Evening star., 1916-03-26

| SpHSIe dS were tne ldTSe-SCdlc anu
malaria operations of the army medical
experts at Panama.
When the specialists of the service
first went to the Roanoke Rapids COM
found that for the past three summers
fully 15 per cent of the 4.10o inhabi-
tants had been Ill with malaria So
lunhealthful was the community con-
sidered that not more than half the
population-practicall all whites. and
most of them employees Of the cotton
and paper mills-were permanent resi-
dents, the others moving away after
short periods. During the warm period
malaria averaged about fifty a day.
| The public health service officials
found the cause of the prevalence of
malaria without difficulty. A number
of small, sluggish streams and marsh
existed near the residence districts. and
| examination of these showed the pres
ence of large numbers of larvae of the
anopheles mosquitoes, by which alone
the disease is transmitted from one
person to another
| In accordance with the advice of the
public health service. vigorous anti
malaria campaign was started Lee
lures were given at the local theater
| and in public schools on malaria and
Its prevention, educational posters were
put up in public places and the people
| were urged to destroy mosquitoes and
! their breeding places, screen their
|
qunine. In the meantime funds were
raised and engineering operations SIM
| liar to those at Panama were gotten
under way. bitches were dug to drain
| the marshes. streams were straighten-
ed and petroleum was placed in tanks
| so that it would drip into drains. A
novel feature of this work was the use
| of the dye liquids from the cotton mills
and the waste bleaching liquors from
the paper mills. which were turned into
tcnr fli
| vicides.
The next warm season found condi-
tions greatly improved The daily mum :
Der of cases fell from fifty to one, and
relapses from the preceding year. Blood
examinations made at random showed
| about per cent of the subjects 10
have the malaria parasites in their
blood. as against about IA per cent the
preceding year.
! During the pa st year the public health
service found conditions still more ia
| vorable. The number of cases aver
laged about one every three days. ana
| only three cases during the season ap-
peared to be due to new infections.
| These statistics relate to health alone.
In the matter of efficiency the story is
| equally striking. All the mills of the
| community were working at much less
| than their normal capacities in 1913
| because of the impossibility of main
! tanning force OF we'll employees. In
lisa and 1915, on the other hand, all
the plants were in full operation, and
the output per man was largest IN the
| were best.
Similar work has been carried on
under the direction of the public health
service during the past three years un-
der different environment and climatic
conditions in Electric Mills. Miss. a
lumber mill town. The methods have
+, been about the same. and results Sc
cured have been equally gratifying.
In both cases the cost of the work OF
bringing good health to the communi-
ties has been within reasonable limits,
and maintenance costs are, OF course.
still lower. In North Carolina the work
| in 1914 cost s3.600. and in 1919 Sl,o0o.
In Mississippi. where the WORK was on
a smaller scale, the cost during the
year in which most of the engineering
work was done was less than Sl,ooo.
Last year the maintenance Work cost
| less than 5000.
| The public health service recently
received a letter from the manager and
treasurer OF the largest mill company
lin the Roanoke Rapids community, IN
the course of which he said
| II will frankly admit that l could not
realize what a great change could be
brought about by systematic work
and with comparatively little expense.
! The money spent in anti-malaria work
there has paid the quickest and most
|
from any investment, and after having
had our experience. I would, if neces-
sary. do the work over again II ! knew
it would cost ten times the amount"
| The milk you drink interests Uncle
Sam. He recognizes 1t to be one of the
| most easily con-
Safeguarding the taminated an d
49,, easily spoi ] ed
MILK Supply. foods in existence
and at the same time one of the foods
lin most general use. The dairy divi-
sion of the bureau of animal industry
of the Department of Agriculture,
| therefore, has not stopped at working
out the economies of dairying for the
benefit of the farmer. but emphasizes
the health aspect of the industry and
carries on energetic educational cam
paiens in communities where co-opera-
tion is desired.
| One important and eminently fair
phase of the extension work of the
governments dairy experts is in edu-
eating consumers to realization or
the fact that II costs the producer more
to insure scrupulous cleanliness of the
milk supply than it does to place on
the market the usual HntulOCTc
or the dirty, dangerous milk that is
| offered under the worGt conditions.
The attitude of the dairy division is
that pure milk costs more but is de-
cidedly worth it, and the experts in
their campaigns attempt to impress
tthis truth on three interested groups
the consumers. the producers and dis
tributers and the municipal and state
authorities who have in charge the
enforcement of the local food regula-
| tions.
When the federal specialists go into
a community to cooperate with the
local health officials they first make a
Thorough investigation of the milk sup
ply and its regulation. and finally To-
| cate the producers of the milk that
Is below grade and visit their farms.
The attitude toward these producers
| is not one of condemnation. The ex-
perts go instead to their farms to help
tions. They look to the health of the
herds and their attendants, the sani-
tary condition of the barns, the proper
| cleaning and sterilization of all uten-
sils and the methods for insuring suf-
fciently low temperature for the milk
| In the educational campaigns the re-
| sponsibility of the consumer in the
| natter of temperature also Is en-
pha sized The specialists point out that
however carefully the producer and
| distributor has handled the milk, 1t is
likely to spoil II permitted to remain
exposed to the sun or in warm room
after delivery.
| In addition to its general educational
work the dairy division is aiding city
and state authorities in every way that
inc iap