Evening star., 1940-05-04
Health Departments S
Service Held Deficient
For venerea| Diseases
Social Hygiene Society
Is Told Potients Drop
Treatment Too EARLY

Facilities and personnel of the
District Health Department clinic
are inadequate to handle venereal
disease properly, and the attack on
syphilis here has only made a good
start" Ray H. Everett, executive
secretary of the Social Hygiene So
ciety, said last night at its 22d
annual dinner in Barker Hall.
He charged that less than half
the new patients are given an edu-
cational conference, and that the
average time spent on each new
case is only from three to five
minutes"
Mr.. Everett said the result was
that IL per cent of new syphilis
patients and 20 per cent of new
gonorrhea cases discontinue treat
ment within q month of their ad-
mission to the clinic.
"Of these patients who lapse from
treatment approximately 80 per
cent are dropped from the active
clinic rolls at the end Of three
months. This great inadequacy in
case holding means suffering, dis
ability and death for many infected
individuals and increased expense
to the taxpayers, who pay bills for
dependents left penniless and for
institutional care OF those whose
bodies are wrecked or minds shat
tered from the late manifestations
Of untreated syphilis" he stated.
Would Treat 3v,0oo Annually.
For every SO spent for the In
standardization Of insane syphilit-
les here only 81 is spent for the
prevention Of such tragedies" he
said In calling for q program Of
treatment for 10000 patients an
nually rather than for the 5000 now
treated by both private and public
sources.
DR.. Hugh H. Young OF Johns Hop
kins University, pioneer social
hygienist, gave the Sanders me-
mortal address, speaking on the
health and efficiency of the Ameri-
can Expeditionary Force of 1889.
He said on arrival of the A. E. F..
abroad it was found that the British
took social disease as "a proper
pennance' for misconduct. The
Canadian concept was similar to
our own, he said in stating that the
medical forces against it were led
by a United States preacher.
The French, Australians and New
Zealanders took the disease as q
matter of course, whereas the
American medical staff fought the
venereal disease for what it was
and took practical and prolonged
action to prevent and cure 1t, he
said.
U. s. Treated Cases at Front.
The American system was to keep
patients near their posts and con-
tlnually under treatment until
cured. The other forces sent cases
to the rear with the result that many
soldiers voluntarily took the disease
to get away from the front. Later,
he said, the American system was
followed by other allied forces with
gratifying results.
AouAAS ACula1 ACO GllAt no
syphilic cases were permitted to
return home after the war until
cured. Hence, he claimed, the
100000 soldiers returning were
probably the greatest body Of
healthy men the world ever has
SEEN"
Those elected to the Board Of
Directors for 1s40-1943 terms were
Birch E. Bayh, DR.. Edith Seville
Coale,. Albert E. Conradis. Paul b,
Cornely, DR.. Lewis c. Ecker, DR..
Robert Scott Lamb, Mrs. Julius
Lansburgh, DR.. william J. Mallory.
Mrs. Lawrence Martin, BENJAMIN
M. McKelway, Beatrice Mullin, Vim
cent Saccardi, Esther Scott. DR..
Daniel Seckinger and Mrs. walter
S. Ufford.
DR.. H. H. Hazen presided. Cant.
Rhoda Milliken, first vice president.
gave the treasurer's report for w.
w. Wheeler. Other speakers in
cluded DR.. r. A. Vonderlehr. assist
ant surgeon general Of the United
States Public Health Service, and
Herbert L. Willett, director OF the
Community Chest, who lauded the
society for its fine work.