Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-28
Or. c. LINCOLN 'FUR6USH
On EIahtInQ tuberculosis

| DIIILADELPHIA is doing its full share
L in the nation wide fight against tuber-
cuiosis. says Dr. &. Lincoln Furbush, D'-
rector of tho Department Of Public Health,
and some specnl work 70 this end among
the colorcd residents Of the city viii be
begun this week.
I'm the City ct rh!!aLelph!a,' said DR..
rurbush, "the prevalence OF tuberculosis has
decreased one. half during the last twenty
orc years. II has hccn larsely the appI'ca-
ton Of progressive preventive measures
which has accomplished this great result.
These meas,Ires have been applied nll over
the United States. md MS Il consequence,
the death rate from this most fatal or AL
diseases has been largely lowered. although
not all the ctlcs; haye hnd the same rH''''H'
results that. Philadelphia has achieved.
Here in Philadelphia, We have hhd one
serious matter against which 70 contend
which other large Northern cities do not
Lave TO anything like the same extent, IN
spite of the advance which has been mddc III
the control of thi. disease. there Is u dis
tirct and prominent fnctor which h',"ly
influences Sta incidence. and as thus tor
appenrs to q greater extent IN I'hllndr'phla
dian IN New York, Il makes IN" death rate
from tuberculosis here appear larger than III
that city and in Chicago
Negroes Susceptible to Tubcrcu'osi,
This factor of which ! speak Is tn"
pccu!iar susceptibility "t the Negro rae" I"
nulmonnry tuberculosis. According 10 the
United States ccrsus of 1920. Nc r"lorrd
population OF Philadelphia was l;'3,1T, or
4 por cent OF the total population. New
York had rolor"l population ot only IS
yer cent. Chiragn had 'l.3 psr cent Detroit
a3 per cent. Pittsburgh G,T pcr cent HnI
Cleveland a. per cent. OF the large cities
only st. Louis. which might be- r'a'.cd ~ Il
Southern city and therefore n"t I" b" CON.
pared in this r"oNcc' with the oNE"'s witch
i,ayo mentioned. he'd y larCcr "o'or"1 ropL'
ln,ion Il will iArT"Iorc be tCen that We
Lave had u inor" serious proo'rm TO in'c
,huu u,osr ot the other large North,rn cities.
"Iu 1HoU. the last year !or which thf
Gpurcy have been completely tnbuInt"d. the
death rate from pulmonary. tuberculosis ii
ph;IaGnlphia among the Negro race was
3lO o. per 100 600. or almost three times n
rrept as the death rnt" from th. d'hca"e
among the whites. which was 100 .3G Ner
100, COO. This same ratio holds good among
tho white and r"'orcd races IN the other
large Northern cities.
'Thcr. y not the slightest intention &
roncc, in any manner upon t"r ncnsbers OF
,he Negro vnc". hut the facts nre apparcEt
from statistical analysts aud It has long Lcrn
I-nowM among i'r mcGira profession thar
t,,borcuIos!, is uuio prc|aIcDt nnI Is "ftcn
t"tai aInons th" '"!"rHh rarr. This subjec'
,hnu,d ,nCrc.,rC | "f gr"'it "oiI"'ru, not
NV 80 the rarc affected but to all o: us,
r,r ], is we'll known mat IA lnohari 1uh'r-
c,IIo>is III an infectious disease and iIny
rnrcad from ono person to another and ir"lH
once race 10 another.
Pi,iladclpha's Position
.Iu tho nation wide fight against this
terrible scourgc for the last twenty years
philadclph!a has done well. In 1920 our
rnsition was about 30 deaths out of lOO.-
E00. II went below 22J IN 1902. but in 19Oi
ro.r shorriy to about 26O. There was q
rrcnt falling on in the following year, but
n 1906 it rose again TO the highest point,
,rolr that time there las been steady de-
'rrn.r cxcept during tic year lolS, when II
,nsr again to about 10, In tho last two
,,,,rs. however, the falling off has been very
,Teu, aud We ar" now around l3j do
TrrIlc Of iiSt about lNn in the two decades.
"Thc other Iars" cities have shown TN
cimos, parallel Gorrrusc, cXccn, Los An
eplrs. which began twenty years ago with
STa and las shown II steady Iecroasr
mmti, il is now 175. In 1920 New York had
more tuberculosis than Philadelphia, but
uussed us during our two bad years of 1904
ind 1906. New York also did not have tho
upward tendency which Philadelphia ex-
, ''That year. 1918, was q bad tuberculsr
year oil over the United States. Practically
every big city showed sharp, UPWARD ten.