The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1916-02-24
UNCLE SAM IS
EYE DOCTOR TO
MOUNTA|NEERS
Public Health Service Doing Great
: Work Among Purest
BIoOded Americans.
TRACHoMA IN THE MOUNTAINS
Curing Of Sore Eyes on an Enormous
Scale Is Humanitarian Task Be-
ing Performed in Kentucky,
Virginia and West Virginia.

WaSnlngtOn.-ln Way-a very ulk'
ferent way-the United States public
health service is doing the very thing
which Mark Twain's irresistible Col
onel Sellers proposed to do with his
"matchless, Incompatible and alto
gether marvellous eye-water"
The colonels plea for his eye-water,
very much paraphrased, ran some
thing like this:
One million people in the United
States have sore eyes, one million, sir!
And now come !, with natures most
potent balsam-dew of earliest morn,
plus Oscillations of the rarest herbs
Of field and forest-which, upon drop
ping one drop In the eye, soothes and
cools,, and which, upon repetition un-
til the entire bottle is used, forever
banishes pains and sches Of every de-
scription. We will sell 10000 bottles
the first year at\ 81 bottle-10,O 600
people cured Of sore eyes, $4,000! We
will sell 10000 bottles the second year
10000 pairs of eyes made whole,
10000 grateful hearts, $4,000! The
third year we will sell, ETC."
The public health service is not
pushing its own or anybody's eyewa'
ter, and is not advancing its own or
anybodys money-making scheme. But
it's most picturesque work has to do
with the curing of sore eyes on an
j enormous scale. II direct parallel lies
with the visionary scheme of Colonel
Sellers, it is in the number of grateful
hearts which thank this federal agen'
cy for restored vision.
This humanitarian work is being
done among the purest-blOoded white
Americans in America-the mountain
GERS of Kentucky, Virginia and West
Virginia. Down in these mountains.
in small, isolated towns, far from rail.
roads, are five little government hos
prtals' which treat victims of sore eyes
on scale as large as that of many
Of the numerous city hospitals de-
voted to this speciality.
Trachoma in the Mountains.
The chief cause of sore eyes" In
the mountains is trachoma. Possibly
Mark Twain knew the prevalence OF
this affection in the mountain sections
OF the South and Middle West and
hence knew Of the acute need fol-
some such wonderful concoction as
Colonel Sellers eye-water. Very like
ly, the great humorist drew his inspir
alton from this knowledge.
Strange to say, however, the wide
spread existence of tTachoma within
the borders Of the United States wait
ed many years for official discovery.
For long time, the experts talked OF
trachoma as an exotic disease. On
the theory that it came from abroad
and the chief danger to the American
public lay in the admission of infect
ed immigrants, trachoma was made
one of the quarantinable diseases.
Every applicant for entry into the
United States is carefully examined
for traces of trachoma and thousands
of otherwise good citizen-material
have been turned back to their native
lands from our ports because they had
trachoma.
The discovery" came little more
than three years ago, when DR.. J. A
Stuckey of Lexington, KY, called the
attention of federal authorities to the
numerous cases of trachoma in the
Kentucky mountains. Surgeon John
McMullen, who had experience with
trachoma patients at the New York
and Philadelphia immigration stations
conducted an investigation. or 1900
mountaineers examined, it was found
that 500 had trachoma. In consequence
the hospitals were established; three
in Kentucky, one in Virginia and one
in West Virginia; at Jackson, London
and Hindman, KY, and at Coeburn
Va, and WEIGH, w. Va. These hospi
tails had more than 100 cases and
performed 1913 eye operations last DC
tober
Effect in the Mountains.
Trachoma is a disease of the eye
lids. Granulated or sandy lids, it is
often called. 1t leads to serious In
fiammation and blindness. It is both
communicable and durable.
Among the mountaineers the work
OF curing the actual cases is proceed
ing rapidly; but more important is the
task of teaching the mountain popula
ton 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 $50 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 undertake.
ing.
The public health service is work
Ing . change among them. however,