The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-11-23
HEAD OF BIGGEST EYE CLINIC
Work Of DR.. Arlington Pond Of .Rut-
land in the Philippines.


OF the heroic work of DR.. Arlington
Pond, a former Rutland boy, has
reached this city from Cebu, of the
province of Cebu, in the Philippine
islands and the story as told by the
leading paper of that city is interest
ing in the extreme. DR.. Pond left
this city Is years ago and he has not
been home for IL years. He is now
at the head of the biggest eye clinic
in the world and when the report left
the islands he was treating 166 chill
dren for trachoma, disease of the
eye lids, every Tuesday and Friday.
He is assisted in the work by the port
health officer, Dr. Schwartz.
DR.. Pond has since his graduation
from the medical schools been inter-
ested in the worst types of infectious
and contagious diseases and since his
advent into the medical world of the
island had gotten together over 1000
lepers, persuaded the Cebu people to
burn their pest house and new home
for these unfortunates has been con-
structed under the supervision of DR..
Pond.
Last August it was seen by the
health officers that many children of
Cebu were suffering with trachoma
and they at once offered to open
clinic for the school children after
general examination had been made
of the girls and boys in the various
grades The first day 20 children
turned up to be treated They stood
the treatment, which is painful, with
out a word and the next day set for
the clinic all showed up again bring
ing with them others who were in
fected. The increase continued until
166 were given the treatment at the
clinic. In one instance a child was
nearly blind with the disease and its
complications and now he is nearly
cured A goodly number have been
released as cured.
An editorial in the same paper with
whether or not the work is appreciat-
ed by the Filipinos.
II reads as follows:
THE attention of our readers is
drawn to the front page article on
the trachoma clinic being held twice
week by Drs. Proud and SwartZ.
In this Cebu has the. greatest single
clinic of its kind in the world. and
has again cause to congratulate its
elf on possessing two such clever and
hard working medicos. When history
comes to be written of the Cebu prov
ince great honor will go to DR.. Ar
lington Pond for his monumental
work.
THE high compliment paid to him
by Father Lynch of the Redemptorist
Fathers, during his recent visit to
Manila, was as timely as it was de-
served. There is no man living in the
Philippines today who has been a
truer friend and benefactor to the Fill
ipinos than DR.. Proud. He has clean
ed up Cebu in his capacity of health
officer in a manner which calls for
the greatest admiration; never has
he forced the laws in sanitation in a
brutal way; he has always the deep
est consideration for the people and
their circumstances. and the one
great feature of his work has been his
success in inforcing the law with
thought and care for the people at all
times. He has been in fact a "fami-
ly' doctor to the province.
He has won the people, he has pur
suaded them into a condition of per-
feet confidence in him, and while his
hand has been strong and firm, IL has
always had a friendly touch and heal
ing power The manner in which the
zoe odd children came to his tracho-
ma clinic, voluntarily, for treatment
and endure the ordeal without finch
ing, coming with perfect confidence
and trust is a monumental testimony
to the hold that the doctor has on
the people and the perfect confidence
they have in his word and work. II
tire should be one who has doubt
of this statement let him go to the
railway hospital where the clinic is
held on Tuesday and Friday and see
for himself the truth of our state
ment"
DR.. Pond went to the Philippines
as a surgeon in the regular army but
has since resigned to take a position
as president of the board of health
in Cebu and the Southern island He
is son of Mrs Norman Seaver and
his other relatives in this city in
clude a brother. DIR. W. r. Pond, and
a sister, Mrs. Charles NJ. Lyman. Dr.
Il. NJ Pond is his uncle.
f. NJ Pond is his uncle.-Rutland
Herald