Evening star., 1915-02-21
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT Is DOING

by recording every transaction in drug
from the original importer to the ultimate
consumer. will within a few years gradu-
ally decrease and in time almost eliminate
the Illicit traffic in cocaine, morphine,
heroin, codeine and similar products.
Letters are coming in to Commissioner
William H. Osborn. chief OF the bureau
of internal revenue, by the hundreds from
for application forms for registration.
These forms must be filled out and for
warded. together with the amount Of
the tax for the balance of the fiscal year.
,, which is "a cents The sale Of solutions
containing less than two grains of opium.
less than one-quarter Of a grain of NOR
phine. one-eighth Of a grain of heroip or
one grain Of codeine to the fluid ounce
are exempted in the products whose sale
must be recorded. That there is. how
ever. a very large amount of prepara-
tions sold with more than this amount
OF habit-forming drugs is indicated by a
pamphlet just put out by one of the large
drug firms. which lists nearly 800 prepara-
tons containing more than the exempted
amount of drugs allowed by the law, and
| to sell which druggists must pay a tax
and be registered before March l.
Although the situation is hopeful. in
view of the fact that the making of new
drug fiends will be largely prevented.
| there is pitiful phase in the fact that
many persons already addicted to the use
of the various drugs are at loss to
know what will become of them after the
statute goes into effect. Many of these
poor unfortunates have personally writ
ten letters to the Treasury Department
officials and asked what measures Of re-
| lief will be held out to them In few
cases, where drugs are used for the al
| deviation of suffering caused by some con-
tinuous pain. such as might be caused
by an old wound. it is probable that these
people can be provided for by physicians
prescriptions. The ordinary drug fend.
however, will find it hard to obtain drugs
because of the fact that a person at
tempting to evade the law is subject to
! a maximum fine of $4,000 and a ma ximum
| Imprisonment of five years, or both, in
the discretion of the court Congress ap-
propriated s150.ooO for the purpose Of
| carrying the law into effect
| In study of the distribution of ty-
phoid fever in the states of Pennsyl-
vania, Michigan
| STATISTICS OF and Minnesota ex-
! T-h.;d C. perts Of the United
States public health
service have prepared charts and sta
tistics indicating the ages at which the
disease is most common. The report
|
each five-year period from early child
hood until the three score and ten
| years have been reached. The study
covers 1o.52o cases of typhoid in Penn
| sylvania in 1913, $3.50 cases in Michi-
gan during the same year and 1904
| cases in Minnesota. The Minnesota
statistics for 1912 and 1914 were also
| included. raising the total number OF
| ca ses considered up to 14,074.
yUh hoy
| piled show that the percentage was
highest in the age group of fifteen to
| nineteen years, while in Michigan and
Minnesota the percentage of cases con-
was highest during the five-year period
between twenty and twenty-four years
| In all the states the number of cases
of typhoid began to decrease after the
person had reached the age Of twenty
! four. dropping gradually until old age
where the percentage Of cases is ex-
| ceedingly low.
| The study of the age distribution OF
typhoid is considered important, in that
1t shows that parents must be very
4 careful with children between the ages
! OF five and twenty-five years, because
it is during this period that a person
is most likely to contract the disease
The interest of officials and employees
of municipal boards of health has been
Pensioning of port Of the working
City Employees. out OF the pension
system of the New
fork city department of health, a COPY
or which has just been received at the
y" ashington office of the United States
pubic health service. The question of
pensloning employees of citys depart.
ment OF health, many of whom come in
almost daily contact with disease in
one form or another. has been advo-
Gated by the authorities in MANY cities
where 1t is considered as desira BILE to
pension health officials as members of
the fire and police departments whose
llves and health are risked in the line
OF duty to a somewhat greater degree
city health officials will be interested
IN M the report on the pension fund of the
New York department of health. be.
cause the New York pension system
winch has been put up as a model. is
not found to be working well The
committee which made the report goes
frankly into details anu tells of the
defects In the pension plan and sug-
gests remedies. The report shows that
the New York health department pen
SION fund Is in precarious condition
and Is causing anxiety to the trustees
OF the fund as we'll as to present and
prospective pensioners.
The income of the New York health
department pension fund includes all
moneys collected from fines and pen
alties for violation of the health laws
of the city of New York, and a CON
tributory assessment of not more than
l per cent of the salary or compensa-
| ton of each physician or employe OF
the department Of health. For many
years the income of the fund was
greatly in excess of it's expenditures
and surplus which now exceeds $780,
600 was thus accumulated. The list OF
pensioners. however, Is now increasing
at rapid rate. and during. the past
year the total income of the fund bare
ly covered the expenditures. The COM
mittee making the report, after a study
Of the existing situation, concluded that
within two years at most the expedi-
lures for pensions will exceed the in
come of the pension fund and that
thereafter the excess of expenditure
over income will rapidly increase, and
the accumulated reserve will speedily
disappear.
Persons who have given thoughtful
study to the question of civil pensions
will see on glance at the report that
the payment of pensions in New York
city on the present basis cannot con-
tinue unless some relief is obtained
The members of the committee making
the report suggest as a remedy that
the pension law should be amended sc
| as to include, with the revenues Of the
present fund. an increase in the con-
tributory assessment of members from
l to per cent of the employees sal.
aries and the inclusion of all moneys