The Sentinel=record., 1912-05-15

that the discovery Of the theory ol
 fermentation by the great Pasteur stanIs out as the most conspicuous of modern times, if not for all time. The discovery of the pathologic germ sounded the death knell of proyiden- tial' disease, and medicine was placed
 upon a scientific basis.
 The discovery of the circulation of
 the blood was made by a physician;
 the discovery of the theory of fer mentation was made by a biologist, a
 near-physican. A physician discov.
 cred the cause Of tuberculosis, also
 anttoxin. investigation of spirochete infections led to the production of Salyarsan by a physician. In fact | discovery since medicine has been clothed with the dignity of a profes | sion that has not been made by phy-
 sicians, and best of all and above
 all, for the public good and not for personal gin The moral impulse which stirs the American Medical as socation with it's 95.0OO members the
 greatest organization of its kind in the world, to bring about a genera education of the people in sanitation, i hygiene and wholesome citizenship, is the best example of altruism the world has ever witnessed. With the
 motto of Pasteur at its masthead, "It is within the power of man to rid him
 self of every parasitic disease, the crusade of conservation of national
 vitality, the propaganda against nos trums and patent medicine frauds wifi
 be waged by this old organization
 with it's 70 component associations until the people are delivered from
 the forces of evil.
 It would seem that the efforts of
 the medical profession to prevent dis
 ease, conserve health and prolong life,
 would meet with hearty co-opera-
 ton of the people and the state gov l ernment. With the knowledge now
 possessed. at least 50 per cent of the
 diseases which affect mankind could
 be prevented. Of the 15O.000 persons
 who die annually in the United States of Tuberculosis, it Is conseryatiyely
 estimated that 1l0.OOO could be saved by the application of sanitary and hygienic knowledge At least 400, 900 persons die each year in this coun- try who could be saved to their fami- lies and the state
 The business of disease prevention and life saving is the transcendent movement of the age With only a few exceptions all nations are engaged in promoting the health of their cti- zens, and there is no better criterion of the intelligence and foresight of people than is to be found in the
 measures they employ to prevent dis
 ease and conserve health The na- tional debt of the United States is insignificant in comparison with the burdens which disease is fastening lupon the people, and the truth of this statement is just beginning to dawn upon and find Judgment in the minds of the people. It matters not what he ideals of people may be; what ambitions and impulses inspire them, disease is the iconoclast which shat ters and destroys; its nav is filled l with the bodies or millions who should today he enjoying the pleasures of life and contributing to the sum of human happiness. Medical research unham- pered and encouraged by the states. will at the end of the next hundred years. have laid the foundation for | condition of life which cannot be
 even imagined ai present. Longevity 1 win have so increased that the young
 adult of today will then have just en-
 tered his childhood and the old man
 his prime To relate the economic
 anu social conditions which would fol. low relatively diseasefree existence. would sound like fairy tale. and could hardly be believed. Medical
 science is doing its duty toward hast
 ening the millennium, and whether
 it be far in the future or near. there
 win be no relaxation of energies nor
 interruption in the humanitarian movement to which the medical pro
 fession is committed
 Supervision of every condition and
 circumstance which has bearing on | public health and the education of the
 masses in all that relates 10 the
 causation and prevention of disease,
 is not only one of the fundamental functions of government but a bound.
 en duty which it should diligently perform From the moment the first cry of the newborn baby Is heard
 until old age closes the scene, the