The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-19
GUARD THE HEALTH
Safeguards of Recruits at Camp
Are Many.
Those Living in Open Least Al
fected by Flu.

Louisville, KY, Oct. 19.-The clear
eyed. keenly alert recruits that come
to Camp Zachary Taylor. drawn in the
main from rural districts of Ken
lucky, Indiana and southern Illinois.
are receiving an object lesson in per-
sonal sanitation and disease proven
ton that promises much for the fd-
ture health of their respective COM
munities.
The regimen under which they
come is something totally strange to
them, the extreme care in correcting
small faults of the human mechanism
seems trifle old maidish. and the
scrupulousness with which health of
men is guarded appears a bit foolish.
This is the first impression.
Then comes the time when Jim, aft
visits town and becomes curious as to
how much weight he has lost by hard
drill
To his amazement he finds that tho
girth may have decreased, weight has
increased, and that this condition is
general at his barracks. Then he
learns that a companion, who came
into camp with the tired movement of
the hook-worm victim, was prodded
and poked while EeId in the hospital
for a couple of weeks. that he had
been cured of the hook-worm and his
infected tonsils removed. Further
more that he had gained thirty pounds
in the twe months following the ply
steal overhauling.
Twice daily the men are lined up
and questioned regarding their state
of health. Those with flushed cheeks,
slightly sore threats or other symp-
toms of illness are hurried to the reg
mental infirmary for rigid examina-
ton and isolation in event of measles
or other contagious diseases.
This shows something of the prac-
t1ce of the medical department of the
United States army which, under its
present day code, as voiced by the
army doctor, prefers to see nine ma
lingerers slide by rather than leave
one man at drill or other duty to
spread disease who ought to be in
bed"
1t is such proof of the Importance
placed upon the question of disease
prevention and health maintenance by
military authorities that is making
over the ideas of personal sanitation OF
many of the men coming to Camp
Zachary Taylor. The practice here is
Identical with that pursued here is
one of the army doctors is responsible
fer the health of fighting men
Many of the men coming here from
the mountains of Kentucky and from
the rural sections of the other states
have been accustomed to sleeping
rooms nearly or quite hermetically
sealed. Here they sleep with all win
doWS open even when a bowling gale
drives across the room. Windows are
never closed at night except to exclude
rain.
This doesn't meet with the approval
of many of the new arrivals, but later
they notice that colds come less fire.
quently, that they wake up in tn.
morning with heads clearer, bodies
better rested. and not one of them will
ever be content to go back to the old
stuffy bedroom with which the folks
back homo content themselves.
Recently the wisdom of letting In
plenty fresh air was brought forcibly
home to the men here by the manner
in which the epidemic of Spanish in.
fluenza spread. It first appeared
among men housed in barracks. 1t
spread more rapidly among them than
any other portion of the camp pop
ulation, and men living in tents be-
cause of lack of room to house them
in barracks were least affected. Com
plants by the tent dweVers because
they could not live in the more COM
Portable barracks have ceased