Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-24
DOCTORS DISCUSS
VITAL PROBLEMS
American Medical Association
Hears Many Views on Pub
lie Health.
NOTABLE PAPERS ARE READ
AT ATLANTIC CITY TODAY
Compulsory Examination of People
as to Physical Fitness Once
Every Year a Suggestion.

ATLANTIC CITY. N. j. June 24.-The
$500 members of the American Medical
Association were busy today attending
the many sectional meetings arranged
for an exchange of views on public
health.
This years session has already taken
higher ground with regard to recon-
mendations than in any previous year
higher standard for entrance into
medical schools is one of the recon-
mendations. A more general co-opera-
tion Of the practitioner with the lay
man is another. Unrelentins war on
nostrums is still another. Probably the
most radical suggestion yet made is
that the public welfare would be con-
served if every man. woman and
child were to be subjected to COM
pulsory examination as to physical fit-
ness once in every year.
The infant incubator has been more
of a failure than success. DR.. E.
Chaplin of New York reported in Il
paper before the section on diseases OF
children. Out of $50 personal expert
ences with the incubator for infants he
could not report one satisfactory re-
suit. death resulting in the great ma
jority of instances. He urged that the
house of delegates be asked to declare
against its further use.
Fitness of Public Health Officers.
DR.. NJ P Ravenal of Madison Wis,
before the section of preventive medi-
cine and public health. said the day
had come when it was time to take the
public health officers of every munich
pality from under political control and
see that a man was named for such a
position with a view to his fitness for
it.
He urged that all medical colleges in
stitute special courses for the education
of public health officers.
DR.. Hurry. indianapolis, member of
the committee on poverty, said the
normal person never sank to the level
of poverty. In the main poverty was
caused by sins unmentionable In a pub
lie gathering, and the eradication of sin
and disease would remove poverty
Tuberculosis played its part, but feeble
mindedness was one of the principal
factors.
Figures Surprise Specialists.
The specialists were surprised by fig
ures presented by Prof, Herman Kuttner
Of Breslau.r Germany, one of the experts
in this line of surgery OF Europe, who
related that forty Of one hundred cases
had been brain tumor had failed to save
the life of the patient.
DR.. Harvey Gushing. a Boston brain
specialist, in discussing the German
scientists paper said the high rate of
mortality he had quoted was probably
due to the fact that the observations COW
cred period of six years and the death
rate was out of proportion to that in
cases noted here. OF 142 cases of the
Boston institution less than per cent
died.
Federal Institution for Lepers.
A resolution asking Congress to Gre
ate national institution for the care of
the lepers in the United States was
adopted yesterday by the dermatologieal
section of the American Medical Asso-
ciation after the section had listened to
an address by Dr. w. C. Rucker, as
sistant surgeon general of the United
States public health service in which he
told Of the spreading of the disease.
Several other speakers agreed with DIR.
Rucker that leprosy Is spreading, but all
declared that there is no reason for
alarm over the development of single
case.
Obligatory Insurance Advocated.
reau of health, speaking before the sec
ton on public health declared that pow
erty is responsible for the grip disease
gets on families and that unless we
have more humanity and social justice
tuberculosis will continue to be the curse
Of poverty"
He advocated obligatory insurance for
the sick and aged similar to that of Ger
many and the establishing under state
supervision of industrial colonies.
The suggestion of DR.. Knoff was am
plified by DR.. Woods Hutchinson, New
York, who said that public insurance
was only a question of time.
Carnotite ore, one of the principal
sources Of radium, was said by Dr. Sam
uel T. Earle of Baltimore to be an ex-
cellent palliative for an obstinate skin
affection DIR. Earle read a paper before
the proctologic society. He said carno-
tite produced soothing effects on an Itch
ing skin and when used in powdered form
showed better results than any other
known treatment