Evening star., 1923-01-30
WAR ON SOCIAL
| DISEASE OUTLINED
DR.. White Proposes Reports
on All Cases to BE Kept
in Confidence.
QUESTION OF HEALTH
Gen. Ireland Tells Social Hygiene
Society of Army's Fight
With Diseases.

An outline of program of mini
mum legislation to protect the com
munity against the ravages of social
disease was presented by DIR. w. A
White, superintendent of St. Eliza
beth's Hospital. last night before the
annual meeting of the Social Hy-
gienic Society in the District building
boardroom
The legislation needed he said
should make such diseases reportable
10 health authorities, but to be kept
steps for their treatment and the
Isolation Of their cases from possible
public menace were taken
At the conclusion of his address he
summed up his address by declaring
that venercal disease is not "A moral
question at all. but a question OF
pupiIc health AN of us must be
interested in it," he declared "be-
cause of the dangers that the disease
may bring to our very doors"
Must Rack Up Opinion.
We need now to foster nurture
ana back up public opinion for the
passage of rcasonabl legislation" he
continued. I'VE do not want to take
iootIai steps, ana we want what
might be termed minority legislation.
that. is, legislation which will be
equally as we'll received by the min
ority as by the ma jority. An en-
lishtened public opinion will go far
toward making this possible"
Surgeon General NJ w. ireland.
United States Army. devoted his ad-
dress to the description of the wide
experience that the Army had en-
countercd in fighting social diseases.
At the outset he made 1T clear that
these diseases were not fundamen-
tally nor exclusively Army or serv-
ice diseases.
"The public has pointed the finger
of scorn at us on account of the
great amount of venereal disease
which VIC have. and were inclined to
shun us as unclcan. our efforts TO
explain that our venereal rate was
but an index of the disease as it ex-
listed in civil life in the vicinity of
our military posts did not meet with
much consideration.
Public Alive TO Situation.
For some years. however, many of
our good people have stopped play
ing the ostrich with reference to the
social evil and are making n effort
to control its ravages. The world
war removed forever the prudcry on
this subject which had existed among
us from the birth of the nation and
exposed this evil in all it's naked
ness. Now such meetings as this are
being held all over the United States.
These meetings would have been i'm
possible in any section of the United
States fifteen years ago. The frank
ness with which venereal diseases
are discussed publicly is the great
est guaranty that they are to be
fought openly and in the proper
manner"
lie camc to the point by citing fig
urcS and statistics in connection
with prevalence of the diseases. For
instance, he said, during the period
OF the war. from April /. 1917, until
December 81. 1919 there were 351 600
cases of vcncrcal diseases reported
The disease caused l0.500 discharges
for disability. being exceeded only by
the discharges for tuberculosis and
mental deficiency.
Loss of $4,000 Days.
Ncncreal diseases caused loss of
time from duty of 6.S0o.000 days. ex-
cceded only by influenza in this re-
spect. In other words, the time lost
because of vcnercal disease was
equivalent to the loss of one wears
time by lS.6O0 men
He outlined three constructive
methods of controlling the spread of
Infectious diseases in general, which
might be applied to the spread of
the yenereal classes.
First he &aid. the source of the
disease can be eliminated, as has
plague through the destruction of
rats. Secondly, the avenue of trans
mission can be blocked SO that the
infected agent cannot be. transmitted
from the. source of the disease to a
susceptible individual as is done in
the control of malaria. where the mos
quito transmitting the disease is
destroyed; or thirdly. the susceptible
individual can be rendered immune by
artificial immuniZation as is done in
the prevention of smallpox and other
diseases by vaccination"
Necessity of Education.
He emphasized the necessity of .d