New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-25
INFANTILE PARALYSIS
IN ALL BOROUGHS

telephone number is Franklin $3.50, in
order that appointments may be made
TO supply transportation to the hos
pital of doctors of the department to
visit the homes Of such persons. The
committee is arranging TO provide the
department with the means of convey
ance. As the blood serum is sometimes
impaired by transportation, those Civ
ing their blood are strongly urged when
possible to visit one of the hospitals"
Mr.. Dela6eld's committee is prepar-
ing 10 send to each of the 1000 former
paralysis patients whose names are IN
the possession of the Health Depart
ment, letter urging them TO permit
their blood 10 be drawn. This letter
was printed and ready to be sent out
yesterday, when DR.. Billings found II
necessary TO transfer the Brooklyn sta
tion from the Kingston Avenue Hos
pital to the Brooklyn Department OF
Health. This was done because at the
hospital it was impossible TO obtain
enough water pressure 10 drive the
high power vacuum pump, which is an
essential part of the preparations o.
the serum.
Elghty-SeNcn Give bloOu.
Eighty-seven persons have thus far
appeared at the Willard Parker Hospi-
tai and permitted DR.. Zingher to draw
blood. Two persons came yesterday,
from whom twenty ounces were OBJ
tanned They were Harold Short
meier, twenty-three years old, of 40
Seventh Avenue, Brooke. and Miss
Helen Perry, of 1l6 East Fifty-eighth
Street. who gave nine ounces. A week
ago Miss Perry gave ten ounces, and
yesterday she told DR.. Zingher she
would return in another week and give
as much more blood as she could
spare.
The use Of the immune serum as 1t
is being employed by the Department
of Health was Endorsed yesterday in
Paris by Professor Arnold Meter, n
member of the French Academy OF
Medicine and an authority on infantile
paralysis. In an interview with The
Associated Press Professor Meter
said:
"lnfantile paralysis is a malady as
old as the world. and which has long
been known in the form of sporadic
cpidemics, affecting adults as well as
children.
II tAlSlS now III GISiduu anu iaHNCs
Thousands of persons were affected by
the disease in Sweden in 1905, and
France suffered in its turn in 1909 and
1910. and even as late as 1914"
Statistics dealing with the ages OF
the first 1880 cases of the disease were
made public yesterday by Commits
sioner Emerson. They show that out
of this number there were but 81 pa
tients over sixteen years old; of 5,942
cases in Brooklyn and Manhattan but
496 were between 6 and l6, and of l,59S
deaths only 204 were between the ages
Of and 16. The figures also show
that there are "A cases in a negro pop
ulation of about 10000. This is about
the same proportion as among other
races.
The General Committee on the After
Care of Infantile Paralysis Gases
opened its general Offices yesterday IN
289 Fourth Avenue. DR.. Thomas J.
Riley, secretary of the Brooklyn Blu
reau Of Charities, is chairman OF the
committee, and Dr. Donald r. Baxter
has been appointed director. The tele-
phone numbers of the new offices are
Gramcrcy 3S4l and 3S42, and persons
wishing information concerning the
work of the committee are urged TO
communicate with DR.. Baxter or his as
sistants.
Report Sent to Mayor.
The committee has already begun
caring for the patients who have been
released from the various hospitals,
and expects to have its work running
smoothly within n few days, DR.. Riley
Yesterday sent the following letter to
Mayor Mitchell
"The New York Committee on the
After Care of lnfantile Paralysis
Cases has received from the Commis-
sioner of Health your inquiry as TO the
advisability of the city's establishing
a colony for the after care of children
suffering from poliomyelitis in the
Jacob Riis Park or other suburban land
belonging to the municipality.
81 am requested to reply that the
committee believes that the city OF
New York should make adequate pro.
vision for the convalescent hospital
care Of infantile paralysis, either in its
own municipal hospital or in private
institutions.
"The committee believes that it would
be inadvisable TO establish colony at
any considerable distance removed from
the house of these children and from
the offices. dispensaries and the ortno-
pedic surgeons upon whom the city
must depend for very large service
at this time.
Moreover, the committee believes
that the after-care of these children
depends not so much upon fresh air
and sunshine, important as they are:
as it does upon the expert service Of
the orthopedic surgeons and the CON
tinued massage and muscle training by
the expert masseur
This necessary service can best be
given If the children are cared for In
good hospitals within the city"
Total of Subscriptions.
Additional subscriptions totalling
s362.76 were received by the Depart