The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1921-12-02
BY
DR.. G. n. RAMSEY


The grand ballroom OF the Ma' uoid
Astoria with it's gilded cnalrs, sUS
leaf and crimson plush hanging, or H."
ed not with an aggregation oi n 18th
ARE amusement seekers, pu' 80.
members of the National Iupeiou.I
Assoc,ation at their annual meetins'
Near the city of Detroit. new lnsulu,
tom a thoroughly modern hrepro1si
construction. built on series Oh WOW
eS biIls-a million dollar tupercuiosie
sanatorium! And throughout MIGHT
gor MANY similar institutions many
oiirica and hundreds OF workers ace
;veIv engaged in the tuberculosis paV
.,ai There are still consumptlVes'
Most of us hear about some white
Mo oue victim every day, and, IN our
roufine existences, we find little eVr
dence that the time and money ueVoc
al 10 tuberculosis work are bringing
| desired results. - so.th
study of the tuberculosis death
- 40 the hest means Of judging
whe.her our question deserves an al
6rmative reply or not. II we are saw
inc lives. the campaign Is amply Justr
ead IT'S cost is overbalanced by saw
ing the state the financial loss incur,
rod NV deaths and the money expenueu
an the care of sick and nolgeh'
patients. xo;rg
The active campaign has been going
IN in this country for many years anu
for a much longer time In Engiahu
land Germany. In France there mas
haen less unified effort the uealn
rate from tube.c, Isis in Paris ls
great deal higher than in London OF
New York or even Berlin.
During the past few years our own
death rate has dropped Amazingly
plotted representations OF white plague
victims all show gratifying downhiil
curves. The figures in our own state
are most encouraging. From l9oo 70
1910. 99.7 people in every hundred
Thousand died from tuberculosis III
1919 S5.S. The difference, 1873 people
a poodly number of men, women ane
children. ~
Results of the tuberculosis Battle
One family lives in northern PENN
sula lakeshore town. Mr.. Jones I"
we shall call him, was found to be sHi
fer;nq from tuberculosis at ciin
Eve years ago. He followed recon-
mendations spent long period at III
state sanatorium, and returned nom
cured? Unfortunately not. HIS cas-
was too far advanced for that. IL
stead he returned with an education
He learned the rules that keep tupel
culous people working and preVel
them from spreading the disease
others. Since his return, he's pee
earning money enough to provide Mr
Tomas and the two Jones youngstei
with a comfortable, green-snlngie
bungalow. Mrs. Jones and the Gu
- dren are free from consumptlon-M
I tones knows this is true because ne
sent them repeatedly to the clinic:
This family and the thousands III
them are. in a great measure, the
te sults of the tuberculosis battle. Inc
Ill are the reasons for the labor and e
ce nense incident to large gatherings
lis workers. and for the building OF ne
In institutions. The satisfying DOWN
20 curve explains the patience ana mop
It for better things to come OF all u
active fighters in the battle-paten
is and hopes in spite Of the too freque
ok death from consumption OF someDo
he we know. and the daily passing IN I
tie street of an obvious hunger.
ge Does It pay? or course 1t pays. L
re- death rate figures are answers
GU one can dispute. 4,
cal The fact to be remembered Is u
ra- the battle is far from won. The '
he tory is scarcely in sight. One out
every hundred Michigan citizens II
clinical consumptive. SO far the ca
naign has been successful. 1t has pa
II saving the Jones families is to c
tinue and our grandchildren are to
~ gard tuberculosis as rare disea
! the fight must be carried on in
same energetic manner. Each OF
must give time and money, and e'
at Of us must remember that organ
esh tions and sanatoriums are not a
on where nearly as effective tubercult
weapons as carefully regulated II
am that pay tireless attention to age
lilly rules of hygiene and exercise.