Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-23
The World Fight for Health.

For the niteentn tune deIegateS io'i
all parts of the world meet today to dis
cuss questions of hygiene in an endeavor
70 amcliorate the evils that afflct hui
manity. Washington has been honored by
selection as the place of assemblage and
is prepared to make the eminent scleh-
fists of thirty-three nations who conf
prise the congress welcome, and To Tor
ward their deliberations as we'll as pos
s,Ile. This community takes deep IN
terest in the hygienic problems to the So
luton of which these men have devoted
their lives. II is a type of the American
determination to make life safer ana
healthier and happier through the cure
of ills. and it hopes that as result OF
this meeting American sanitary standards
will be raised even higher and Washing
ton. as a specific instance. will be bene-
fitted through the adoption of new SAM
tary methods.
The problems of hygiene which this con-
gress is organized to scUss are almost
exclusively the result of the close asso-
citation of humanity. Disease is not
natural condition. 1t seems to be almost
solely the result of the gregarious in
stinct, which causes the formation OF
groups of people and their gradually con-
Eested form of living. The impulse to-
ward companionship is apparently strong
er even than that of self-protection from
Illness and with ignorance prevailing for
many generations and centuries as TO the
nature of disease it is no wonder that
habits of slothfulness have formed and
the laws of health have been violated
f1agrantly and continuously by men of all
stages Of civilization. The task of the
health authorities of today is to overcome
the inertia of these many years. to teach
the lesson of individual responsibility
while setting up officially created safe
guards.
If every individual were aware not
merely of the letter Of the law of health
but of the fact that this law will not
protect him unless he contributes to its
enforcement there would be but little
work for the santarians to do. Unfor-
tunately long habit of dependence has
been formed, dependence first upon the
physician to effect cure when disease
occurs. and, second, dependence upon the
state to establish and maintain safe
guards. The physician cannot work
miracles. nor can the state absolutely
protect careless humanity from the effects
of its own indifference and ignorance and
insanitary abts.
In the work of establishing high
standard of hygiene publicity plays per-
haps the most important part. For every
law enacted there must be public compre-
hension OF its need, its benefcence and
its potential effectiveness If supported by
general acquescence and cooperation.
The newspapers of the United States have
done remarkable work during recent
years in this direction. and although per-
haps the most essential of all results are
yet to be accomplished, especially in
the more remote sections, yet a broad
and substantial foundation of general
understanding is being laid by the daily
press. No longer do the people consider
this a subject to be relegated to the spe-
cial.sts and the scientists. They are in
increasing numbers taking an intelligent
interest in matters of food purity. in the
protection of water supplies from pollu-
on, in the destruction of noXious insects
that carry disease, in the tabishment of
higher sanitary standards in places of
dense living. in the maintenance of pro-
tective measures among children in
schools, in the spread of information TO
arouse the ignorant from their disregard
of health laws. Through all such measures
TO he accomplished in the making of d s.
ease less prevalent and life therefore
more secure and productive.