
prevention in place of cure.
DR.. Hurty's speech.
Dr. Hurry, who is secretary of the In
diana State Board of health, said in
part:
The fact that right now our practical
business men are eager to pay millions
for cure, and can with difficulty be in
duced to spend in comparison an insis-
nificent sum for prevention Is evidence
of the correctness Of this contention.
IF an archangel with credentials to
prove his power were to come to WASH
ington and during a lull in the political
hubbub We're to tell us that for S10O, OOo. 900
he would cure all the diseases and would
leave the medicine or It's formula to cure
them as fast as they appeared after he
was gone, we would raise the 300, 900 900
in no time. Congress. all the State legis-
latures. board of trade, commercial clubs,
and bankers organizations would trem-
BILE with activity in their eagerness to
produce the hundred millions.
ITO hope to overcome disease by cure
is simply ridiculous To try to sweep