Evening star., 1924-04-24
THE NATIONS
WEALTH
BY ELIOT WADSWORTH,
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In Two Parts.-Purt
In Two Parts.-~Pnrt I


is waged by the United s'.-tes against
an invisible enemy that daily and
hourly threatens our people. The
enemy is disease. The opposing force
aided by state and local health
authorities-is the bureau Of public
health service, d branch of the Treas
ury Department
So accustomed is the average Amer
lean to take for granted the health
full conditions that surround him that
little thought is given to the causes
that insure his safety. But the price
of the nations health is eternal
vigilance. Should the bureau of pub
lie health service, state and munich
pal agencies for detection and pre-
vention of disease cease to function
even for a short space, the resulting
toll would be immeasurable. without
such safeguards illness and death
would increase to an extent impos-
sible TO estimate.
Little is heard today Of the five
great plague diseases-cholera, ty-
phus, yellow fever, bubonic plague
and smallpox. Yet they are kept out
Or held in check only by increasing
| watchfulness. Many times during the
last fifteen years cases of cholera anu
| typhuS have been detected on yes
sells arriving at ports in the United
States, but these diseases have not
been allowed to enter and gain a
foothold
Smallpox in the United States prob
ably would have been eradicated long
a go if vaccination and revaccination
| had been rig1dly enforced There
were 742 deaths from this disease in
the United States during 1923. every
one Of which could have been pre-
vented by vaccination.
Yellow Fever Barred
| Prevention Of the introduction OF
! yellow fever into the United States
| during the last eighteen years. de-
spite it's almost continual prevalence
in Mexico and Central and South
! America, is another example of the
protection afforded by Quarantine
| Yellow fever ships have frequently
| reached our shores, but so far the
bureau of public health has not fail
| ed to apprehend them.
The United States maintains, prob
| ably, the most complete line of sani-
! tary defense in the world. In every
! port and on every frontier are men
| trained TO recognize and repel the in
Vaders-gerns OF disease. Its double
| system of inspection circles the globe
Preventive measures are in force in
| many foreign ports under the super
! vision of medical officers attached to
| the conSulateS. The duty of these
| officers is to prevent persons suffer
! ing from quarantInable or contagious
| diseases from embarking on vessels
for ports in the United States BY
| means of this system of foreign in
! Spectlon, many foreigners are saved
| from a hopeless journey to this coun-
try. The second line of defense is in
our own quarantine stations, OF which
| there are in this country, Hawaii, the
| Philippines, Porto Rico and the Vir-
! gin Islands approximately 100.
| At the fully equipped stations are
! facilities for the boarding and inspec-
| tion of vessels and crews, apparatus
| for cleansing and disinfecting both
| clinical laboratories, hospitals for
| contagious diseases and detention
| barracks for suspects. During the
last year 1877 vessels and 1,S11.000
| passengers and members of crews
were inspected at continental sta
| tions. At foreign and insular sta
| tions S,141 vessels and 1921 900 pas
| Sengers and members OF crews des-
! tined for ports in the United States
were inspected. and 1890 vessels were
fumigated and disinfected. At the
| border quarantine stations 5000
travellers were Inspected
Protection in the United States. ,
Almost as important as the work Of
preventing the introduction of foreign
bred disease is that of preventing the
spread of disease from state to state
Congress in 1890 authorized the use o.
the public health service as the federal
agency for the prevention of the inter-
state spread of cholera, yellow fever,
smallpox and bubonic plague In 1895 4,
this power was extended to regulate the
4 n II TAr
from other infectious and contagious dis
eases, the work 10 be done in co-opera-
ton with state and local health author1-
ties. The success of the bureau III com
batting threatened invaSions of yellow
fever and plague is history. In CO
operation with state and local author
ties. particularly in the work of ruraN
sanitation, the public health service par
ticpates in the control of such con
tagious diseases as typhoid fever. dlph-
iberia. scarlet fever and measles. TYPHOID
fever. which formerly caused more than
$4,000 deaths annually in the United
States, now is responsible for less than
10000. The death rate in hfty-seyen
cities has been reduced III thirteen
years G910-1923, inclusive) from 1S.53
to 3.15 per 100000 population.
! Officers of the public health service,
when called upon, are always ready to
meet local emergencies. An outbreak OF
typhoid in Salem, Ohio. in 1920, may be
cited as a typical example. The infection
spread rapidly. Within few days there
were $50 cases and twentythrce deaths
Representatives. of the pubic health
service and the state health deparUneTt
were asked to investigate. They iound
that the epidemic was caused by pollu-
ton of the city water supply, Cphold
germs having gained entrance TO the
water as a result of this pollution
Pure Water Supply Vital
While the public has become edu-
Gated to the fact that polluted water
causes typhoid too much stress can :,
| not he laid upon the necessity for
| keeping pure the water supply. For
| some time the public health service
| in corporation with state heaith au-
| thorities, has inspected the wafer
| supply of trains ana river anu lahe
| traffic. No longer may water be dip
| ped from any creek. river or pool
| for S1,ch use The practice was a
| common breeder of disease Inc
! service will not now permit any IN
| terStata commerce railroad, or river
| carrier 10 use water for drinking
or cooking the source of which has
not been Investigated and found SAT-
isfactory. Similar measures are now
! in force in most of the states Win
| regard to common carriers operating
| entirely within the state. and lhere-
| fore not subject to national authority.
The growing industries of the
| country brought other water poliu-
ton troubles A decade ago INDUS
| trial plants unhesitatingly dl9charg-
| ed into creeks and rivers the routing
| remains of canned vegetables ana
| wastes from chemicals used in Vari-
| Gus manufactures Nearly all such
wastes were harmful and some ac-'
| tually poisonous. ~,
The problem was to prouect .ne
| hao Of npnpndPnt
| streams for drinking water without
| interference with the industries 1t
differed with each class of industry
The service established principles