Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-05
ANOTHER FATHER DAMIEN.
The Career and Valuable Services Of
Or. George Turner.

Father Damien story IS almost a
household word. Even those who do not
remember Sievenson's famous tract
known vaguely OF the life which Father
Damien devoted to the lepers of Ha-
waii and OF his death amongst them Of
their own disease. The new years hon
ors lists contained amongst Its knights
hoods an English name to which a
NEED of no less respect is due. DIR. Geo.
Turner, now Sir George Turner, enter
ed the civil service of Cape Colony as
fnel!cal officer of health in 1895, He
was then already nearly fifty years g
age; but in the period which followed
until his retirement twelve years later,
he rendered services to South Africa
and TO the cause of humanity at large
which have never been adequately rec
ognizcd except by A very few. In the
year after his arrival in the Cape Col
opy the rinderpest broke out DR.. koch
was then at work to discover a cure
but he was recalled before his work
was complete. Dr. Turner, appointed to
succeed him with only three weeks col
liberation before he left, finished the
work. In the course of 1t DR.. turner
saved the country millions of pounds.
DIR. Turner's great capacity was soon
required in q different field. During tho
South African War, when the raNages
from typhoid had become appallingiy
severe he was sent for by Lord Rob-
erts, and asked to supervise the mlli-
tars hospitals, and afterwards the cen
centPation camps. Lord Roberts NM
self bore testimony to the value OF III,
Turner'S work, carried out in very try
ing conditions al the constant risk OF
his life. In 1901 the rinderpest broke
out again, and Lord Kitchener asked
for DIR. Turner'S help.
It was in the midst of these activi-
ties that Dr. Turner devoted himself
first to the noblest work of his lie |
There was then leper asylum at Pre-
toria. with about FIFTY Dutch and forty |
native patients. He gave up all his
spare time to work among the lepers, I
doing all that he could to alleviate t
their lot, and prosecuting tireiess
research into the nature of the disease
For three years he labored at this work +
without extra pay of any sort He saw
the iepers early in the morning, ana
again when he came home in the even
ing. Saturday and Sunday he gave to
them entire In addition to this no
made as many post mortem examina-'
tons as possible in his laboratory, ris-
ing at dawn in order to have time for
his work. On reaching the age limit DR..
Turner retired, to pursue his studies
into the meteorological SIDE of leprosy
in The laboratories of this county. Sud-
denly after several years work in this
country his eye was attracted by GER
l. =. 1T 10 10 rraey |
shaving, and he recognized them at
once as the stamp of the disease which
he had set himself to fight. His diagno-
sis was independently confirmed by
two specialists, and from that time ha
has worked unswervingly amid pain
and beneath the shadow of leper's
lot. For the last two years ne haa
been living in seclusion, and ii is curl
Gus that his heroic history has escap-
ed the notice of the public, for Sir Geo.
Turner is man of eminence in his
profession, and one Of the greatest liv-
ing authorities on 1eprosy. Recently.
however the case came to the knowl-
edge of his majesty, on whose own in
itiative DR.. Turner's name has been in
cluded In the list of New Years honors.
Not DR. Turner himself can foreteil the
course of his disease. but the time may
come--he has already lost the use of
his left arm-when trained assistance
will be an urgent need. It Is believed
that The South African Government is
considering the possibility of increas-
ing the slender pension which is now
his only support. There are few indi-
viduals whose work can be appraised
like his, in actual millions of pounds;
and yet that part of it is in a sense the
least. We can apraise the material
results of his career; its splendid her
oisni we can only salute and admire
From the London Telegraph.