The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-03-14

of US that no people can live to them
selves alone, much less than the peo-
pie of one city or one county can live
apart from each other.
That tuberculosis can be cured I'M
der favorable circumstances in this
climate, is well known to all doctors
of experience. But poor people must
be cared for at the public expense, or
they have no chance to get well. This
applies to any climate and under any
circumstances. And if they are not
isolated from well people in the shell
tering care of an up-tO date hospital,
they necessarily go on spreading the
disease to all their neighbors and as
sociates. We make it practically a
quarantinable disease by offering the
afflicted person a place to go to.
In the state of Virginia about six
years ago the legislature took action
by recommending that a sanitary
commission of six health experts be
appointed so as to investigate the
consumption problem in that state. I
have had the satisfaction of reading
that report. Briefly stated, they found
that they had about twice as great a
proportion of cOnsumptives as the
state of Massachusetts had, even
though the latter state has a much
severer climate, and besides many
Massachusetts people lived crowded
together in the big factory towns, But
Massachusetts had reduced the previ-
ously high mortality rate during thirty
years by cutting the deaths from this
one disease down to about half of
what it had been before.
Another thing that they found in
Virginia, was that the death rate
among negroes was just three times
as high as among the whites in the
seven largest cities of the state and
in one city (Petersburg) there were
exactly three and a half times as many
deaths per thousand from consumption
among the negroes as among the
white people. And thirty-six per cent
of the afflicted colored people were
servants in the white households and
nurse maids.
Thus it became very evident that if
the people Of Virginia wanted to de-
crease the danger and death among
the white population, they would have
to lessen the evident contagion from
the afflicted colored people. And the
same thing is true in Pensacola.
If we want to protect our own peo-
pie from tie consumptive danger, to
which women and children are partic-
ularly susceptible, we have to cure
The afflicted negro, or at least separate
Hn CT %I1%
longer spread the disease.
And this can only be done in a spe-I
cially constructed tuberculosis sana-I
forum, properly equipped with spec
ialists and nurses and all modern
equipment. And as the state of Flor
ida has so far not seen fit to do this.
it is up to each county to protect it's
own people as best it can.
Only about two weeks ago the
writer was called upon to examine n
poor colored woman about twenty
five years of age, about in the middle
stage Of consumption. Her husband
was utterly unable to provide suitable
medicines and medical care for her.
She cannot be taken into any city or
county institution We have at present
l. i4CA ~+oAC SIG s"A44 44AAESL C14OlA5 oDOoL
six months, right in the down town
district, scattering consumption germs
by the million every day. These will
be waited along by the street dust
into other peoples homes. attach
themselves to the clothing of passing
school children, and the next thing we
know our own Marys and Johnnies
will develop a slight cough, and It'll
win become harder during the cold
weather, and then if their condition
is not discovered in time, it win de-
velop into lung trouble" before spring,
and sometime about a year or so later,
a nice little white hearse will drive up
to our door.
If that is what you want, then stay
away from the polls, and let George
do it." or vote against the proposition
because some rich taxpayers want to
make more dividends on their tene-
ment houses, or business enterprises, |
FOR the sake Of few paltry pennies a |
year in taxes.
IN this region + splendid sunshine