The Parisian. (Paris, Tenn.) 1907-1962, 1921-06-03
URGES HEALTH
EPARTMENT IN
HENRY COUNTY
DIR. Olln West, Secretary State Board
Health, Writes The Partisan
On Health.
TENNESsEE SUFFERS FROM
DEATH RATE ADVERTISING
Suggests That Vital Statistics Law
Is Not Complied With In
This County.

Replying to a letter written the
State Board OF Health. at Nashville
by the editorial department of The
Partisan, DR.. Olin West, secretary OF
the board, has furnished an exhaIs-
tive reply, that contains many mat
ters the people of Paris and Henry
County as well as the physicians.
and others should take note Of Dr.
Vests letter follows:
! shall be glad to send you some
statistical matter relative to public
health conditions in Henry county
A few years ago Henry county had
the highest death rate from typhoid
fever In the &state, but it is very
gratifying to note that within late
years this death rate has been ma
terially reduced. 1t is rather hard
to understand just how this reduc-
tlon has been accomplished, for cer-
tainly there has been no great sani-
tary Improvement made in the coun-
ty and the prevention of typhoid
fever is purely matter of common
sense sanitation. aside from the help
fulness and influence of vaccination
against the disease. / am inclined
to believe that the physicians of
the county have used typhoid vac
cine rather freely, since otherwise
l do not know how the prevalence
of typhoid fever could be SO re-
duced.
1t is about time for each indiyid-
nal county to recognize the fact that
the health of its pepole should be
protected, not only for their own
sake, but for the sake of the people
in other counties in the state and
throughout the nation. 1t is easily
possible for one case of smallpox
originating in Paris to become re-
sponsible for most serious out
break of the disease in other un-
vaccinated communities. OF course
the other communities are just as
much responsible in this matter as
is Paris and il all of them would
resort to the protection of vaccina,
ton, smallpox would soon become
a disease practically unknown in
this state. 1t appears that it is
going to be necessary for Tennes-
see to suffer the loss of a large
number of its citizens from small
pox before the state will wake up
to the efficiency of, and the i'm
perative need for vaccination. 1t
does seem that the City of Paris
should have learned its lesson before
now, for it win be easily remem.
bered that some of the prominent
citizens of that town succumbed to
smallpox a few years ago. There
have also been one or two deaths
in Paris from this disease with the
recent past.
L. IL
in this state, which is as important
in Henry County as anywhere else.
is the problem of infant mortality.
The state of Tennessee loses an
nually approximately 10 per cent
of the babies who are born alive
before these children have reached
their first birthdays. In one West
Tennessee county 19 per cent of the
babies, whose births were registered
with the State Board of Health in
a single year, died before they were
a year old. This is a largely an
unnecessary loss of life, and the tre-
mendous high infant mortality simply
shows beyond any sort of argument
that the people of Tennessee do not
properly appreciate the value of in
fant life and that they are not very
greatly concerned over the con-
tinued excessive loss of Tennessee's
babies. This same slaughter of the
innocent" has been going on year
after year for many years. Appeals
of the State Board of Health for
facilities to combat our high infant
mortality have fallen on deaf ears.
The Legislature which recently ad-
journed flatly refused an appropria-
ton of few thousand dollars to be
used by the State Board OF Health
in studying this problem and in