The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-03
LETTERS TO EDITOR
ALABAMA's HEALTH SYSTEM
Editor of The Age-Heraid:

when statements concerning our unique state health system were given wide local publicity brief review of comparatively recent history will disclove the viewpoint of investigators and students of health systems.
 In 1910, Dr. Greasy Wilbur, chief of the census bureau, came to Alabama seeking the indorsement of our health authorities for the model vital statistics law, already indorsed by the bureau and by the American Medical as sociation. Dr. Wilbur, coming as helper and constructor, plainly announced that "The Ala bama system is fundamentally defective and will never be capable of giving satisfactory re- suits" At the next subsequent meeting of the board of health, in 1911, the official spokes- man of the governing minority advised rejec- tion of the Wilbur model law on the ground that our Cochran plan was superior, and of course it was so done.
 At the 1912 meeting of the board of health, the State Medical association, the matter was again threshed out, and the official spokesman of the governing minority assured the members that it would be easy to demolsh Dr. Will bur's attack on the system, and wound up with the statement Members need not permit Dr. Wilburs criticism to disturb their faith in the system which the master mind of Jerome Cochran formulated" As in 30 years, no single instance is recorded of the rejection of any recommendation of this minor ity, the 1,700 doctors composing the state board of health gave their assent, and it was so. And the model law was rejected for the inherited and ancient plan of the "master mind.' It was not until the year 1919 that permission was given to accept the model law and Alabama is still outside the pale of the registration area, while sister state after sister state, with responsible democratic systems, have been admitted into the advantages of the area None of these sister states were handicapped by cult based on reverence of master mind.
 Tn the year 1915, Dr. W. c. Gorgas of Pan- ana fame, a native son, was asked to formu- late his ideas, based on his great experience as a health official, for health system for Ala bama. He took the request seriously. as it from member of the legislature then in session. His bill presented absolutely ignored the ancient system, it's philosophy and it's master mind He approached the matter from the viewpoint of the investigator and helper and modern responsible system was the result as his contribution.
 In the year 1910, Dr. Warren, assistant sur geon general of the United States public health service, was asked by our Civic Association to address its forum on the question of a health system for Alabama. Like Dr. Gorgas, he ig- nored absolutely the Alabama system, and took pains to state that his address had been sub mitted to his fellow officials and represented the consensus of their opinions. Dr. Warren is an Alabaman and had been member of the state system before entering the service.
 Health officers from all over the union have for years met as component part of the Amer ican Medical association. These experts and students, after years of consideration, gave their matured views, in 1916, in the form of a skeleton law for state health systems. The Alabama system, known to them and called to their attention by the father of our system and his successor, ignored as absolutely as it was by Dr. Gorgas and Dr. Warren and Dr. Wilbur.
 We heard warnings, impressive warnings, against ever permitting politics to enter the health system. The dread evils of such course were not specified in detail, but rather left to the imagination of the hearers and vot- CTS. Here again the uniqueness of our system stands out in bold relief. The health systems of other states, of which have made glorious records in efficiency and performance and in leadership, must perforce be governed like the educational and legal systems of their states, by democratic American methods. Our system, in place of permitting politics to in- wade it's privileged domain, boldly invades the domain of politics It does not await attack It attacks and carries the war into politics. A bloc can be counted on in each legislature to look out for the interests of the system. It is quite likely that our present governor might tell a revealing story of his experience with the medical bloc in the last legislature. It might be revealing, too, to discover whether can didate for governor in this state finds it ad- visable to speak his mind very freely on the advantages of responsible government for all departments of the state.
 Some of us Alabama doctors think that doc tors of this state can duplicate what doctors in other states accomplish, that is, to their own affairs outside of other states. The state health officer will then become purely an agent of this people and will not have to de- vote time and talents to politics and to main- taining the political fences around the priv ileged domain. We will be able to consider health questions on their merits and not their agreement or disagreement with the views of the dead past. THOS. D. PARKE.
 Birmingham, April 2, 1922
 
 sALUBRIOUS CLIMATE
 From the Florida Metropolis.
 A Florida paragrapher speaks about dis