Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-02-23
Health Of Returning soldiers.

Health of Returning Soldiers.
The eyes of the world are just now
focused on the relation of the re-
turning soldier to social diseases.
The examination of enlisted and
drafted men showed an alarming
state of affairs in this respect among
our population; in fact, the Incl
dence of social disease was so great
that those in authority were soon
confronted with the alternative for
accepting for military service the
majority of those affected, or of con-
Tossing defeat in the rapid mobili-
cation of great army such as was
required to win the war. Large
numbers of afflicted men We're,
therefore, accepted, and treatment
was given at the various canton
ments, While under military con-
troll all of our soldiers were sub
jected to disciplinary measures cal
culated to minimize both recurrent
and new infections. If, therefore,
treatment in the army has been rea-
sonably effective, and control of new
infections has been as excellent as
the reports from the surgeon gener-
ais Office state, then it would APP
pear there is greater danger to the
returning soldier from social dis
eases from our civil population than
to our people from the returning
soldier
But it is not my purpose to dis
cuss this phase of the welfare of our
demobilized men; they have had far
greater opportunities Of becoming
familiar with the above diseases
than was or will be possible to any
one in civil life. AS matter of
fact, attendance on lectures on So
cial diseases was made compulsory
That part of their instruction, there
fore, it can be taken for granted, has
been very we'll taken care OF, and it
is up to them to profit from 1t and
act accordingly, What wish to do
here is to add my voice to those who
see a far greater danger to the
health of the returning soldier from
another source. 1t is this: The
urgent needs of the world war made
absolutely essential the intensive
physical training of the soldiers.
Even those Injured to physical exer-
else and hard work found the train
ing taxed their endurance often to
the point of exhaustion. Soldiers
that did not show physical failing
after a brief training gradually re-
sponded to the requirements, so that
in comparatively short time those
in charge of training camps were
able to report an average increase
in weight among the troops. This
increase in weight under training
signifies two things principally, viz,
enlarged and firmer musculature |
and enhanced ability to absorb nu-
4C agrr.f1
cal phenomenon that when the nu-
tritional capacity of the body is en-
HANGED by exercise it continues for
an indefinite period after the exer-
cises are discontinued. This results |
in the excess of food ingested being |
laid on as fat throughout the body. |
Accompanying the laying on of fat |
from food ingested, we have anoth- |
er source of fat in the involution of |
the muscles which were enlarged by !
exercise. Formation of fat is part |
of the process of decrease in size |
of muscles resulting from dis |
use. and it is first deposited !
within and between the mus
cles' fibers; in other words, the !
passage from a condition Of great |
physical exertion to one of compar-
ative inactivity is characterized by |
a fatty degeneration of muscles ana
organs that were enlarged to meet |
the needs of that exertion. And |
right here lies the greatest danger |
to the returning soldier; the danger |
of not very gradually resuming his |
pre-soldier days. If he would not |
put his future health in Jeopardy he |
must needs devote part of each day
for some months to physical exer- |
else. These he can gradually lessen |
over the months until only so mucn |
is practiced as is required by his |
place in life. In this way he may |
avoid the eommonest sequel to spor- |
adic soldering, viz, a weak, and |
often permanently, crippled heart. |
Cost of PreventabIe Sickness
A recent survey Of five townships |
in Duchess county, made by the |
State Charities Aid association, dis |
closed the fact that preventable sick |
ness was costing the county at con-
sentative estimate $412,00 year in |
actual money, to say nothing of con-
tinued invalidism, bereavement and |
loss of productive power to the COM
munity which could not be estima- |
ted. A close study was made Of |
1 800 cases of serious illness and 1t
was estimated that the county was
losing 5000 working days by men |
and women, and 200 school days, |
and that these two items alone were
costing the community $4,000 a |
year.-Report Duchess County IN. |
70 Health Association. s+.
Problem of the Mental Defective.
Mental effectiveness is hereditary
and constitutional, and consequently /
not amenable to our preachings,
asylums, reformatories, penitentiar-
les, etc. We must ever bear in mind |
that each year a new quota OF de-
fectives is born with statistical reg
ularity. They pass through the
hands of parents, then the peda-
gogues, the theologians, the physi-
clans, the social workers, the en-
ployers, the courts, the prisons, and
back on society, each one in turn /
passing them up to the next, and no
one willing to acknowledge their inn
~. e. -