Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-15
CITY CAN BUY HEALTH;
STTNGY POLICY MEANS
DISEASE, SAYS EXPERT
Dr.. H. r. M. Lands, Director of
Phipps Institute, Declares
"Parsimoniousness" In
creases Death Rate
WE ARE AN EXAMPLE

The large amount of disease and ILL
health In this community could be ma
tcrially reduced but for the "parsimoni-
business" of state and city legislators, de-
clared Or. II. r. NJ Lands, at the Uni
versity Of Pennsylvania this afternoon. in
nn address on "the Importance OF Tuber-
culosis in its Relation TO Public Health"
Doctor Lands, who is director of the
clinical and sociological departments of
the Phipps Institute. emphasized through
out his lecture the motto of the Depart
ment of Health in New York city;
Health is purchasable. Within natural
limitations community can determine
its own death rate"
Philadelphia is not spending nearly
enough money on the conservation of
public health, Doctor Lands said, after
he had sketched the progress made in
medical science. and told how much
greater the possibilities were for the
future. lie declared that we can have
freedom from preventable disease in pro-
portion as we are willing to pay for 1t.
He said:
"Thc city of Philadelphia for some years
has appropriated for health purposes
about S5jO,OOO 100000 of which is ex-
pended in maintaining the Municipal Hos
pital for Contagious Diseases, This leaves
about $850.OOO for preventive work. This
means that because OF lack of funds the
various activities of the department are
hampered, and in some instances, such
as the supervision of perishable foods,
nothing is done.
"rhe citizens of Philadelphia, or rather
their rulers, have provided Hqalth De-
partment and budget which represents
an expenditure of about S23 per capita
per year. If the tax for health purposes
represented one-half a cent per day per
capita (Sl7O per capita per year), n bud
get of S2,5OO.OOO could be provided. This
would furnish an efficient health depart
ment and permit of an expenditure of
about $l,00OOOO n year towards ridding the
city of many unsanitary evils, such as
open privy vaults, surface drainage, blind
alleys. interior courts, uninhabitable
houses, etc. In 10 years the tax could
probably be reduced to one-quarter of a
cent per capita per day."
Doctor Lands criticised the members of
the medical profession for not taking n
greater interest in the development of
sanitary science. He said that the medi-
cal profession must realize that sanitary
science has become a distinct branch of
medicine and requires special training.
THE day has passed." he asserted,
"when n community can afford to tolerate
health officers who are unframed for the
task to which they are appointed. The
intelligent community is, in the near
future, going to demand that the head
of its health department be man who
knows what to do and how to do it. The
old hit or miss policy that prevails pretty
generally throughout the country is al
ready doomed.
81 wish to touch on the attitude of our
legislators and public officials. Have
you ever stopped to consider the vast
amount of money which is annually ap-
propriated for all sorts of public i'm
provements2
millions and millions are expended for
beauttfying our cities, for improving roads
and increasing and improving transit IA
cilities. In many instances the charge
of extravaganza is well grounded. When
we come to consider the amount of money
expended for improving the health of the
community, however, not extravaganza
or even liberality is the rule, but almost
Invariably parsimoniousness. How are
we TO change this and bring about a
more liberal expenditure of money for
health purposes?
Personally 1 do not think we can ex-
pect that our officials are apt TO change
their attitude Everywhere throughout
the country more money Is being asked
for and everywhere the amount granted
rails far below what is needed The rem
edy lies in the education of the people
and this is properly the function of the
medical profession. 1 am ashamed TO
say that i'm this regard the profession has
neglected both its opportunity and its
duty, and that the credit for many ad-
vances in the improvement of health con-
ditions belongs to the lay sociologist: II
the people were reliably informas to the
menace of certain unsanitary evils and II
1t was furthermore brought home to them
that thousands of lives are annually sac
rificed and even more rendered inefficient
because of the lack of proper safeguards,
] am certain they would demand the cleo
tion of officials who would AFFORD them
adequate protection.
1t was once said by Disraeli, If | re-
member rightly, that the first considera-
tion of an enlightened statesman should
be the health OF the people, Let US see
TO IL, therefore. that we all do our full
share toward providing officials of this
type, and let US lose no opportunity 10
emphasize the fact that Heath is pur-
chasable. Within natural limitations a
community can determine its own death
rate"