The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, 1936-12-12

EDITORS No TIE: In
whOlehearted accord with the
publicity campaign against tu-
berculOsis conducted by the
Detroit News the Tribune Is
reprinting the series OF arti-
cles on "Death Fighters" fea-
tured in the News. In reprint
ing these articles with the
kind permission Of the News,
il is our hope that the inyalu-
able information contained In
this series may prove helpful
TO many of our readers who
might not otherwise have the
opportunity of reading them
in other papers. $3.50
Such is Americas folly that we
as citizens, entertain two kinds o
murderer in our midst. One Is out
law and to be hunted down will
every human resource. The othe
commits many more deadly crimes
yet remains undetected and re
spectacle.
Why is it that when a child i!
killed by some kidnapping degene
rate-just one child, mind you
the newspapers plaster their from
pages with banner headlines, ant
the nation spends millions of dol
lars for cohorts of Omen and 9th
er high-powered detectives, finger
print experts, and hangs up prince
ly rewards and mobilizes radio:
and aidplanes to ferret out the lone
killer?-
While all American communities
and this includes Detroit-be'
cause of considerations of alleged
economy permit uncounted thou
sands of another kind of murderer
to remain at large, strewing death
among still more thousands of bah
les, children, boys and girls and
grown-ups?
1t is this murderous complacency
and unbalanced perspective with q
short-sighted and ignorant book
keeping, that's right now the cause
of the death, each year of one out
of every 1900 men, women and
children of Detroit their now abso-
lutely needles sand shameful sac
rifice, from tuberculosis.
Every year in your midst, thou
sand and more people are dying,
because you as citizens will not al
low-or have not been aroused TO
demand that your able TB-fighters
and doctors use all the power of
their now sure and available sci
ence to ferret out your TB muir
derers now at large, and much
moe easily detachable than the ave.
rage assassin.
1t is now platitude of microbe-
hunting science that there is an
easy test to detect the lurking of
TB microbes in the bodies of all
human beings harboring them. If a
little brew, a soup made of dead TB
germs, is scratched into the skin
of any persons arm, and if there's
a certain redness and swelling
after this injection, that means
there's nest of live TB germs
lurking in that persons body.
This test is cheap, and no eco
nomy-howler objects to it's city
wide application. But it is not
enough to spot those hapless peo-
pie who-many of them not know
ing it-may be spewing and cough
ing TB death throughout Detroit
No-in order that Detroit's death
fighters may find out all those who
from deadly cavities, from holes il
their sick lungs are throwing ou
TB microbes, the X-ray's magii
eye is needed. And, alas; XTa,
films run into money. III
1t was lack of money for Xera!
films and for the TB nurses ant
doctors to keep track of her tina
, allowed one death-spreading wo
man to murder a 9-month old bah,
and to plant the tubercler bacillus
in eight of that baby's brothers
and sisters. In 1880 thisn woman
was found to have active tubercu.
losis, but she would noti1go to the
hospital. OF course, plain common
sense would tell any ignoramus
that the thing to do would be u
keep close track of this death
spreading lady-in her ihome or or
| the streets or wherever
But for nurses and doctors fol
the necessary follow-up'an for thu
! X-ray films to keep ytrack of the
smoldering the ups -ahd downs o.
her chronic consumption the health
department of Detroit had not the
wherewithal. She Slipped through
/ the health departments fingers.
And here she is with a coy home
in the house of h5S sister who has
nine young children. This homi
cidal lady is gettiSg her board ant
room in return for taking care Of
those children and especially fol