The Mena weekly star., 1921-11-10

pectOrate It ana then burn it as soon as convenient Warned never to cough or sneeze save with the proper napkin to the mouth and thus prevent the scattering of the tubercle bacillus. This supremely important require ment is rarely thoroly enforced, can rarely be enforced in the home. Hence the need of the isolation of the patient in the sanatorium.
 The subject assigned me for brief discussion is "The Need of Sana- torium Care for All Tuberculous Persons" not some but all who are afflicted with tuberculosis. All this is an exceedingly large order, and yet if any need sanatorium care they surely all so need it. The state is woefully delinquent and deficient in its provision for the care and treat ment of it's tuberculous citizens. The state has one and only one sana- torium with total capacity of one hundred and eighty patients for the care and treatment of the thousands of sufferers with tubercutosis. Sure ly, my friends, surely this ought not to bel Far better would it be if we had one central sanatorium, with a capacity ten times greater than the present sanatorium for the care and treatment of the seemingly curable cases and then other sanatoria for the incurables as will be hereinafter briely discussed. One of the great needs, a need that cries to high heaven is for the sanatorium care of the seemingly incurables. These above all others, ought to be isolated in sanatorium. This should be done for economic reasons, and such pa- tients are prone to prove detriment to the economic progress and welfare of home, community and state. This may seem a hard saying but 1t is a cold fact that is sadly true. The seemingly incurable patient ought to be put into sanatorium for one last chance in the seeming losing fight and to ease his or her own, and an- others burden. Then, too, we can never ultimately win in the war waged against tuberculosis while the seemingly incurable remains in the home, even if such has home-be- cause of the overwhelming danger of such an one injecting others. As the germs multiply in the body of the tuberculous persons so do the deadly germ increase in the sputum and oth- or matter given off from the body. Without the most watchful care and scientific sanatation it is judged by careful observation and estimation that person in the advanced stage of pulmonary tuberculosis infects at least six others with the tubercle bacillus before he dies And so the deadly work goes on, ever widening it's death-dealing scope unless ar rested by the isolation and sanatation herein indicated But how shall this be done Your speaker deems it best to separate the seemingly cur able cases from the seeming incur able ones. Let the curables (so called, be gathered in one central sanatorium and the county group plan be put into effect for those judged incurable. The county group, or Minnesota plan, is this--let two, three or more counties combine and build, equip and maintain a sana- torium exclusively for the seemingly incurables and thus afford the proper isolation, care and treatment for them. Thus we will then really begin an intelligent warfare against the spread of tuberculosis and continue in a vastly larger way the treatment looking toward a cure of the tuber- culous persons of our commonwealth.
 One other thing to which I call your careful attention. It is at the basis of all ethics, it rings clear, in every duty and runs like golden thread thru all right living, thinking and acting, They that are strong ought to help those who are weak" The. great strong white population has signally failed to heed this golden rule in one shameful instance at least: that is our duty to the tuber- culous negro. The negro is a citizen, often a tax payer of our state and common justice demands that we help them even as we help ourselves. Then too the negro is child race that needs to be guided, instructed and helped in peculiar sense just as we would feel persuaded to help our own children of the white race. We are so familiar with the negroes about us that it is hard for us to real ize how utterly dependent they are upon us for advice, guidance and aid. Because of their comparative low standard of living, crowding together In inadequate home space, want of proper nutrition and lack of proper sanatatlon, the negro IS peculiarly odottPbaDAC NO tuDtTCuiDSlS. He per centage of tuberculous negroes is much greater than tuberculous white people and yet, sorrowfully be it said, we have done nothing, are doing noth- ing to aid them in ridding themselves of the great White Plague. We sure ly owe solemn duty, that ought to be speedily paid, to our "brother in black" in providing for him the proper sanatorium care for the the tubercu- lous among this neglected race. The If for no nobler reason than that of self protection this ought to be done. The negro is brought in the closest relation to us. He is the porter, the barber, the man of all work and so forth around our homes and places of business. She is the nurse, the house. maid, the cook, the waitress and laundress in many, many white homes. Now if these are infected with tuberculosis Gas many of them are) then you see the great and inn minent danger to us of the white race of infection also. We ought to help the negro in this respect for Christ's and humanity's sake, but if not moved by this high motive, then to save our own lives we ought to provide the proper care and treatment for the tuberculous negro. This can only be done by building and maintaining proper sanatoria for the child race in our midst We will never be able to wage successful warfare against the spread of tuberculosis, never be able to stamp out this dread disease