The log cabin Democrat., 1916-02-14
f1ammation and blindness. It is both communicable and curable.

of curing the actual cases is proceed ing rapidly; but more important is the
 tAsk of teaching the mountain populA- | tion to avoid infection by adopting
 more sanitary living arrangements.
 Their cabin homes are overcrowded;
 they use common wash basins and common towels; the mother is apt to
 wipe the eyes of the child with an apron upon which she wipes her own. | These people have lived much as they do now for 150 years, and, ex- cept for communicable diseases, such as trachoma, they are healthy class. | To effect change among them, in view | of their isolation and decidedly settled | opinions, has been large undertak- | ing.
 The public health service is work. ing change among them, however. Frequent meetings are held in school houses and churches, at which stere- opticon slides are exhibited showing the precise means by which trachoma | and other diseases, including typhoid, spread. This campaign of education has made rapid headway and, as cures multiply, the faith of the mountain public in Uncle Sams teaching is in- creased
 Only few years ago the sort of wis itor from the United States govern | ment who was familiar in the Ken | lucky mountains carried Winchester. He was looking for secret whisky | stills and was venturing upon a dan gerous errand among a very hostile people. The good samaritan from the public health office, upon his errand of love and charity, has now become as thoroughly an established charac- ter in this rugged region as the inter- nal revenue agent used to be. Prob ably no other influence has served more effectively to bring the outside world into close and friendly relations with the rountaineers
 Sixty Miles for Treatment
 That these people realize and ap- preciate what we are trying to do for them" said the medical officer in charge of the trachoma work at the headquarters of the public health service in Washington recently, was impressed upon me by an incident which occurred when l was at the Hindman hospital not long since
 An old man brought in his son who was badly afflicted with trachoma. It was decided that an operation was necessary, but the boy overheard us tell his father this. The lad slipped out and ran away, home. It was 20 miles across the mountains. The fla ther and son had walked this 20 miles to the hospital.
 The father at once walked back, found his son and repeated the long foot journey into Hindman the next day, where the operation was per formed and the boy cured That meant a 60mile trip on foot-hard, rough going all the way-by the parent to force his son to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the govern. ment.
 When we see these things we know our work is well worth doing"
 The appeal of such incidents to the hearts of a simple, natural and kindly people Is manifest. There was the case of a mother of four children, none of whom she had ever seen. The vision of both eyes was so far impaired by tra- choma that in bright sunlight she could not recognize anyone. Following brief treatment at one of the noun tain hospitals she returned to her family and saw her children for the first time.
 There was an old man who was led 40 miles across the mountains for treatment. Though blind for years, his vision was restored and he returned home without escort
 As stated, there is no miracle-cure about it; no use of marvellous eye-wa- ter, no mystery whatever. Eliminating medical terms, it is largely business of rolling back and sandpapering the inside of the eyelids. After that comes | thorough cleansing, continued regular ly by the patient. Of course, if the con- valescent returns to the cabin and uses infected towels, the disease re- turns
 The work of the government sur geons in the mountains is not limited to trachoma. Not long ago one un- usually busy day, an assistant surgeon l general of the public health service received an unexpected visitor It was teacher from Hindman, Ky, where the eye hospital has since been estab 1 lished. She had ridden 23 miles to the railroad station and thence had made the long trip to Washington upon most urgent business. The assistant sur geon general had made her acQuain- tance in course of the trachoma field l investigations.
 Finding Typhoid Source.
 Doctor" she said, there are 30
 cases of typhoid in Hindman and no
 means of caring for them. We do not
 know the cause of the epidemic and I
 came here to see if you cannot help
 us"