New-York tribune., 1914-11-22

for m.n who expect to 90 into It professionally
Tbev give a certificate upon completion Of the
courses.
All Of this has transpired since the organization
of the American Public Health Association.
Away back in 1872 a handful Of men, nine, TO be
exact. met by prearrangemcnt al the New York
Hotel in this city. The grass in the parks was
already green and leaves beginning to un-
fold on some of the trees. for it Friday
April i8. The nine were physicians, chiefly from
New York. but included in the group were men
from New Haven, Washington and Chicago, public
snirited men who had been stirred by wide
snread wave of public feeling 70 realize that
something ought TO be done toward the preYen-
ton and restriction of contagious and infectious
diseases They believed something should be un-
dertaken toward dfusing sanitary knowledge
among the people In that day they knew practically
nothing about any other method Of preventing
disease than this: They hoped that out Of their
meeting would develop organization which
would serve as a platform for spreading abroad
the message of the sanitarians. Two or three
years elapsed and still more than score OF
persons attended the annual meetings But what
the association lacked in numbers, it made up for
in earnestness and ability. Twenty earnest men,
if they have the knowledge and the faith, can fur
nish a foundation for great evangel. More than
one worldwide movement has been based on a
smaller circle of less ability than this
As time went on health boards established
in a number of states and public health officials
began to join. They practical men, good
administrators, but lacking in measure the
scientific knowledge which is essential to actual
accomplishment Of definite ends. Then, as the
importance of bacteriology in connection with
what may be termed community diseases began to
be recognized Laboratories were established by
health officials In the mid-9Os this led to the
organization in the association Of a section on
bacterology and laboratory work, the first body
of this character in this country. 1t grew out Of
meeting held in New York under the auspices OF
the committee Of the Association the Pollution
of Water Supplies at which Surgeon General G. NJ
Sternberg, U. s. A, presided. Dr. william ".
Welch of Johns Hopkins, presented the subject
of Standardization of methods. The standards in
psychological and chemical analysis adopted by
this section are now recognized and accepted
nearly all the world.
The association now had within its ranks those
who were capable Of discovering scientific facts
and of putting them in practice the official
side But the problem Of the diffusion of the
facts anu their general application, which is
very important part of preventive medicine had
not yet been solved. This was the next step
The secret came through the success Of the anti
tuberculosis campaign, which, while not started
Officially by the association, due to the ef-
forts OF some Of its members who had become
tremendously interested in the idea This
showed the way 90 the mind and interest and
operation Of the public.
While other sections devoted TO the interests
Of sanitary engineers, vital statistcians and pub
lie health officials were being organized in
spired individual, DR.. Gardner 7. Swarts
tary of the State Board of Health of Rhode ISL
and suggested the coordination Of the work of
sanitation with that of the philanthropst and
the social worker. His beginning ultimately led
to the formation of the section sociology.
Scientists are good at discovering facts and doc
tors at applying them in individual cases, but
neither alone can conduct effective campaign
against preventabe community diseases when
aided by the social workers. In their case neither
professional codes the personal dithdence so
common IN the scientist stands in the way of
aggressive leadership in enlightening the public.
Social workers are accustomed to campaigns.
They forrn a group especially fitted to give TO the
public tie fruits of the labors of their scientific
brothers. Witness the campaigns against social
diseases against cancer, against inebrety and
against ,re fly. Equipped with the facts, they go
forth p, aching them from the house tops
It is not too much to say that the American
Public Health Association. evolving in a logical,
sane fashion and putting the stamp of its ap-
provai upon no assertion until it has been demon
strated as true beyond serious controversy, has
had more to do with the development of the pres
ent ideals of public health and preventive medi-
cine than any other single American agency. 1t
has become the great clearing house for Canada,
the United States, Mexico and Cuba of scientific
information and It's application TO communicable
and preventabe disease. 1t is to this branch OF
medicine, born within the last generation, what