Evening star., 1914-09-27
/ WHAT THE GOVERNMENT. Is DOING


| Few losses to be borne By the United
| States because Of the European war and
the interruption to COM
HookWorm merce can compare with
n. the economic waste and
OAseasS' 1essening of human efd-
| cheney which the people Of this coun-
try have been experiencing for many
years as a result Of the presence Of one
| Of the most prevalent, most insidiously
| harmful and most preventabls diseases
| known to man-the hookworm. This IL
| the opinion OF DR.. John A. Ferrell. as
sistant director general Of the interna-
tional health commission. who has Just
prepared q report Of the campaign
| against hookworm disease for the bu-
reau Of education Of the United States
Department Of the Interior.
DR.. Fsrrell. who II himself q native
| Of the southern portion Of the United
States, where hookworm is one Of the
! most common diseases, especially
among children. believes that while
hookworm disease is a special problem
Of one large group Of states, 1t is a
special problem of such magnitude, af-
fectfng SO large a section Of the coun-
try. as to be problem of grave ma
| tional concern. Because the fight
against the disease is largely a matter
Of educating the people on means of
prevention and Of cure, the federal bu-
reau of education will distribute with
In month thousands Of copies of DR..
Ferrelrs report among school officers
which hookworm disease is prevalent.
The hookworm Is an intestinal para
site. which is about third of an inch
long when fully grown. 1t enters the
human body most often through the
skin, and as Mr.. Page has pointed out.
generally through the skin of the feet.
because the feet come into contact
with polluted soil In making the
report to the bureau Of education for
the international health commission
DR.. Farrell says:
"Hookworm causes human suffering
and economic waste altogether out of
proportion to Its apparent death rate.
Many ills that have been attributed
whole bodies of people are now def
nitely known to be due to this infec-
tion, and durable with it's cure. For
generations hookworrn disease has been
fns,diously spreading unrecogn1zed and
unchecked over those countries of the
globe that have mild climate. It's
victims. mum bering many millions. have
through centuries been hosts to the
small blood-suckinE intestinal para
sites which cause the disease.
'The infection is In most instances
so insidiously acquired by the unsus-
pecting victim that he and the mem
bers Of his family, who are probably
likewise infected. do not know just
when the effects Of the disease pegah
to manifest themselves. In the course
lily has become pale and puny; once
industrious family has become languid
and backward In its work; a once
prosperous family has fallen into dent;
a once proud family. owning Vaiuaoie
property, has been reduced by an
easily durable and easily preventable
disease to tenancy and to poverty. The
children, once bright and weli az
vanced in their school classes, oegln
to lose their zeal and their mental
alertness when gradually robbed OF
their vitality.
'sThe treatment of hookworm disease
is simple matter. EPSON salts ana
thymol are the drugs used; Inc .hy,
mol Is powdered and given In capsules:
..In combating hookworm disease II
has been found that the rural school is
the greatest medium for the spread OF
the infection and the most e,nst ,npor r.
In some schools Investigated the in
lection has been found to be 100 per
cent-the teacher and every pupil
victim Of the disease. RECORDS .a.tn,e OF tne
among rural children Of school age
for whole counties running as high as
70 to 80 per cent, while In some sec
tons Of yirginia ge.s hea1%sny arasansa. N1ra and
spread; and IL per cent or less Of the
school population was found to a, be IN
average for all the children examined
to date fs. 40<per cent Of infection.
..School and college records show that
infected students. even though not ap-
rptudies pat than those found free from IN
fection. In one woman's college the
average standing Of fifty-six girls
found infected was 77.75 per cent,
dom from those in the Institution found
free from infection averaged Ss.zs per
cent"
has been going on for less than hve
years in the eleven southern states CO.
onerating with the Rockefeller sani-
tary commission. which has been sue,
ceeded by the internationai health com.
mission, more than 1.000.0 900 have been
microscopically examined and nearly
600. 900 who were infected have been
treated. The great majority Of those
treated have been permanently cureo'
and restored to normal emciency.
Il ,
During the ffibuster on the rivers
and harbors bill in the Senate during
the past week, when
Reclamation many Of the I'M
prove m mt items
Suggestions. were attacked as
being unwise or extravagant, group
of government engineers had their at
tention called to a paper prepared by
Sir william Willcocks.. the, English
builder of the famous ,;Assuan dam.
who has been in this country for some
months studying the projects Of the
United States reclamation service in
the west.
Sir william believes that modern
America can learn much from the,a
clients on river improvement. In call
ing the attention Of American engi-
neers to the methods by which the an
clients would have controlled the Mis-
sissippi and its tributartes, the. largest
and most important river Improvement
project of the United States. Sir Will
liam says that the people OF this coun-
try could have profifed by following
the policy of the Egyptians In Inn
proving the Nile.
The noted English engineer, who is
now studying with the experts Of the
United States reclamation service, be-
lieyes that most Of the trouble with
floods on the Mississippi is caused by
the fact that the river Is improved
from tho mouth up. In. Egypt the
ancients began retaining the delta
mouth, just the opposite of the Amer
ican methods They found 1t simple
problem. When they had reclaimed a
n.rt.sr nort thew Let the water flow