The Palatka news and advertiser., 1915-09-03

efdl CaXaClOn De nanueu OuG W Ilt
swine owner and not to the man who
owns a diseased orange grove? IT
state funds are properly to be ex-
pended for private interests, why
should it be diverted from the fund
specifically raised for the preServa-
tion of human health?
] When a glandered animal is killed
under the authority of the state for
the protection of other animals and
of human life, why should the $500
paid for such slaughtered animal, be
taken from the funds of the State
Board of Health? Why should it
not be taken from the funds of the
Department of Agriculture, or by a
special fund provided for the pur-
pose?
The Board pays for the Pasteur
treatment in INDECENT cases for the
prevention of hydrophobia in human
beings and about one-half of the
cases occurring in Florida come un-
der the INDECENT classification. 1t
also distributes free to indigents the
Jenner vaccine, the anti-typhoid vac
cine, also diptheria antitoxin.
The State Board of Health, at it's
annual spring session of 1915 author
lied and directed the installation of
the system of tuberculosis district
nursing, a practical treatment and
education in handling this disease,
which is designed to take the place
of a state sanitarium. The santa
ria system has been found from long
experience not to be statewide bene-
fetal in the general treatment of the
disease, and the open air treatment
under trained instructors is vastly
more effective. The new plan of dis
trict nursing is a charge upon the
funds of the Board.
The legislature of 1915 authorized
the Board to undertake a statewide
campaign of education on health
matters, by the use of the already
famous "health train" Practical
visual instruction by expert teachers
is to be given in every part of Flori-
da that is reached by railroads, and
this method is known to be cheaper
and vastly more effective than any
other means. This expense will be
large, but the results will be worth all
the cost.
The Board also has considered it
necessary to erect a $4,000 building
at Pensacola for laboratory purposes,
The Board maintains at five central
points in the state laboratories where
quick accurate and scientific determi-
nations are made of disease germs
through samples of blood submitted
from the persons of patients. This
work is of incalculable value to the
doctors of the state and through them
to the people, in diagnosing disease.
The administration of the work Of
the Board calls for large aggregate
of salaries. The same is true of ev-
cry institution, mercantile or educa-
tional, which requires for its success
the services of trained experts and
specialists. The specialist is rightly
an expensive man, and who is willing
to entrust the general health of Flori-
da citizens to any but experts?
From the beginning of its work
every expenditure of the Board has
been recorded and these records have
been preserved. They are open to the
inspection of every citizen and tax
payer of the State. Such inspection,
intelligently, honestly and fairly
made, would disarm long distance
criticism, whether it be made for po-
litical purposes or from the attitude
of the Irishman who didn't know
what the law was, but anyway he
was "agin it"-Bulletin State Board
of Health.