The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-12-08
Address Delivered at Meeting
Yesterday Afternoon in Oh
servance Of Tubercu-
losis Day.
PUBLIC INTEREST NEEDED
Cooperation Of Laity and Med
ical Science Needed in Wag-
ing War Against
Disease.

Under the auspices Of the Keokuk
| Trades and Labor Assembly, meet
Ing was held yesterday afternoon in
the opera house for the observance of
tuberculosis day. The principal adj
dress was delivered by Dr.. Bruce l..
jGilfllan. Rev. John o. Ledbetter.
pastor of the First Methodist Protest
ant church, also delivered an interest
Ing address. D. j. Hemmy, president
of the Keokuk Trades and Labor AS
sembly, presided at the meeting.
i At the request of DR.. A. e. Kepford,
state lecturer, the state Federation OF
Labor, agreed to cooperate with the
state board of health in the observ-
ance of tuberculosis day, through the
meetings which were held by the var
iious assemblies in the state. A letter
to the meeting from DR.. Kepford en-
phasizing the necessity of public in
lterest in combating the white plague
was read.
Rev. Ledbetter said that those at
the meeting had come there for the
purpose of doing good to themselves
las well as to their neighbors, in short,
keeping the Golden Rule. Il am aston
lfshed that this matter has not come
|up before the Ministerial Association
before. But we are glad In our own
hearts that the assembly has taken
this matter in hand and calls the at
tention OF the public to the necessity
of fighting the plague"
Following the address Of DR.. Gil
!. fillan. Rev. Ledbetter lead the meeting
in prayer.
Among the modern activities of 30
ctety, none are more conspicuous
than those directed toward the con-
, esryation OF national resources. OF
i thees, none is OF such fundamental i'm
portance as the health of the people.
While this fact has always been ap-
preciated by those qualified to form
an opinion its general popular accent
alton is a matter OF but comparatively
recent date.
+ This growth of interest in health
questions may be attributed to two In
; fluences-namely, the impressive and
important results of medical research
and the persistent dissemination of In
formation related to such results tc
the laity. The dissipation Of the lnys
, terry that formerly surrounded dis
: eases with which we are more or less
: familiar; the discovery of the under
: lying factors in the epidemic occur
rance of disease; and the discovery
of specific agents for the prevention
y and care of diseases, constitute topics
! well calculated to fascinate. In conse
Il quence, we have a public not only
reasonably conscious of these ad
e vances and their meaning, but alst
eager to witness their utilization TO
q it's good. 1t is not surprising there
IS fore, that the layman, individually AM
II collectively, is beginning to busy him
y self with the affairs of those ofticiall.
'r responsible for the conservation o
lie health.
a, The layman has witnessed In tn
s. last thirty years, smallpox robbed 0
n its terrors by vaccination, diphtheri
Of mortality greatly lessened by reasol
ID of anti-toxin, and In the last two o
IS three years, typhoid fever has had t
IL bow its head when attempting to BIZ
come epidemic in communities, to ty
TO phoid vaccine and proper sanitation
is And now we have a nationwide can
in paign against the greatest death pre-
IN Queer of all disease, the white plagu
to or tuberculosis, commonly called cor
ic sumption.
It. Greatest Destroyer of Life.
It. The United States, as a whole
st realizes that the proper way to COZ
a serve it's health resources is to strik
a telling blow at the greatest destroy
N err in the list of diseases. and tn
IN statistics easily prove consumption I
"a be the great destroyer Hence, W
y have great effort on the part of tn
- United States government, state go'
eminent. medical societies, stat
= health officers, charity organization,
;. traternal societies and some of tE
= labor bodies to help in this great worl
=, This meeting today is one of tn
= many held throughout the state {
- Iowa on this so-called Tuberculos!
as Day, in an attempt to call the attentio
~ of the public in general to the dreade
&c disease in an effort to check it's al
3d. vance among our commonwealth. T
'ls berculosis is a preventable diseas
ea one which can be stamped out of exis
gu ence as surely as smallpox, diphtheri
co typhoid fever, yellow fever and q
o. other contagious diseases. because
nd is the most universal disease of Il
DO human race.
! T"hnrcnl"eis ~ corsu7,ption pr