The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-07-28
N. L. A. Washington Bureau.
112S-1134 MunSey Building,

WASHINGTON, d. c., July rs
Congress is being told plainly, clearly,
and straight from home that the peo-
pie want their government to get busy
Immediately in a nationwide cam
paign to head off recurrence of the
dread disease influenza.
Letters and kilograms by the thous-
ands are coming to members of both
houses urging them 10 work for and
vote for the Harding-Fess bill which
appropriates $5,000.000 for influen-
"a investigation.
This measure is the first step in a
comprehensive and effective fight on
the flu. 1t proposes to do what can
not be done otherwise, for it places
the United States government in COM
mand and back of the anti-flu fight.
And it proposes to keep the govern
there until after the flu germ has
been tracked to its lair, and until it's
ravages upon human life is ancient
history.
The Harding-Fess bill, if it becom-
es a. Law, would place the United
States Public Health Serv1ce in direct
charge of the anti-flu fight. This
service would cooperate with the med
ical departments of the navy and ar
my, and with other public and pri-
vate research laboratories that have
facilities for assisting in the work.
Senator Warren G. Harding and
Congressman Simeon d. Fess. both of
Ohio, introduced the bill, but the
father" of the measure is the Amer
lean Medical Association, which at its
annual convention urged the necessi-
ty OF governmental appropriation,
and investigation OF influenza in this
country. The medical association s
anti-flu stand has been warmly SD
ported by newspapers all over the
country. These two factors-and an
other-make it seem probable that
the bill will pass. and with little oppo-
sition. The other afctor is the ava
lanche of word from home which has
come to individual members of con-
gress urging the passage of the anti
flu bill.
There is, however, a possibility OF
delay. Congress is deluged with work,
packer legislation, the treaty, the
League of Nations, the railroads, 9TH
er appropriations, and mess Of all
sorts of bills. This is why there is
need of further, and stronger, prod
ding by the home folks. Every letter
or telegram from back home 10 a
congressman or senator will aid in
having the anti-flu bill hurried thru
both houses and signed by the presi-
dent.
Until this is done the anti-flu fight
10, =, NOtbipor YpIJcb NuOrt !,
while has been done since the recur-
ring epidemic on the threshold. One
Ohio town, Berea, according to word
from Congressman Hess, is "peppered
with the flu And the report goes
on to say that the epidemic there is
worse now than it was last winter.
That is an indication, health ex-
pers say, of the condition in which
other localities may be plunged this
fall and winter approach. 1t was in
late August last year that the flu ep-
idemic struck this country with such
force, starting at Boston and sweep
ing all over the country, from ocean
to ocean, until there was scarcely a
village which remained unstricken.
The coming of the epidemic found
the nation unprepared to cope with 1t.
And, so sny these health experts, we
are little less prepared for recurring
epidemic. They fear that another ma
tion-wide epidemic this fall and win
ter will take an even greater toll OF
life, and cause larger economic loss
than the first.
1t has been estimated that 470,000
deaths in America last year were
caused by the flu, and that the eco
nomic loss ran into the billions of dol
lars. This springs epidemic is said to
have cost $4,000 lives.
Statistics of over 10,000,000 wage
earners show that during 1918 the
mortality was higher by more than 80
per cent than prevailed in 1917: This
was due to influenza epidemic.
And yet the death rate for 1918 be-
fore September / was lower than for
the corresponding period of 1917. Be
ginning with October (f1u epidemic
got under full swing in September)
the death rate began to rise above the
figures of 1917. In October the NOR
tality rate was 20.42 per 1000 as
compared with 1894 in October, 1917
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