Evening star., 1938-08-09
HEALTH IS CALLED
GOOD INVESTMENT
Chapman Reviews Progress
of Conference Called to
Map Program.

Oscar L. Chapman, Assistant Secre-
tary of the Interior and member of
the Presidents 1nterdepartmental
Committee to Coordinate Health and
Welfare Activities, discussed "The
National Health Conference" last
night on the National Radio Forum,
arranged by The Star and broadcast
over a Nationwide network of the
National Broadcasting Co. The text
of his address follows:
Three weeks ago it was my good
fortune to participate in an event
which Surg. Gen. Thomas Parran
prophesied may we'll be the greatest
event in medical science which has
happened IN our time" This was the
National Health Conference, called by
the Presidents Committee to Co
ordinate Health and Welfare Activi-
ties.
Nothing is more important to a
nation than the health of its people.
In these words of his opening letter
to the conference, President Roose-
welt expressed the opinion of every
member of the gathering. For these
busy men and women. from all parts
of the country, had left work or post
poned needed vacations to come to
Washington. For three days they con-
sidered various proposals set forth in
a 10-year program designed to i'm
prove the Nations health services.
Leaders in Their Fields.
Membership in the conference was
by invitation of the Interdepartmental
Committee and in order to facilitate
discussion it was limited to less than
200 persons. But this relatively small
group was an extraordinary repre-
sentation of the major forces in this
country who are concerned, not so
much with death rates, as with the
life and health of the American
people.
There we're the leaders in medi-
cine-officials of the American Medi-
cal Association, general practitioners.
surgeons, dentists, nurses; specialists
in score of fields of medicine. and
faculty members of medical schools;
hospital administrators, State and
local health officers and other repre-
sentatives of the field of public health
and welfare. They ranged over a
wide scale in points Of view.
But as yet only one-third of the
members has been mentioned. AS per-
haps never before in national health
conference. the consumer as we'll as the
producer of medical care and health
services was represented. Here for the
first time, the patient touched elbows
with the doctor around the conference
table. Workers in industry. the rural
farm groups. parents and teachers,
were represented. Leaders in public
education through the motion pictures,
the radio and the press came to in
terpret the conference to millions of
Americans throughout the country.
Pointed Out Needs.
And these laymen-representing la
Dor. industry, agriculture and other
groups Of the interested public-were
not content to listen quietly to the ex-
positions Of the technical experts.
They brushed statistics aside and
spoke of national health needs from
the depths Of their own experience.
Some of you listening to my voice
this evening may be disabled by ill
ness. It is perhaps cold comfort to
tell you, as was brought out at the
conference, that there are over 4,0O0,-
600 others in this country tonight who
are temporarily or permanently dis
Abled. Much of this illness could be
prevented and much of it could be
cured if adequate preventive and cura-
tive medical service were available to
every one.
The conference listened to other
facts and figures concerning the
health. or lack of health, of Ameri-
can citizens in reports presented by
the Technical Committee on Medical
Care, group of Government experts
which for over year had been study
ing national health needs. AS its
study progressed, two things became
increasingly clear to the committee:
First. that public health. = --ices and
medical care cost money, and poor
communities. and families with small
means, or none at all, cannot pay the
price.
National Program.
Second, that nothing less than ma
tional comprehensive health program
can lay the basis for action adequate
to the Nations needs.
1t was, then, essentially for the
purpose of discussing the proposed
ways and means of developing such
program that the President suggested
this conference of medical experts and
the public
The proposed program included in
part expansion of public health serv-
ices. increase in hospital facilities,
and the provision of essential medical
services to needy persons. Under these
heads, a 10-year program was pro-
jected on the principle that about one
half of the cost would be met by the
Federal Government. Starting in with
relatively small expenditures, the
committee estimated that the annual
cost of a program of this scope to
Federal, State and local governments
would reach $3.50 100000.
Miss Josephine Roche, former As
sistant Secretary of the Treasury is
chairman of the Interdepartmental
Committee. Commenting on the pro-
posed expenditures in her opening
address to the conference, Miss Roche
said: This is the gauge Of our need
This is approximately what we must
spend if the need is to be met. And
every dollar spent on soundly
planned and well-executed program
will yield a national saving in human
values and saving in actual CASH"
Insurance Expenditures.
This sum OF 100000 for improv-
ing the Nations health is large. but,
as Miss Roche went on to say, we
cannot attack successfully with small
change a s10,oOo,ooo,ooO problem"
Furthermore, the size of the sum did
not seem to frighten the participants
in the conference.
Louis I. Dublin. statistician and vice