The Arizona copper camp., 1915-11-19
SAYS MANS BODY
SHOULD Be KEPT
ON WAR FOOTING

AA@@Ao, Lex, NOV. 1S.-"SanltarY
Preparedness" the subject of an ad-
oress by DR.. Rupert Blue, sur
geon general of the public health
service, before the Southern Medical
ASSOCIATION, was defined as s'the main
tenance of the body of man on a war
footing against disease" It was fir
tner described as a condition in which
an able bodied, vigorous society.
clothed in the armor> of hygienic
knowledge and fortified by adeouate
SANITARY defenses, is equally able to
Withstand the shock of arms and the
continued strains of the occupations
of tranquility"
The sanitary preparedness of a
nation" said DR.. Blue, 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. Community health is,
therefore, the all important prereoui-
site, and in order that we may have
military preparedness we must first
of all have sanitary preparedness.
9The first step in the creation of
sanitary preparedness is to teach the
citizens the value of a sound body.
,o1o
child the simple truths of sanitation
are impressed, we will gradually
create a people in which sanitary liv-
ing is a habit. If by child hygiene
we produce better and stronger men
and women, these in turn will have
learned that mating with the weak
fective children Thus we will have
a practical eugenic betterment.
Germs Overthrow Nations
'It may truly be said that the fate
of kings and nations has frequently
depended upon so minute a thing as
the typhoid bacillus, or the plasmod-
ium Of malaria. We are able by the
use of typhoid vaccination to control
the one, and by anti mosquito meas
ures to prevent the other, but until
the people of our country have learned
the lessons of sanitation it will not
be possible to eliminate either dis
ease, or to maintain citizenship the
Unfortunately it seems as though
the human race can make sanitary
advance only through the bitterness
Of previous experience and it is very
difficult in the absence Of the threat
Of epidemic to arouse much interest
in sanitary betterment
"Unconsciously we have been striv-
ing toward that end The decade in
which we live has witnessed the
growth and expansion of all of the
health forces of our country. The
body of the sanitary laws has been
revised, amended and extended. APP
preparations for the prosecution of
sanitary measures have been in
creased. The sanitary propaganda has
been carried to exery portion Of the
United States, and we see men of
high attainments adopting the profess
sion of sanitation as life work. The
collection of morbidity and mortality
statistics has but impressed upon us
the necessity for increased work along
these lines. The Investigations into
the causes of communicable diseases
and the evolution of the means of
their control have been such that
many of the major pestilences have
almost been relegated to oblivion"
Heart Disease Common
DR.. Blue added, however, that
deaths and disabilities from the COM
moner diseases continue at a high
rate with heart diseases heading the
list OF recruits examined for the
army and navy in the fiscal year end
ed June 80, 1914, he said over 13 per
cent were rejected. More than 12s
per cent were on account Of heart
disease and at least SO per cent were
from wholly preventable causes.
"a large proportion Of the causes
of rejection said DR.. Blue, may be
traced to the so-called inevitable dis
eases. When we realize that prac-