The Washington times., 1917-06-06

ter. Mimi, the newly indicted presi.
dent OF the Ameicran Medical AssocIa.
tion. who addressed that body at the
formal opening OF its sessions her,
last night in response to his declara.
that national prohibition would be
welcomed by the medical profession"
DR.. Mayo received a round Of APP
pleause from an audience OF doctors
and their guests filling every avail
able corner Of the Waldorf ballroom
American army medical officers stand
pre-eminent In science, DR.. Mayo went
on to say. reviewing the discovery Of
the pneumococus by Surgeon General
sternoers, the perfection Of a method
Of controlling yellow fever by Major
Walter Reed. James Carroll, Jesse w.
Lazear and Aristide Agromonte. and
In particular the work of Surgeon
General Gorgas in Havana and the
Canal zone. The medical profession
was the. nrst to mobilize for this
war;" he pointed out. "and the Gov
eminent honored It by presenting 1t
with The hrst war flag
1T Is most fortunate that our army
service Ii In the hands of such men
as Surgeons General Gorgas, Braisted
and Blue" he declared, land we must
laud the work OF the general medical
council under the able dictatorship
OF DR.. Franklin Martin" Then II
was that he offered the suggestion of
including portfolio OF medicine" In
the Cabinet.
Prohibition he termed a war meas
ure the value of which is beyond dis
custom I'VE must aid" he contin-
ued. "in all that will elevate the gen.
eral standard OF. and conserve, the
American citizen. Medicine has
reached a period when alcohol 10
rarely employed as a drug. being dis
placed by better remedies. Alcohors
only place noI In in the arts and
sciences"
Toe Much Time Wasted.
DR.. Mayo agreed with DR.. Abraham
time was wasted in school and col
Iege study Of the classics. The grad
uation age OF twenty-nine in medi-
cine he called too late. and advocated
an earlier beginning for q doctors
specialized preparation. "It costs
Minnesota now. 1920 to educate a
doctor" he offered as illustration.
but II is worth It. because the people
OF Minnesota get better care"
But war time, he warned, was no
time to lower the educational require
ments In medicine. simply to get a
few more practitioners.
The doctor foresaw a great bene-
In h. laa-
sons OF team work and organized ma
tional discipline she had impaired.
The United States, IN his opinion,
was more IN need OF tongue control
than birth control" He scored Ameri- |
cans for not exploiting or praising !
their own discoveries, saying: Many |
Important Ands here have not been
recognized until they were taken up
by the Teutons and sent back stamp
ed with Made in Germany
The benefit to our country after
the war" he concluded, sin having |
some thousands OF medical officers
trained in sanitation, hygiene and the
of disease will be meal
Through lax examinations /
OF recruits and the natural effects of
life and overcrowdinS In |
trenches and underground structures,
will become q menace to
our soldiers, as II is today In France.
Medical men, your country needs
you, now and always. You must re-
that the state Is permanent
and does not exist for the good OF
the Individual, but that the Individual
exists for the good of the state"
The Alcohol Question.
Alcohol ought to explode In the
trenches and not in peoples stomachs,
,aid DR.. Haven Emerson, commits
,ioner OF health, at the luncheon OF
The Social Service Bureau of Belle
Vue, held In the Hotel Astor yester-
lay In connection with the conven-
lion OF the American Medical Asso-
,iatIon. DR.. Emerson said a sum
equal to the entire Liberty loan Is
'pent on alcohol every year. and 81
700. 900 a day is spent in New York
llone.
II the 900. OOO. 900 gallons OF whisky
low held in bond were turned to
uses IT would last only
TX months. he said. and used this
act to point the economic and i'm
waste OF the present use
4 liquor.
1--WE need three times as much alco-
lol as formerly, but we need Il
or munitions" he said. I'VE want
I to explode in the enemy trenches
nd not In our own stomachs. I beg
Z you to exclude alcoholic beverages
rom all the tables at which you sit,
or the good OF society"
The bone dry zone near concentra-
lon camps was advocated by DR..
,harles s. Stokes, surgeon-EeneruI
Z the United States navy. retired, !
rho helped to emphasize the stand
he physicians took against alcohol
nd habit forming drugs. DR.. Stokes, =
rho is head OF the New York City
Industrial Farm Colony, at Warwick, ,
!. Y, where drug addicts are treated,
aid that the Council OF National De- =
ense is considering taking over the
Institution to be used in connection
nth the Department OF the East. a
triking illustration OF the danger
rugs have become to a people at
to raise a great army.
Drug AddIets In U. s.
DIR. Stokes estimated there are p
10000 drug addicts in the United
tates. He added there will undoubt. !
dly be several hundred thousand in
he ages OF conscription. and wonder
4 what effect they might have upon
he attempt to raise an army. They
Mould not be enrolled in military
srvice, he asserted. but turned into
idustrial work, being of practical
Sc in agriculture. munition plants or
lipyards.