Evening star., 1940-07-14
U.S.. Begins 10 Store
Supply Of Medicine
Needed for War Chest
Morphine and Quinine
Preparedness. Urged
By Dr.. Thomas Rorrun
BY the Associated Press,

By Dr.. Thomas Rorrun
By the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, July 13.-In the
vaults at Washington formerly used
to store gold the United States has
collected a huge supply Of NOR
phine-part Of new war chest"
of strategic medicines for which this
Nation is dependent on foreign
sources.
A report to the American Medical
Association on the progress Of this
preparedness effort revealed, how
ever, that there is serious shortage
OF some drugs.
DR.. Thomas Parran, Surgeon Gen.
eral of the United States Public
Health Service, who made the report
in the A. M. A. journal, said that
German occupation of the Neither
lands had prevented the Govern
ment from obtaining a sufficient
war chest" of quinine, which he
termed the most needed" of these
strategic medicines.
Shortage of Drugs.
1--WE do not have in this country
enough of the effective vaccine
against yellow fever to immunize one
regiment" he added.
DR.. Parran made these disclosures
in recommending the appointment
of a co-ordinator of medical and
health preparedness for national
defense.
His comprehensive report on the
whole problem of national fitness
advocated also listing and classify
ing all professional and technical
personnel, extended safeguards for
the health of industrial workers,
organized and intensified efforts to
control diseases and practical
plan to correct widespread and
serious" malnutrition.
"The concept of total war necessi-
tates the concept of total de-
fense-a total national effort not
only toward resistance, but toward
unassailable strength" DR.. Parran
advised.
tion's first concerns, in event of
war. might be in tropical America
and commented:
"Of the many military medical
and health problems in the tropical
Americas, the most important is
malaria. There is no disease of
comparable Importance Except the
mental diseases), against which we
have made less scientific progress
during my generation.
"Quinine is still the major remedy.
Like rubber, originally secured from
South America, now our major
source of supply is from across the
Pacific Ocean-the Netherland East
Indies.
Supply Cut OF.
"The Netherlands is no longer
able to import, process and distrib-
ute this remedy. It's cartel pre-
vented us from storing a sufficient
war chest of our most needed medi-
cal strategic material.
"All of Central and South America
now look to us to supply their needs.
For two years 7 have been con-
cerned with this problem. It is not
yet solved. No major military
operations in the tropics of this
hemisphere are possible without
quinine or the equally potent Ger
man synthetic, atabrine"
DR.. Parran said he has been aid
ing commercial importers to build
up a war chest of opium and NOR
phine and estimated that the NOR
phine now in the vaults would last
for at least three years."
"Our regular source has been
from the Eastern Mediterranean,
now closed" he said. Before this
supply is exhausted we can, if
necessary, grow in certain areas of
the United States the pain-relieving
poppy plant. But it must be planned
now"
He said that yellow fever, for
which very little vaccine is on hand,
Is prevalent throughout large areas
of South America and is, therefore,
constant threat to the Southern
half of the United States"
He urged speed-up in research
work to discover the cause and cure
Of influenza, which caused many
deaths in the World War.
"It may be-" he surmised, ''that
the Nation which first learns how to
control influenza will by this knowl-
edge tip the scale toward victory
In the wars ahead"
Doctors Are Needed.
IN suggesting a personnel survey,
he predicted:
IF or when war comes, every L.
100000 men modified need $500
doctors drawn from civil practice.
TN the mobilization Of 1000 900
men during the last war more than
fourth of the effective medical
men Of the country were called to
the colors. While counties were de-
pleted of doctors. Many medical
schools were almost put out of busi-
ness, because the best men left for
military duty. We should not re-
peat these mistakes"
The protection of industrial work.
ers' health will be an urgent task" +"
he said, because with the vast ex-
pansion Of the war industries, many
new industrial hazards appear and
familiar ones are intensified"
ut is wasteful for industry to
train q highly skilled employe over
long months, only to have him break
down suddenly with tuberculosis,
mental disease or some other Grip
pling condition."
In emphasizing that II workers
are malnourished, their efficiency
for the defense program is reduced,
DR.. Parran added:
Every survey Of nutrition. by