The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-03-30

WASHINGTON, D. c.. March 3d.
When a new chief of police was ap-
pointed recently in Washington, tho
announcement went forth that GAM
blers, bookmakers, drug peddlers and
other forms of underworld entertain
ers had better seek fresh fields for
their games. Those forms of vice
which exist in every city which has
no strong civic consciousness were
running wide in Washington. They
were run very quietly but the door
was always open.
new chief OF police would start de-
termined effort to clean up the Capita!
City, little known bureau of the
government stepped forward with c
long list of places on which evidence
had been obtained. Vice was RAM
pant on the very doorsteps of the
| capitol building itself, the report show
ed A congressional investigation is
under way to verify this report and
find why this condition exists in de
fence of the law.
The quiet government bureau which
| had collected these facts goes by the
name of the U. S. Interdepartmental
| Social Hygiene board. The "Interde-
| partmentaP' comes from the fact that
| the secretaries of war, the navy and
/ the treasury are on the board, as are
| the surgeon generals of the army,
navy and public health service. The
active head of the board is woman,
Dr. Valera H. Parker, who has had
very wide experience in social work.
| The government war on vice is or
ganized through this bureau. The
board is definitely charged with the
duty of protecting the health of the
men in uniform while they are in
civilian communities. So well has the
work been done that in one year it
is estimated that over $1000,000 was
saved the government This amount
would have been spent in the hospital
ization of infected men. had not the
number of infections been greatly re.
duced. The cost of the work has been
about $225, 900. 1t is a paying proro.
| sition.
Science Supplants Sentlmentaity.
! The governments war on vice rep
resents a new and powerful force at
work throughout the nation today
i Science, substituted for sentiment, is
giving the world a new sense of pub
4 lie safety.
The scientific side of reforms and
reformers is the view taken by the
Interdepartmental Social Hygiene
board Interested in the health of the
nation, the scientific side of health
and disease is being preached at every
} opportunity through pubic health
meetings in every state, attended b;
medical men, public health officers
and representatives of societies inter
ested in the question. The moral side
of the question is being left to the
churches, as falling properly withic
their province.
The medical approach to the sub
iect by the Hygiene board is short anC
direct Science has proved that nt
way has been found to make vic'
. safe. Therefore the only thing to d.
is to attack vice. This plan has ;
proven record and is an excellent ex
ample of "the cheaper to prevent thai
cure" policy of modern medical prac
tice.
: Just how heavy the vice toll be
comes was gathered from the records
of the Public Health Service which
is working at the problem as it affect
: civilians while the Social Hygien
board handles the military end of tn
matter. Physicians of the Service es
D innate that about 100000 cases o
5 diseases due solely to bad social cor
ditions occur each year.
From the medical standpoint thi
? means great danger of passing on t
the next generation virulent bacillu
so insidious in it's effect that few chi