The Detroit times., 1915-12-10
Sanitary Preparedness
6Y Or. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1915. by Frank Crane)

AT the Southern Medical association
annual convention recently held at Dali
las, Tex. Surgeon General DR.. Rupert
Blue made use of a. phrase that carries
with it an argument.
Most argument is phrase-making, and
happy word-coinage is more convincing
than logic and fact-masses.
The phrase in this instance was "San-
ltary preparedness, which DR.. Blue de-
fines as "the maintenance of the body on
war footing against disease"
THE sanitary preparedness of ma
ton, he continues, "means not only the
health of the fighting units, but of the
mothers who are to bear them, and of
the civilians upon whom both in time Of
peace and of war the military forces
must depend for food and clothing, and
the weapons with which to fight. Com
munity health is. therefore. the all-im-
portant prerequisite, and in order that we
may have military preparedness we must
first of all have sanitary preparedness"
DR.. Blues contention is but another
indication that the science of medicine is
slowly but surely changing base, ceasing
to be engaged mainly in curing, doctor
ing, and mending the sick, and becoming
more and more occupied in the more ra-
tional effort to prevent disease.
The slogan of the future is preventive
medicine II is far better to watch the
track and the locomotive in order TO OBJ
viate derailment than it is to wait for
catastrophe and then hasten out the
wrecking crew.
Modern folk have hardly begun to ap-
ply science to the business of keeping fit.
The food question, for instance, has
not yet been taken up seriously. When
one talks to us of fats. proteins and car
bohydrates we regard him as mild
crank. The old pork and biscuit our
grandmother used to prepare are good
enough for US.
We swill oceans of alcohol, tea, coffee
and adulterated soda fountain drinks.
We eat quantities of meat; every hotel
or restaurant menu is a lurid catalogue
of flesh. We smoke and chew tobacco.
We transact business in hot, stutfy Of
fees, and pursue recreation in hot. stuffy
bathrooms.
Thus we invite the enemy. We open
the gates for hardening of the arteries,
arrangement of the liver, impairment OF
digestion, and torpidity of the bowels.
We have underworked muscles and over
worked kidneys.
The time will come when we shall ar
range for the food upon our table as sci
entifically (Which means simply inteli-
gently as the physician prescribes for
us our pills. And when we shall have
employed the doctor as biologist and ex-
pert dietitian we will have not so much
work for the doctor as a doSer.
The revelations of Alfred W. McCann
in the New York Globe concerning the
poisoning and adulteration of our food
have amazed the country.
Surely if there is anything national
government ought to do TO insure the
safety of its citizens it is to keep watch
over the foods exposed for public sale,
for here is the fountain Of life or death.
We have socialized the postoffice and
the public school and when we shall
make the physician an officer of govern
ment, to see that filthy tenements arc
cleaned, that water supply is pure, and
that foods are honest, wholesome, and
nutritious, we shall have taken the first
long stride toward sanitary prepared
ness"