Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-21
HEALTH OF CAMP
AT MT. GRETNA
SAFEGUARDED
DR.. Dixon Tells of Precau-
tions Taken by His
Department
STARTED WEEKS AGO

DR.. Samuel G. Dixon, state Commits.
sioner of Health, said today that his de-
partment had anticipated the mobilization
of the National Guard and had started
more than three weeks ago to put Mount
Gretna in first class sanitary condition for
the camp.
ut is the duty of the state Health De.
partment," said Doctor Dixon, "to protect
the health of the people of the State. and
II is our duty to protect them whether
In military camp or i'm their own homes
There have been great strides made in
the medical world in the prevention OF dis
ease in camps since the Civil War and also
since the time of the Spanish.American
War continued DR. Dixon, but even In
those times n great deal of sickness and
mortality could have been prevented by
using with vigor and intelligence tho lSnowl.
edge we then had. Even today there is a
tendency to lay too much stress on injcc'
tions of serum for typhoid and of vaccina.
tion for smallpox to give perfect immunity
to these diseases, when as a matter of fact
the immunity Is not perfect. These treat.
ments should be looked upon more as aux
lliaries to the ordinary and wel-known
rules of sanitation.
my assistants at Mount Gretna have
gone all over the ground. They have looked
after the water supply and lave placed
placards on all condemned pools; they have
picked out the best sites for tents, have
located the proper places for latrnes, looked
were likely to breed, such places have been
drained or been treated with crude oil If
the men themselves don't get careless, there
Is no reason why their health should not be
better in camp than at home.
"a better example of the benefit Of mod
ern improvements in the sanitation of large
encampments could not be found than in
the reunion of the Blue and Gray at
Gettysburg n few years ago. Governor
Tener gave the sanitary supervision of that
camp of more than 100000 men into the
hands of the State Health Department. In
the six days of the camp, although the
thermometer was soaring among the Dos,
and although many of these men were very
old. we had only one death in the camp
hospital, and only nine deaths altogether
'"The same precautions Will be taken at
Mount Gretna as at Gettysburg the only
difference will be that the different brt-
Rades will have their own hospitals and
nurses In all this work the State Health
Department works in harmony with the
National Guard" Asked If anything had
been learned i'm sanitary matters from the
European war now in progress. Doctor DIX
on said that the reports from Europe after
they pass the censOrS are so meagre that
he could not say that we had learned any
thing new. but he added:
1--WE did learn from the Japanese in the
Russo-Japanese War a great many Things,
or rather, we learned the value of apply
ing with vigor and intelligence the knowl-
edge we already possess. Serums and vac
cination are splendid discoveries and pre-
yentives, but they must be supplemented
by constant watchfuness. They cannot take
the place of pure water, proper drainage
personal cleanliness and the determination
of flies and mosquitoes"