The sun., 1918-12-07
GAIN IN SANITATION
Is SEEN BY GORGAS
Believes Lessons Learned bv
Soldiers Will Be Applied in
Home Communities.
HEALTH INSURANCE HIT
Has Lowered German Morality
F. L. Hoffman Tells Eel
low Executives.

The lessons In sanitation which TIM
soldiers OF the United States have
gained in their camp life, their IN.
creased health and their conseouen,
desire to retain It will be of lncalcu.
liable value to this country, Major.
Gen. William c. Gorgas told the Asso.
citation OF Life Insurance President,
in conference In the Hotel Aston yes.
terday. Gen. Gorgas's paper was read
by Col. William D. Wrightson of tho
Sanitary Corps, as Gen. Gorgas could
not be present.
During the last two years we have
had some four million men under arms
In the United States and in Eurone
Gen. Gorgas wrote. "All these men
have been profoundly impressed with
the Importance Of health 10 a ivht,ny
force; that. from the point Of view If
whipping the enemy, it is Just ahou,
as necessary to keep the armv froo
from disease as 1t Is to supply them
with ammunition. They have been in.
timately In contact with various SAM
tary measures, have seen how success
full these measures were, how easy NJ
application and how little troublesome
to the individual.
VIII Improve own Com muniti.,.
when they get back to their homes
they will be DESTROYS OF applying these
same measures to their home com.
munities so far as such application il
possible. 1t is going to be very mucb
easier for communities in the future
to get appropriations for water and
sewage systems. The soldier voter
Will be strong in backing such meas
uIes. They will all be impressed with
the importance. as far as health is
concerned, Of a good potable water.
They will improve street cleaning.
remembering their camp life and the
benefits and comfort derived from
such measures. They will remember
how possible 1t was to keep out of an
army Of 1900, 900 men typhoid fever.
smallpox, d%iphtheria and most gern.
| diseases.
But In my opinion the creates,
sanitary lesson to be learned from this
war Is the effect Of crowding in large
units. II the soldier coming home can
impress upon his community the loss
that Is being caused by the crowd!nc
that is taking place in our larger com.
munities q most important lesson VIII
have been learned for application TO
| civil life.
From what I have seen OF our sta.
tistics u death rate from disease will
be small. Up to October 1t was some
where in the neighborhood of nine per
thousand. Since that time 1t has
probably been considerably increased
by the epidemic of influenza, which for
the. past two months has been very
fatal in u camps. But taking the
average of h whole war ] venture to
predict that the death rate from dis
ease In u army will be considerably
smaller than the best death rate tina,
has gone before u~s-twenty per thou
sand in the japanese army in the
Russo-Japahese War.
"Crowding and Crowding in large
units play a capital role in the spread
OF septic pneumonia. Both overcrowi-
ing and segregation could be avoided
by constructing the environments Of
huts 20 feet by 20 feeJ in plan. con
tanning not more than six men. such
environments would cost but lttl
more. and in my opinion the expense
would be justifed.p
Praises Group Insurance.
One Of the greatest aids u a solu
ton of the labor problem. sad
Eugenius 0uterbridge, is the aDrliCa-
ton of the group insurance pan Z.
large factories.
Il became convinced that the Slu-
ton of the Industrial problem" g..
said. LAY chiefly in the hands Of n.
employers themselves; that en,igh'-
ened self-interest dictated that tie Ia
Dor question be viewed as q human
problem fully as much as IN ccou0u
one; that unrest would never ho d
layed by what labor might win by Law
or through the medium of unions, tina.
industrial peace, prosperity and con
tentment in any specific industry
would only be realized when the m
ployer conceded as a free WI OfrrIn-
to his employees, as TO a partner m c.-
terprise, an equitable share In prupo'-
ton to the contribution that lah..
made to the net result of the bushes
After a couple of years tut Ero'.
insurance in his factory our labor
turnover had decreased % about - PEE.
cent. while Jul production i0.reas"i
and the proportion OF seconds e. 'n-
ferior product showed a distinct l,i.'-
ton"
German compulsory hoa,,n Hsu.-
ance has proved a complete failure Us
a function of the State, a.gurl!.c -
Frederick J.. Hoffman, third vce-91''-
ident of the Prudential Ius area
Company.
German Morality Lowered,
After ALL" he said, 't.H most
lamentable consequence of so,.u 'h-
surance in Germany has 'trr i.'
measurable lowering OF tn ho,I'I abb
individual morality OF the German
people. The system in every Ilr'.ao.
has fostered dishonesty. deo"Iil." am.
Discrimination. Imposition "1o' '''
funds, the drawing OF sick pf. q H'-
periods OF unemployment on ''" ass
OF certificates of illness "T".-ii"|
issued by attending phys...Ir- h'"
become q rule rather than 'uN ''.ei
ton in Germany at the ou-t-t. 5 az
the war.
Lax social morality Is reelected a..'
in the high rate of suicide, 'n '.' ..'.
tive frequency of suicide uN|".- '".
dren, in d%eplorable Coud.tluf '
morality and lamentahlo slo. ."..-'
in housing accommodation t.. '
dence revealed by a careful dbl. .'7'
OF social insurance eNper!r. grow.