The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-04-27
awouLpN,r YOU ?,

If you were working man, asks the
United States public health service.
and could call in doctor to examine
you physically, tell you whether you
had any incipient defect or disease
(tuburculosis, for instance) that ought
to be seen to before it was too late;
tell you whether the particular work
you were doing was injurious TO your
health and should be changed TO some
other work; establish for you a record
to which you might later appeal If
you were injured; tell you how to
avoid diseases to which workers in
your line are especially exposed-if
you could learn all this without
cent of expense. under strictly conf
Dental conditions. wouldn't you send
for the doctor at osce and let him ex-
anime and advise you. Wouldn't you?
If you were a manufacturer. re-
sponsible for carrying on a big plant
and for the health of it's workers, and
were therefore interested In keeping
down its percentage of absenteeism.
cuttings, accidents. and sickness; and
IL you could call In sanitary engi-
neer who would examine your plant
and point out to you any conditions
that were unnecessarily injurious to
the health and comfort of your men or
conducive to accidents; who would tell
you how to improve these conditions
and thus lower your cost of operation
and lessen the number of men whom
you would have to compensate for in
juries: and who would establish for
you standard which if you put it into
effect, would serve AS a defense
against unfair claims for iniuries--if
you could get all this without a cent
of expense wouldn't you call in that
engineer and let him prescribe for your
plant? Wouldn't you?
Well. you can-both OF you, work.
ing man and employer.
The United States public health
service has for several years been
studying "occupational' diseases and
hazards with the sole view of reduc-
Ing them in the interest of both work
ing man and employer. 1t has already
succeeded in doing this for many of
them. But many more remain TO be
studied and to do this effectively
periodic physical examinations OF the
workers are necessary.
Many manufacturers and workers al
ready understood this and are glad to
cooperate with the public health serv-
ice In making the plants safer and
more healthy. Some manufacturers,
however, are suspicious: they fear
that the radicals" are seeking to spy
out something that will make trou-
BILE" for them. Some workers, too,
are suspicious; they fear that any de-
fects discovered will be reported to
their employers, and will lose them
their jobs. Consequently one or both
sides actively or passively resist in
speetion and physical examination,
not realizing that undiscovered de-
fects in either plant or man will sure
ly lead sooner or later to serious trou-
BILE, for which plant or man must pay,
the plant in money and the man too
often in health or life.
The United States public health
service is absolutely neutral. It noti-
flies the employer of anything in the
plant that it thinks should be correct
ed and IL uses his plant as a model
when II finds nothing or when he cor
reefs what Il does find. On the other
hand it holds secret the results of all
Individual to any employer. though it
is always ready, when requested by a
worker 10 help him transfer from an
injurious occupation to one that Is not
Incidentally, there is not an employer
in the land who would not be glad
where possible. TO change a man from
a job at which his health was suffer
ing TO one at which he would preserve
II.
Sooner or later the public health
service men VIII visit your factory.
Why not cooperate with them in ex-
amining both factory and men and in
prescribing for both?