The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-10-27
PELLAGRA CONFERENCE ENDS,
DISCUSSION OF DISEASE FAJ
TO INDICATE CAUSES.
j. f. Silcr of United States NJ =
Corps Elected President &c n
Physicians Among Officers - ct
ing Was One Full of L. = {ing
Papers.

NAL conference of the - AL Asso-
citation for the Study Pellagra
closed it's sessions at State Hos
pital for the Insane late ,seterday af-
ternoon. When asked for an opinion
Of the comparative merits of the three
conferences that have been held in Co.
lumbia a leading physician said: "The
first meeting devoted it's attention to
corn as a cause of pellagra; the
second to possible protocol origin;
and this meeting was inclined to the
theory of a possible error in diet
Scier cifically the meeting this week in
dicated a distinct advance over pre-
vious meetings.
No positive conclusions as to the
cause Of pellagra were announced, al
though many were advocated by con-
tributors of papers.
In previous meetings the committee
on resolutions has referred to this SUBJ
ject even if in negative terms only
This year the committee confined it's
resolutions to an expression of thanks
to local officers for courtesies extend
cd without attempting to express con-
clusions upon any phase of pellagra,
the inference being that the cause of
pellagra is unknown. This way Of
looking at the situation was evident
" a RI hx, hnr of
ference as the resolutions were unan-
imously adopted without discussion or
criticism.
Officers were elected upon nomina-
ticn by the committee as follows:
President, DR.. j. F. Siler, captain,
medical corps, United States army;
first vice president, DR.. r. M. Grimm,
passed assistant surgeon, United States
public health service, Spartanburg;
second vice president, DR.. II. w. Rice,
Columbia; secretary, DR.. J. w. Bab-
cock, Waverley sanitarium, Columbia;
treasurer, DR.. ]. A. Hayne, State
health officer. Columbia; board or
directors, DR.. ]. J. Watson, Columbia;
DIR. Ward J. MacNeal, director of lab
oratories, New York Post Graduate
Medical school, New York city; DR..
Fl. r. White, State board Of health,
New Orleans, La, and DR.. Roy Bios
ser, Atlanta, Ga.
The morning session was largely
devoted to the reading and discus
sion Of the able papers presented by
delegates sent here by Surgeon Gen.
eral Rupert Blue to represent the
United States public health service.
Capt. Siler, the new president, said
yesterday:
''The meeting has been an unquali-
fed success. The papers in general
have been the best presented at
any of the conferences. They evil
dence the fact that this country is
making, perceptible advances toward
the solution of the pellagra problem"
DIR. c. Fl. Lavinder, surgeon, United
States public health service, Staten
Island, n. Y, retiring president, gave
these conclusions:
THE third triennial meeting OF the
National Association for the Study of
Pellagra has just concluded it's ses-
sions. Thanks to the generous hos
pitality Of Columbia, and especially
Of the medical profession of Column
bia, the meeting has proved dis
tinctly successful one.
THE number present has not been
SO large as at previous sessions, but
what has been lacking in numbers
has been more than made up by the
earnestness Of those who attended
THE long programme was char
acterized by the presence of many
papers Of high scientific interest and
Importance. To those who have at
tended previous meetings there was
present a distinct atmosphere of i'm
provement in many ways but chiefly
in the more definite and more scien-
tific character Of the papers and the
discussion. All Of this was taken as
good evidence of a great apprecia-
ton of the difficulties presented by
the problem of pellagra and of more
earnest effort in it's solution.
The papers have been Of a much
higher scientific value than those of
previous sessions, and a new note has
been struck-or rather an old note
has bee. struck with a stronger hand.
This new note is the effect of poor
food in the causation of the disease.
and the great practical value, both in
prevention and in cure, Of a we'll bal
ancod nutritious diet. Papers were
presented by officers of the United
States pub1ic health Seryice copolu