Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-03-09
IS NOT NECESSARY

yer in Texas, carried by the tick, il
overcome by dipping the animals, ant
the selection of certain breedings more
immune to the disease. An exampi,
of diseases of trees is found in thu
ichestnuts which have been killed thru
out large areas of our country by in
jury to the paper bark of the trees
1 Slight variation in the chemistry on
TASTE of the substance give immunity;
for example, the japanese chestnut is
free from the disease.
Disease PreyentabIe
| Attention is called to few of the
varieties of disease in the living cells
of plants, animals and man in order
to emphasize the fact that they are
all so much alike; that the diseases
of man are as preventable as those
| of plants in the best-managed green
houses and gardens and of animals on
well managed farms, and that the
| economic gain is far greater The
| application of scientific knowledge in
the war prevented death from tetanus
| caused by the contamination of the
wounds, by contact with the richly
| MANFRED lands of France and Belgi-
UNI; especially prepared serums and
antitoxins were used which furnish
| the body with small amount of ma
terial in the blood, such as is left af-
ter recovery from smallpox, typhoid
fever, measles or scarlet fever, render
ing the patient immune to a second
attack. On the knowledge of how
this is accomplished in the body, and
| the manner in which it can be trans
ferred, not necessarily by the indi-
vidual having the disease, is based
| all the preventive treatment of dis
ease; thus measles and scarlet fever
undoubtedly soon will be classed in
this group of unnecessary diseases
avoidable by vaccination. The spread
of such knowledge over our country
by four million soldiers will contribute
much to the development of cam
paign for national health AS the
wounds and diseases of these soldiers
were cured they were returned again
and again to the lines in order that
La military decision might result. The
failure of such decision has left the
world in chaos for three years. More
than forty thousand of the physically
land mentally best medical men of our
country were in army medical serv-
lice; the remaining two-thirds, many
of them old, retired and poorly equip
ped for the profession, cared for more
than 100,000,000 persons. It is to the
credit of our nation during the try
ing period in which there were 600,-
200 deaths from influenza, that there
was SO little complaint, all realizing
that the shortage Of physicians in
civil practice gave our boys better
chance.
Toll of Cancer
We lost less than II, 900 soldiers in
the war, but during the same two
years 100000 persons in our civilian
population died from cancer. History
shows that in former wars death from
disease was large factor in the ter
mination of war, since death from dis
ease and death in battle occurred in
q ratio of froms to l to as high as
16 to 1. In the Spanish war we lost
in battle 353 soldiers, while 5000 and
that many died of disease. Twenty
thousand soldiers were sick with ty
phoid at one time due to failure to
establish proper medical authority.
In the Boer war the English lost 5000
of $4,000 soldiers with typhoid. In
contrast to this the recent French
report on the Great War shows that
six soldiers died in battle to one from
disease. The necessities Of war final
| ly gave medicine an opportunity to
make this marvellous showing when
given authority. These figures dem
onstrate the saving of life that should
be possible in time of peace. Atten-
ton is called to the lack of public
health care as a national waste, since
| we lose 100000 persons a year from
| unnecessary disease; 100000 fail to
live through the first year of life, and
125, 900 die within the first six weeks.
Our maternity death rate is the high
est of any civilized nation, largely
from neglect or lack of opportunity
to secure special care in many of the
farm districts In spite of such adj
verse conditions it is probable that
twelve years have been added to the
average length of human life by ap-
piled medical science within the last
few decades, largely through the pre-.
iservation of children.
Look to America
| For Some years to come the pro-
gress of medical science will depend
on America. In England unfortunate
lily, all research investigation of dis
lease has been checked by pernieious
bill, passed through the influence Of
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. which pre-
vents animal experimentation, alse