The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1937-12-02
Says He Is Just One OF Units In
The State Health Department
Doing Only Routine Work
REGRETS TO LEAVE HERE

DR.. Eugene C. Peck, Garrett
County Health Officer, who is
seeking a lower altitude upon ad-
vice of a physician, and who ex-
poets to leave this territory on
or about January 1, is fed up
with the snowshoe publicity he
has received throughout the
State. He hopes that from now
on he will be pictured accurately for
just what he is-a unit in the State
Health Department-who is concerned
with routine duties and the work of
preventive medicine.
DR.. Peck and his snowshoes came
into wide publicity two years ago.
During trip to Walnut Bottom school
(now abandoned) the snow had drifted
over the roads until only the fence
tops showed, and he happened to have
his snowshoes handy. Later in making
his report to the State Health Depart
ment he jokingly asked DR.. K. H.
Riley, head of the department, "How
about snowshoe mileage?" and en-
closed picture.
Since that time DR.. Peck and his
snowshoes have been much overem-
phasized in daily newspapers. What
makes it so distasteful many times to
DR.. Peck, as well as to other citizens,
is the fact that it eXaggerates weather
conditions in Garrett county and gives
Baltimore the idea that Garrett coun-
ty, except for geographical location, is
climatically part of Alaska. In real
ity Garrett countians can take zero
weather easier than Baltimoreans can
take mere freezing weather, because
the air is much drier in the noun
tains. That fact is known here, if not
in Baltimore.
A brief summary of DR.. Peck's
work in Garertt county was given to a
representative of The Republican as
the former went about his work in the
office preparing to make trip to the
Fairview school to make some exami-
nations, physical, Schick, Dick, or
some other test, or to give toxoid. Be-
fore returning to Oakland he would
have to travel 100 miles. To reach the
school he would have to traverse sew
eral miles of very bad road, but he
took journeys such as this as matter
of course.
DR.. Peck came to Garrett county on
August 1, 1888. Previous to that he
had had varied experiences, instruct
ing in Tulane University, the Univer-
sity of Shanghai, China, and in doing
work with the Connecticut Depart
ment of Health. His interests were in
children, and he chose public health
work because cit was the only way to
get at children in the country" He
came to Garrett county after a course
in the Public Health School, Harvard.
He had previously been graduated
from the Harvard Medical School.
DR.. Peck said:
"There had been a fair amount of
diphtheria work done here previously,
but this was continued and expanded.
1 consider the prevention of diphtheria
one of the most important things &C
complished here, and at the present
time 81 per cent of the school children
of the county are immune to that dis
ease. They were shown to be immune
by the Shick test, or were given tox-
old.
Protection against scarlet fever is
another program which base been car
ried on since 1885 in cooperation with
DR.. Milton v. Veldee, surgeon in the
United States Public Health Service,
who has developed practical system
for prevention of that disease. Sixty
three percent Of the school children
have been either tested and found i'm
mune or have been given immuniza-
ton treatment.
"Our aim at present is to have a
health record of every child in the
county"
DR.. Peck also explained the work
that was being done in prenatal work
and child hygiene, about venereal dis
eases and the discovery and suppress
sion of tuberculosis.
"Venereal disease is treated like
other communicable diseases and it is
the work of the health department to
prevent its spread all we can. At pres
ent there are three venereal clinics
Friendsville, Oakland and Kitzmiller.
Last month we gave 222 treatments
and they average 205 per month. This
means visits for diagnosis and treat
ment. Only one new case has been dis
covered this year, and through our
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