The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-04-14
STRATEGIC POINTS IN
WAR AGAINST DISEASE,
United states Health Service Is Highly
Efficient,

eff plague breaks out today IN Cal
cutta. or Annoy. or St. Petersburg. or
at Punta Arenas on the straits OF Ma
gellan. or at Basra on the Persian
gulf, or at Topeka, Kan, or at any
place else In the whole wide world"
writes William Atherton Du Puy in
the American Review of Reviews,
certain governmental authorities at
Washington will know of 1t tomorrow,
and the organization Of defense
against it will be put in operation"
If the trouble threatens from
abroad, 1900 miles of coastline are
put under quarantine watch; II from
within, a Gordon Of health police sur
rounds the m%enacing point. This war
fare against disease is the business OF
the public health service as it has eA-
banded from the marine hospital ser
vice, with it's few port surgeons es-
tablished by a bill of 1898.
At present the backbone, or nu-
cleus. of the service is its staff OF
about lao who bear commits
sionS, thus comprising a military or
| ganiZation which wears a uniform.
Supplementing these is a staff of some
$50 acting assistant surgeons, various
internes, pharmacists and hospital
attendants, which brings the direct
employees of the bureau up to 1900.
The service belongs to the Treas
ury Department. It's head is Sur
geon General Rupert Blue, who came
to the top with a twenty years record
Of fighting against yellow fever and
other plaques.
In the war against disease, as in any
other war, there are strategic points,
From the far east there is always
the danger of inroads Of deadly bu-
bonic plague or equally deadly Chol-
era. Yokohama, Hong Kong, Annoy
Shanghai, and Calcutta are points
where these diseases may originate
and from which they may be spread
because the ships of the world cal
there.
Naples is a lookout point for thu
Mediterranean; Libau, the port Of ST
Petersburg, is the gateway for many
emigrants; Guayaquil is a pest-hole Q
South America; Havana is n watch
tower Of the Caribbean; Rio Janeir'
, the strategic point of the east coas
of South America.
, At all these points and at twent.
! others the public health service O
a the United States has highly traine'
health scouts regularly stationed.
Besides which there are 500 con
> suls at chief commercial centers O
q the world, and each one OF these is
\ health scout. From each weeks re
ports of all these scouts is prepare
= a clinical chart showing the state G
a disease in every part Of the world.
n AS a sample story of health battlin
> by one Of the flying squads which tn
service has always ready, there is tn
account of the recent downing of tn
bubonic plague, after thirty cases ha
"a been reported, in San Juan, Por1
Rico.
- Trapping INC destruction Of plagu'
bearing rats was followed by the II
moval Of rubbish and the cleaning an
cementing of Easements.
Block by block was the area
plaguC free territory increased. tt
lv Infected sections grew steadily sma
n er. Such a cleaning up was admin
. tered to a Juan as has seldom be-
ar visited on any city except Havana al
w Panama and Manila and some othe
iii to which Uncle Sam has given esp
of Cial attention. The result was n
merely the eradication of the diseas
but the creation of a Spotless Town
I'd Porto Rico.