The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-09-24
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION.

An OtNlE tt PkEt ENTtoN.
"One drachm of prevention is worth a hogs
head of cure is the maxim on one of the
placards in the Red Cross building in wash
irgton. where the fifteenth international Con-
gress of Hygiene and Demography convened
yesterday.
This placard, bearing the revised version of
the old proverb, gives the keynote of the con-
ference and tells the chief motive which actu-
ates the physicians who are attending. In
other words, the one principal object of the
meeting is to study the prevention of diseases
rather than their cures The cure of disease
has made rapid progress within the last few
years, Yellow fever, tuberculosis, rabies. SEX
ual diseases and others have been studied, and
in many cases ~efectual cures discovered; but
while great advance has been made by scien-
lists in these directions, prevention has not
received the attention it deserves. 1t is to
study more closely methods OF prevention that
these physicians expect to devote their time.
Says an official of the conference:
But despite all these pronounced cures,
which are the best that the greatest scientific
brains of the world have been able so far to
develop. these diseases continue to carry Off
their victims, 1t is safe to estimate that more
than 80 per cent of the~warld.s- merta!ities is
caused by these diseases or their immediate
allies. So. despite ages and ages OF research
and experiments, there is yet no insurance
AGAINST the death of a person, who IN stricken.
There is an insurance against Illness, however,
- It.. H. - -. -H.,I - 49, -. -
world"
The cure of diseases, thinks this official, can
be left to medical experts, but their prevention
can be entrusted TO the public. Medical science
can cope with disease, but of far greater i'm
portance is the fight to prevent disease. A
program of publicity and education will be
mapped out at the conference. To the physi-
clans belong the cure. to the public the pre-
vention of diseases, under the guidance and
training of the students of medicine and by
giene. Most of the papers to be read will deal
with prevention. The papers win deal with
eating, sleeping. drinking, working and play
ing. telling the people how 10 retain their
strength and health and prepare themselves
for the production of healthy children.
Doubtless, any one who could read all OF
these papers would conclude that it would re-
qpire all his time to keep we'll" another off
cial remarked, "but this is not true. The
cream of these teachings is that we must keep
clean physically and morally, follow the simple
rules of life, such as We require of our finely
bred animals, and devote attention to the
breeding of the human race as We do in the
breeding of thoroughbred animals and the pro-
pagatien- of beautiful flowers and fine vege-
tables
This physician strikes the right key when
he inmates that people devote more study
and attention to the propagation and rearing
of animals than of people, Senator Bailey. in
opposing the establishment of a children's bu-
reau by the federal government, wanted to
know If we should bring children down to the
level of hogs. Quickly came the retort:
mo. we wish to bring them up to the level
CT hogs" the intimation being that more at
tention is paid to the breeding of hogs than
10 the rearing of children.
Disease is ever with us. 1t cannot be pre-
vented. probably. until the coming of the Mas
ter's kingdom. For this reason all the atten-
ton that can be given to curing disease is
time and effort we'll spent; but because we
cannot reach perfection is no reason why we
should not have perfection as our goal: Where
prevention is impossible, we call on cure.
| here cure is impossible we die The start
ing point Is prevention.