Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-10-27
full time LOCAL
HEALTH OFFICER
EACH CI1Y'S NEED
Health Officer Need Not Be
Physician, Declares DR..
Anderson.

important thing in public health i'd
ministration is the en.pl)ynlent CT,
the full-time local health f.eicer. ac-
cording to DR.. John F. Anderson
president of tae American Public
Health association, who add assad the
10th annual meeting Of the associa
ton here tonight. The meetings will
continue until Friday with some 500
public health workers present from
VI parts of this country Canada,
Mexico and Cuba.
DR.. Anderson aroused considerable
discussion among the public health
physicians present when nc declared
in the coruse of his address that it is
not necessary that lo.ai health Of
ficer should be a physician. at is.
of course, desirable that ne be a
doctor, if he possesses the other nee
essary qualifications" said DR.. An
derson, but he believed many men
without medical degrees could be en-
tirely successful as local health Off
GERS
He declared that few cities had Yet
awakened TO one very common dan
ger in the presence of diseased rats.
New Orleans in all probability would
have avoided the loss of life and the
great financial loss to the city and its
citizens" he said, eff it had applied
previous 20 1914 those measures
known to be effective in plague pre-
vention. What has happened in New
Orleans may happen to other cities"
Milk as more important factor
in the spread of disease than any
~ ,c " ,,l
so discussed. and the present system
of inspection was criticized as being
none too safe and much too costly.
I'VE see," he said ''il state sup
plyig milk 20 its own cities, and also
to cities loehted in other states. in
spectors not only from a number OF
cities within the state, but inspectors
from other states all travelling back
and forth, and crossing the track Il
each other in their travels. This in
spection could be done more efficient
ly by a corps of inspectors under
single head and working on Uniform
The federal government
has not up to this time taken de-
cided part in safeguarding the milk
sold in interstate commerce, tho there
are at least two bureaus with juris-
diction.
"The bureau of chemistry has au-
thority under tie pure food and drug
act, and the public health service
under the interstate quarantine act
has the. power to prevent the snip
ment in interstate commerQe Of milk
which may convey contagious diseases
from one state TO another. Under
this bread power, the public health
service can prevent the shipment o.
milk from non-tuberculin tested COWS
and the shipment of milk from locali-
ties in which contagious diseases,
the infed ion of which may be trans
mitted by milk, ale prevailing to such
an extent as to render possible the
spread of those diseases from one
state to another
Sickness Causes Big Loss.
"In view of the constantly increas-
ing numbers of the population who
carry on our industries, the question
Of their health and the risks to whicA
it is exposed is becoming question
Of continuously greater national I'M
portance
This group of the population num-
bers some 30,OO0,0o0 in this country.
The average yearly loss for each in
aividual on ad;ount of Sickness has
oeen approximately nine days. This
amounts to an annual loss of 100000
years. In terms of dollars and cents,
assuming wages TO average So per
lien and medical care and treatment
81, this loss is about $40 100000. At
east half of this can be prevented,
investigations into the working
and living conditions OF the 3o,oo0,ooJ
xage-earners has revealed many
.hings which are deplorable, espe-
;ially among the unskilled low-pald
workers. In spite of recent improve
nent in many industrial establish
nents the fight against insanitary
conditions is still an uphill one. Re-
cent surveys show that the elimina-
ion of health hazards from industry
is not thing to be expected in the
near future.
"Of greater importan1c is the in
ability of considerable proportion
If the wage-earners Of the country to
. healthful standard of llF-
ING on the wages received. In all