Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-02
KEEP FIT URGES
DIR. DIXON TODAY
Says That 1t Is the Best Kind of
Preparedness For the
Coming Struggle

People of Pennsylvania are urged to
apply to their every day lives the les
sons learned by armies at home and
abroad about the importance of keep
ing physically fit in the event that the
United States goes to war by Commits
sioner of Health Samuel G. Dixon. The
commissioner, who has been studying
the reports of the medical men in
charge of the armies and the home
folks abroad, declares every person
must consider himself unit of de-
fense, one who can do something when
the time comes and that it is owing to
State and nation as well as to family
and self to maintain health.
Commissioner Dixon's statement on
health as the right kind of prepared
ness is as follows:
If we are to go to war, let us have
the lesson of the tremendous bearing
of health problems on our armies In
camp and our citizens at home we'll
learned beforehand, so that we may
not have to learn it by bitter and cal
amitous experience. 1t would seem to
be a late date to have to point out the
almost self-evident fact that sickness
will decrease the national efficiency by
| just so much, whether 1t be among SOL
| diers or non-combatants, but the gen.
eral public does not yet give enough
attention to this aspect of wars de-
mands, the accent being placed on
more spectacular elements of prepar-
| edness.
Each individual must consider him
self a unit of our great population to
be kept able to meet whatever comes
along. If there was ever a time when
| the individual had the duty of taking
thought of how he could keep in good
health, it is now.
One of the first elements of the
| health of a nation at war-or at peace
for that matter-is its food. 1t cannot
| be healthy and strong without good
| food and plenty of it. Therefore agri-
culture and gardening must be intelli-
gently and intensively stimulated, so
that larger crops shall be brought
| forth.
The housewives task will be to
economic the food supply and cook
1t with skill, so as to make her meals
tasty and digestible.
The streams from which our do
mestic water supply comes should be
| that communities shall not run the
risk of being infected with some dead
| ly disease.
Vaccination against typhoid is a
valuable step in preparedness under
conditions as they are at present, and
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
| through the agents of the Department
of Health, is prepared to give the virus
| for vaccination to those who cannot
| afford to purchase it,
While our water supplies have been
| improved in the Commonwealth so
that typhoid fever had been cut down
| rs per cent, vaccination against it
during this emergency should bridge
us over period when we must attain
the highest efficiency of health and
| give the health departments through
out the Commonwealth time to con-
tinue their work of reducing the pollu-
| tions of our streams. and enable our
| people to go on with their daily labors
and produce food and all other things
necessary for us to maintain our
strength during any war.
Smallpox is loathsome disease that
is often fatal and under the best of
circumstances creates a long period of
incapacity for work, and one which
demands the strictest kind of quaran-
timing of all who may occupy the same
home. This can be absolutely pre-
vented by vaccination. The presence
of smallpox would greatly handicap
the efficiency of our great Common
wealth of Pennsylvania In serving the
nation in time of war.
The Life Extension Institute, with |
whom we are working, has estimated
that nearly half the body building
food and 20 per cent. of the sustaining
food on American tables is derived
from grains such as wheat, oats, corn, |
rye. barley, rice and buckwheat, and |
that these grains are to the human |
machinery what coal is to the manu-
featuring industries, the greatest |
source of heat and power.
The time has come to consider
these matters in a spirit of patriotism. |
II is the duty of every citizen to attain
physical fitness, and of the people as a |
whole. to take measures for the in
creased production of food materials. |
nj ootr