The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-09-23
Fifth International Congress Of
Hygiene and Demography
HAVING 5000 DELEGATES
Taft Declared That We Need to Develop
Under Government Auspices Bu-
reau for Pushing Research
Along These Lines.

Washington, D. c.. Sept. 23.-Wel
coined by the president and attended by
three thousand delegates from all part;
of the world, the international congres,
of hygiene and demography opened to-
day. 1t was the first time in sixty years
that the congress has met in the United
States. Replies were made to President
Taft's greeting by the head of the dele
cations from each of thirty three eoun-
tries represented, After the morning
session, the congress prepared to start on
n series of lectures and discussions
which are to continue throughout the
week. A garden party at the White
House is scheduled for this afternoon.
In his address President Taft declared /:
eve need to develop under government
al auspices bureau or a department, in
which the funds of the government shall
be expended for research of every kind
useful in the practice and enforcement of
hygiene and preventative medicine
"That something of this sort may
grow out of the present United States
public health service there is reason to
believe" he continued, "but it will need
far greater appropriations and a widen
ing of its scope of duties before at shall
have filed the place that the medical
profession of this country has right to
lexpect the general government to create
jim the progress of hygiene and demogra-
ply"
"Our responsibilities in Cuba, Porto
Rico and the Philippines and now of the
l1sthmus of Panama, have so enlarged our
knowledge of the possibilities of success
Iful sanitation under the most burden
some conditions, and have so impressed
both professional men and the laymen at
all familiar with the conditions with the
necessity for more rigid and eomprehen-
Isive health laws, and a stricter enforce
ment of them for the general public
good, that if the Spanish war resulted in
nothing else. it was worth greatly more
than its cost in this useful development
of one of the most important functions
that modern government has to dis
charge, as well as in making clear the
need of an additional branch of general
education in the matter of hygiene of
ithe home and the individual
when we first went into the tropics
our purpose was to make the region
Ihabtable for white people. We have
demonstrated that as a possibility. Now
I'VE have gone beyond the mere provision
for those who come from the temperate
zone. and we are engaged in developing
the tropical races into strength of body
and freedom from disease that they have
never had before
Il consider it proud record for the
American Army that through its medical
corps engaged in hygienic work in the
tropics 80 many important discoveries as
to the transmission of disease and the
methods of stopping its spread have
been given to the world, and all of this
is dated chiefly from the time of the
Spanish war.
ut is very certain that but for those
discoveries the construction of the Pana-
ma canal which now since 1904 has been
going on with giant strides and which
will be completed within a year, would
have been impossible. The possibilities
of improvement through governmental
hygiene of tropical countries are so great
that it makes one who has any concep-
tion of what they are grow enthusiastic
in the contemplation of what centuries
may bring forth in this regard