Valdez daily prospector., 1914-01-29
WHY EVERYBODY
 ISN'T HEALTHY
Public Indifference and Lack of Cooperation to Blame.
PRONE TO TAKE CHANGES.
Surgeon General Blue Warns Against Dangerous Ills of Which People Make Light-.-Life of Man of Forty More Important Than That of Baby, Says Professor Sedgwick.


 ] Professor Sedgwick.
 Addressing the Association of Life Insurance Presidents recently, Dr. . Rupert Blue. surgeon general of the i United States public health service. delivered a particularly interesting ad- i, dress. ill the course of which he said: | "public health is public utility. A dollar laid out in sanitation i, not an i expenditure, but d loan, which will be : returned q huldrc1fOid. Any munic- { ipaity, state or nation can have pub- : lie health if it will but pay the price. "The most needed reforms in public 1 health administration are greater CO., 1 operation between public officials, the employment of full time workers, es- ! tabllshment of laboratories. accurate | collection of vital statistics and the 1 setting aside of sufficient funds to ac- rompish those things.
 l "The future of sanitary administra- 1 ton ill this country depends upon the interest which the citizens take in l it's development. There is no better index of the state of civilization Of l community than the manner in which it approaches its public health prob lens. There is still much room for ] reform in the sanitary administration | of many states and municipalities in our country. and not the least impor { tant duty devolving upon the health officials of this nation Is the cducn- 1 tion of the general public to the end 1 that sanitary reforms will not only
 be accepted. but also he earnestly | sought for.
 Slow Progress Explained. "Our slow progress iu the direction 1 of a perfect national health is due to the fact that the people have not as yet fully realized it's importance and l have not demanded that protection against preventable disease which they have right to expect from their l administrative officials. Neither have they demanded legislation and appro 1 pri;ltinnS which are essential tn the S,rreSSful prosecution of public health
 work. There are two main r:lu>eS for 1 the paucity of sanitary i"gislati"n-
 public indifference and economic opp
 position.
 "Ihe fefcri>h energy ill sanitary matters which charactrriZeS inc gentr Al public in time of epidemic soon gives
 way to trth"r"y and indifference to /: public health matters The average in tiyid'lal is willing tn take q 'halcc of ::nnl lrictinG q disease when i, seems q ! bong way off. and it is only when it is clos" upon him and in spectacular form ! that he appreciates it's dnnger A sin | gle c:ISc of irpr',Sy in q city NiIl create : widespread excitement. while |: thou ! sand cases of measles. which in their | final results are Infinitely more danger Ous. arc permitted tn occur without re-
 mark
 '''rhe day has passed when by indi vidual briiiiancy a battle against dis ease foes may be won without regard to the engagements which are going on all about us We live in an age in which efficiency is the slogan We have learned from oft repeated failure aud sore disappointment that iu sam tar% work. as. in all the other efforts of tlie human race. the greatest good can lle accomplished in the shortest space of time and with a mipilnum expendi- ture Of funds and labor thy 'YnGcn- 'rated co.operative effort"
 Emphasis on Wrong Things. i In an address at this meeting. Pro
 lessor w. T. Seugwick of the Mas sachuSetts Institute of Techlmlogy l said
 i "There is great deal of lost mo- i ton in the public healt th movement of today. q great deal of emphasis on
 the wrong thihG Pure spices are ali
 very well. but pure milk and pure wa 1 ter are infinitely more important Pure drugs arc all very well. but where one ! person needs Iur" drugs a hundred
 need pure milk. pure wat"" and pure l air.
 "l am told there is a movement I afuot to secure through a central
 agen.'y an attempt Co get real life eX
 tension or the prolon"HtiOn of life ] Ut is one of the S;id things that so
 far we have succeeded chiefly in say
 ing life at the lower end baby life
 We have prolonged infant life and di-
 unfinished infant mortality. We have
 been much slower in securing any pro 1 longation of life above the age of for ! ty That is where: we want extension A baby is n very useful thing but it certainly is not of any use compared
 with life at forty. which has been
 well prepared nt greAt expense and which ought to hr efficient and whi, n
 we ought 10 prniung just as much a>
 we possibly can"
 Another Perpetual Motion "Dscoverer." l Postmaster General. RurirSOn has r.. reved the picture of d perpetual mo tion device from Middlpburg. E. }
 The apparatus iS a wheel made of l2