The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-06-28
THE PHYSICIAN
AS A PIONEER

the American Academy of Medicine
| in his address before the academy
here today said the world would see
still further remarkable progress in
the development of the tropics, and
that in all colonization schemes the
physician should prepare the way.
The Physician as a Pioneer" was
his subject, in line with the general
topic to which all the sessions of this
years academy meeting are devoted,
namely, Medicine in its Relation
ships to Commerce and Transporta-
ton"
Dr. Hutchinson said in part:
The real enemy of the pioneer, the
chief obstacle to spread of civiliza-
ton, is not Indians, or wolves, or
rattlesnakes or even famine or floods
or winter cold or tropic heat,-but
insects. Most schemes of colonial
tion that failed-failed not from fam.
inc, or the attack of enemies, but
through disease. And more than half
of them from one disease-malaria
This is not merely the age of man,
but the age OF insects, geologically
considered, and the battle is to the
death between them for the posses
sion of the earth.
N ha bn hn
whip hand of man and keep him stu
pd, short-lived, uncivilized. 1t was
the plague of flies the bloody tyranny
of insects that drove man out of the
warm, comfortable, fertile tropics into
the chilly, rains swept, half the year
frozen north. Now grown to full
human stature he is coming back to
invade and reconquer the tropics and
put to flight the ancient foes of the
race.
"ln an earlier day the first requi-
site of new colony or a pioneering
expedition, was a captain, a bold and
skilful tihting man with muskets for
every grown man in the party, and
plenty of powder and ball. But now,
the first and most fundamental re.
qurements of new colony are a
dOctOr-engineer with microscope and
test tubes, spades and trenching ma
chimes, aud pleLty OF "a N" kerosene
and mosquito-netting.
I'm the near future. no colony or
land company will be permitted to
take settlers into their new homes, !
until thorough and complete survey
shall have been made of the region. |
sanitary, medical, chronological eX-
pert agricultural. And at least a suf- |
iicient area to accommodate in safety |
the first group of settlers shall have |
been drained and kerosened and sup
piled with good water, so as to be !
protected against malaria typhoid,
hookworm and water and fy-borne
diarrhoea and dysentery.
In the light of our present know
ledge, it should be regarded as little
short Of manslaughter to permit men,
women and little children who are
with the country, unseas-
oned to the climate. to enter and
face the dangers of settlement in a
new country or district, without this
preliminary survey and protection.
whether in their own land or across
the seas 1t would cost a few thou.
sand or hundreds of thousands of
dollars. but not very much more than
the advertising literature. and would
save ten times its cost in human life
and suffering and failure, besides be
ing the best possible advertisement
for the enterprise
New countries can and ought to
be made models of health, efficiency
and comfort for the older communi-
ties, and could easily be made so at
moderate expense if the physician.
pioneer be given a free hand in ad-
:ance. as Gorgas was at Panama. In
fact We can pretty nearly assure sue
cess If the soil be good and the water
,uit cient.
1T must be remembered in fair.
ness that bad as insects are they do
lot originate the diseases they spread.
mi only carry them from one infected |
human beng to other healthy ones. {
'cprve them OF their source of in {
ec''on, and they become comparative ! !
y harmless. If the new country be
or sparsely settled. it is a
asy to cure or isolate such cases of
nal~ria, yellow fever. typhoid, sum-
ner diarrhoea. or other disease car.
iable by insects. Then after a few :
.ceks or at the outside. a months C
atins. the infected insects will be D
Il dead. Generally speaking. how a