Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-02-11
TUBERCULOSIS
AMONG NATIVES
Will Extarminats Population
of Alaska in Time.

Tuberculosis will exterminate the
native population of Alaska in the
course OF sixty to seventy years II
not eradicated at once" says DR..
Emil Krulish, OF the Public Health
Service. reporting to the United
State Commissioner of Education.
II am of the opinion that 10 per
cent of the entire population Is In
fected with tuberculosis in either the
active or the latent stage. With the
advent of the white man into the
Territory the native has contracted
his diseases, with the result that
tuberculosis and other diseases are
degenerating and depopulating the
! race"
DR.. Grulish has just returned from
a seven months trip through Alaska,
where he went on special detail to
examine the physical condition OF
the natives. He found the home con-
ditions responsible for much of the
misery that exists. While in some
cases native houses compare favor
ably with those of white people, DR..
Krulish tells how in the crowded,
unventilated rooms of most of the
villages all eat from the same dish,
drink from the same teapot spout,
use the same towel, and expectorate
on the same floor. 1t Is under con-
ditions like these that the native
population Of Alaska decreased 14.6
per cent between 1900 and 1910.
The situation Is by no mean hope
less, however. II further remedial
measures are taken at nee, accord
ing to DR.. Krulish. He points on,
that in Sftka, where for the Ave
years preceding 1912 DR.. NJ. H. Fos-
ter. of the Public Health Service.
found an annual death rate of 85
and a birth rate of r.. or a net loss
of 10 per thousand, the death rate
during the past year was but 20 per
thousand. The improvement In
Alaskan conditions at Sftka and else
where Is attributed by DR.. Krulish
chiefly to the influence and efforts
of physicians, nurses, teachers. and
hospitals now under the Bureau OF
Education. This demonstrates, he
believes. that the outlook for the
| general betterment of the health
conditions of the natives is encour-
aging and the task feasible. give
the native a white mans chance
SAYS DIR. Krulish, land | am positive
that he will respond equally as
Well"
Considerable extension of the
medical service is urged by DR..
Krulish. He recommends that ma
tives suffering from tuberculosis,
~venereal and eye diseases be re-
moved to properly equipped hospitals
for treatment; that the number of
trained nurses employed for field
work be increased; and that the
important educational work of the
nurses, whereby they teach mothers
the proper care and feeding Of in
tents, cleanliness in the homes, and
other necessary principles of health
full living, be more adequately pro-
vided for than the present funds will
admit.
While giving due credit to the
present medical service, DR.. krulish
declares that it is entirely made
uuate 10 the demand. "At present
there Is no appropriation available
for the erection of hospitals he
asserts, although these institutions
are necessary for the proper treat
ment of cases. The physicians now
employed are working at a disad-
vantage in rented buildings that are
unsuited for the treatment OF the
sick, while many of them have no
hospital facilities at all; but even
with this equipment good results are
beino accomplished. The present
medical work should therefore be
extended and placed upon a firm and
permanent basis.
1.-THE solution OF the medical
problem in Alaska is the establish
ment OF well-equipped hospitals. the
employment Of physicians and
nurses, the isolation Of the infected,
and the education Of the natives In
hygiene and sanitation"