The Washington herald., 1914-03-13
NEGLECTED MECHANISM.

Professor Of Public Health. Maaachusstts Institnt
Of rschnolou
It is very strange how men began b,
Studying the stars and looking after ths
most remote things, but neglecting them
selves. 1t is only just now, in fact, thai
We are beginning to take an interest in
1.-THE human mechanism. We have beer
far more interested, and our people wert
years ago. in watches and clocks, in ma
chinery of one sort and another, and al
kinds of mechanisms other than the hu.
man mechanism; but at last man him.
self is beginning to be looked at.
OF course, the reason for this is OBJ.
vious. 1t was supposed there was nc
use in looking at him; that he was SC
different from the rest of nature, SC
specially created, so singularly endowed
that he was not in the same class with
other machines or other natural objects
Therefore, of course, hands off. What
was to be, was to be. 1t was Kismet oil
fate, or something of that sort.
But today we are beginning to look al
the human mechanism, and at last per
sonal hygiene - even public hygiene
What should have been first, at last.
say, we are beginning to give attention
to, and personal hygiene is being talked
of and thought of. Diet, sleep, baths,
exercise, and the taking of sour milk
Special dietaries, all sorts of things
some of which are good and some oi
which are probably of very little use
but the hopeful sign is that man is al
last beginning to study himself.
The Greeks said, to be sure, "Know
thyself;" but they did not take any pains
to know themselves. They killed an ami
NAL and sacrificed it to the gods when
trouble happened, with the great excep.
tion of Hippocrates, who, for the first
time, did look at his patients, instead
Of pouring libations to the gods.
He was at the beginning of all this
modern idea that man is a mechanism
the most wonderful and mysterious in
the world, but after all kindred to other
machines. and that we can and ought tc
do something for this mechanism which
is so important to us all. We have bare.
ly got any personal hygiene even yet
We have almost had to take a compound
microscope to find any in our schools.
OF course, this whole matter goes
right on to the question of the prolonga,
ton of life, to the increase of longevity
There is movement afoot TO secure
through central agency an effort tc
produce real life extension. Now. like
the term. life extension" which means
longevity. or the prolongation of life
We have had university extension for a
long time, and We have had other kinds
of extension. We need life extension.
So far we have succeeded mostly
won't say only, but chiefy-in saving
life at the lower end-baby life. We
have prolonged infant life and dimin-
ished infant mortality, but we have been
much slower in securing any prolonga-
tion of life above forty. and that is
where we want the extension.
How silly we are in many ways, how
absurdl We run our automobile, or our
locomotives. or our bicycles into repair
shops. We look them over; We clean
them. We are most solicitous in regard
to every little point of their proper ac-
tivity; but when it comes to our own
bodies, we let them go as il they were
of no account whatever.
We have got to introduce into human
life the repair shop and the roundhouse
and we have got to learn TO take care
OF ourselves, and to get people to be
ready to go to physicians regularly
to be looked over. just as a man goes
nowadays, if he is wise, to his dentist
about once in so often. even If he has
not got jumping toothache. He goes
to see his dentist to find out if anything
needs doing. Before long he will &c
likewise to see his doctor, especially il
he is starting on long journey. or is
doing big piece of work which he i.
afraid is too much for him. This is a
very interesting and important move
ment which is afoot, and l greatly hope
that it may prove to be all that those
who believe in it predict for it.
The fact is that the public health
movement today is a modern-a very
modern-thing which has all come up
since 1880, since | graduated from col
lege. 1t is today in full swing, al
though in many instances swinging in
foolish directions-with people unduly
anxious, faddy and putting the emphasi.
in the wrong place.
We are like a huge army working
for health and longevity; but we have
not got many good officers, and we do
not obey those that we have. We are
like a mob, sweeping across the coun-
try, and looking for public health and
for private health. Obviously, the frs,
thing that is going to happen tomorrow
is better education, so that we shall