The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-02-25
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREA U
FREDERIC J. HAGKIN. Director.
Washingtou. d. C
WHAT DO YOU PAY FOL, HEALTH:
Washington. d. c.

w L. -, rep Zl.-f1OW
much would you give to be perfectly
healthy?
almost anything" you are inclined
to reply.
almost nothing" is apt to be your
answer to this, if you are honest. If
on your health, you spend mare than
the average. And in time. care and
thought, you probably spend even less
than you do in money.
An investigation by the United
States public health service of the cost
of keeping well in number of repre-
sentative American cities in the east
and middle west, revealed the fact
that the average individual spent %
cents per year for his health. In some
cities the per capita expenditure ran
as high as SO cents. and in others it
was as low as cents, but the average
was %. Yet it is not unusual to find
people in the same cities paying as
much as $3.50 per person for the
maintenance of their police force or
fire department.
In commenting on this low expendi-
ture for health, DR.. Josephine Baker
of the New York health department,
says: cit is curious how people will
squander the most valuable property
they have-their health-aHd yet man
age their acquired assets with the
greatest judgment and caution. They
will endure diseased tissue for any
length of time rather than pay the
expense of an operation, but they think
nothing of walking into a lawyers Of
flee and depoSiting a large retaining
fee if some of their property is in
danger
Before the war. public opinion was
already mildly aroused to the impor-
lance of improving health conditions.
The public health service, for the pur-
pose of enforcing sanitation, was eS
tablished seventeen years ago. But its
funds have always been entirely too
meager to cope with it's problem. and
as a result its measures have been
aimed to correct, rather than to pre-
vent, an unfortunate situation. With
the outbreak of the war and the com
ing of the draft. people were fully
awakened to the fact that corrective
measures were not enough. They were
confronted with several unpleasant
facts. One was that 80 per cent of
the men examined in the draft were
rejected because they were physically
unfit-unfit to serve in any capacity
in the army. Another was that, upon
the basis of army figures. one out of
every six persons in the United States
is suffering from venereal disease.
Next to actual combat with the
Germans. the greatest fight of the war
was against Venereal- disease. This
fight was SO successful that the vene-
real rate was lowered below that of
any other army, past or present. New
ertheless, in spite of this lowered rate,
the army lost more days of service on
account of venereal disease than from
any other cause. From September 8,
1917, when the first drafted men be-
gan to pour into camp, until Novem-
Der, s, 1918, just before the signing
of the armistice. there were 1891
cases of venereaI disease in our army
in the United States.
By certain vigorous measures,
danger from infection was made as
small is possible for the soldiers in
this country. But when tue Ameri-
can army reached France the situation
was different. The French govern
ment had not reached the same con-
clusion concerning venereal diseases
as had the American government. and
among other facilities. France offered
to American troops were its houses of
prostitution, established in the vicinity
of the front. These houses were under
the inspection of the French medical
corps Almost Immediately, the ven-
eral rate in the American army rose
medical corps then suggested that it
be permitted to assist in the inspection
of the houses. After this, the rate
dropped to III in every 1000. Even
this rate was high enough greatly to
handicap the efficiency of the army
so General Pershing issued an order
declaring the French houses of prosti-
tuition out of bounds. The rate then
dropped to only IS in every 1000.
Now that the army is being de-
modified, the government is losing
what control it had over four million
men. The same conditions which ex-
| listed at the beginning of the war,
| under which one person in every six
was suffering with veneral disease,
| will doubtless be established unless the
| community takes up the problem
! where the army left off. Fortunately.
much has been accomplished during
| the past year in arousing public opin-
| ion to the danger of venereal infec-
| ton. e A great deal of the prudery,
which made the treatment and segre-
! CATION of the disease difficult has been
| abolished: and the people no longer
seal their ears to scientific facts.
| Women, who, a few years ago, would
have hastily left the room at the
mention of any one of the social
| diseases, are now attending lectures
i on the subject, anC are trying, to de-
velop measures for combat ting venereal
! infection.
Ministers have been asked to speak
/ on this subject by the United States
public health service, which is at
tempting to interest every community
in continuing the good work of the
| army In addition to this, ths
churches are asked to call separate
meeting of men and women at which
the facts concerning venereal disease
shall be discussed and remedial meas
ures formulated Many helpful sugges-
| tons for combating it have already
been presented by eminent physician.
and sociologists, and even more help
full suggestions have been obtained
from other countries. which are also
greatly concerned with the problem.
| In Scandinavian countries for ex
ample. system exists by which every
person suffering from venereal dis
ease is required to report it to the
! health department. together with the
name of the person from whom he OBJ
tanned the infection. AS a check OF
this information, every physician
treating patient with venereal dis
ease is compelled to report it to tn,
health department. If a person fail
to register this information either. a G