Evening journal., 1914-06-05

Or. Goldwater is an excellent Com
missioner oil Health His ability is
unquestioned. His devotion to the,
work Of which he has taken charge
is exemplary Even in the matter Of
expression, Of vigorous and telling
public appeal he has shown himself
notable in more than one instance.
In his article in the magazine sec
ton of yesterdays Times, he has
presented the case for universal
periodic medical examinations" with
great vigor and force. So far as re-
CARDS the advantage of early medical
examination for the discovery, and
possible effective treatment, of cases
of cancer, tuberculosis, and certain
other diseases, what he says is ed
culated to do much good But there
is a larger aspect to the proposal he
puts forward-a proposal that has
of late been much in the air-and to
the doctrine upon which it rests. And
1T is time this larger aspect We're le-
ing realized in manner commen-
surate With its bearing on the whole
character Of human life.
Whether Dr. Goldwater or Or.
Biggs before him, or the estimahle
and distinguished gentlemen who are
the hackers of the Life Extension In
stitute Movement, look upon coinpul-
sorry medical examination of all per-
sons as their goal. we cannot nogi-
lively state 1t looks very much as
though they did DR.. Biggs has been
quoted as advocating medical OK
animation of all citizens" which
points very strongly that way. No
unmistakable statement Of such an
object has yet been made, so Ear as
we have observed; but we are as yet
only in the first beginnings of the
movement. DR. Goldwater's article
closes as follows:
The next great task Of preventive
medicine is. therefore, the Inaugural
ton Of universal periodic medical ex-
aminations ais an indispensable means
for the control of all diseases,
whether arising from injurious per-
sonal habits from congenital or con
stitutional weakness, or from social
and vocational conditions"
# we see this in the green tree,
what may we expect to find in the
dry? viii it be much of a step from
universal" examination to compul-
sorry examination? VIII it be much
of step from that to compulsory
needing OF the results of that ex-
animation? Is there any limit that
can safely be set to the extension. not
of life, but of the meddling with life,
which this whole movement pro-
misses?
But t is by no means on the score
of legal compulsion alone that the
proposal of universal periodic nedi-
cal examination" is open to objection
Whether brought about by legal re-
quiremant or by the pressure Of
general opinion, the benefits to
health, and the prolongation Of life.
which it might bring about would be
purchased at a tremendous price
What that price would be it requires
some power Of imagination, perhaps,
to realize, but some idea of it may
be obtained from the very facts which
DR.. Goldwater adduces Take but a
single one of them. lin a recent ex-
animation Of the employees Of a New
York city bank" he says. zone hun-
dred per cent Of the employees We're
lOuuu 20 ne abnormal ana on the sure
road to diseases of heart, lungs, kid
neys, or blood vessels" Very likely
this examination will have been the
means of stopping the progress Of
disease in the case Of some of these
men; but If the fact is as stated, the
whole body of them were suddenly
converted from a group of normal
men, nearly all of whom were doubt
less going about their work and their
play with no thought OF sickness, into
a solid body of semi-invalids. Who
shall say that the addition of two or
three years to the average duration
of their existence will outweigh, in
the scales which measure real human
values, the freedom, the elasticity,
the unconsCiousness of the trammels
of the body, which have been I'M
paired or destroyed by this intrusion?
And even from the standpoint Of
medical results, in the narrowest
sense, there is room for grave mis-
giyings. Not all diagnoses are cor.
rect; not all alarms given by medical