Evening star., 1945-09-18
Witnesses Urge
Law 10 Control
Social Disease
House Group Told
Of Army Precoution
n VonoraoiEo

In VenereuI Cases
Adoption of pending legislation
to enable the District to compel per-
sons having communicable diseases
to submit to quarantine or treat
ment was advocated today by Gov
ernment and civilian witnesses be-
fore the Mcmillan Health Subcom-
mittee of the House District Com
mittee.
Particular attention again was di-
rected to control of venereal dis
eases. Witnesses stressed that,
while ali increase in venereal dis
eases was anticipated with de-
mobllization of the armed forces,
protective measures have been
adopted by military authorities and
they agreed the proposed District
law would be definitely helpful.
One witness was 1t. Col. Thomas
H. Sternberg, director of the We
nereal Disease Control Division Of
the Office of the Army Surgeon
General. He submitted a statement
declaring that no soldier diagnosed
as having venereal disease in the
infectious stage would be released
in this or any other community.
All Soldiers Examined.
The program of all Army separa-
ton centers, he said, provides that
all soldiers be examined for venereal
disease during a final physical ex-
animation given within 4S hours of
separation, and that all soldiers
found to have infectious venereal
disease are retained and treated un-
til they are cured or the disease
made noninfectious.
Further, he said, blood tests for
syphilis are given and where evi-
dence of latent noninfectious
syphilis is discovered, the results are
sent to the United States Public
Health Service. The health service
then notifies State health depart
ments that the soldier in question
needs further diagnostic studies and
possible treatment.
Col. Sternberg said Army statis-
tics show that for the first six
months of thisky year 1884 soldiers
acquired" venereal infection in
Washington, as compared with BOT
in the first half of 1914 He declared
this had mo significance" to Incl
dence of the disease in the civilian
population since the number of SOL
diers infected in any large city is to
some extent dependent upon the
number visiting or passing through
that city. Washington certainly is
a crossroads of the Nation" he
added.
Rate Is Low in District.
Col. Sternberg then reported that
the venereal disease rate for soldiers
stationed in the Military District of
Washington for the first six months
of this year was 20 per thousand as
compared with 43 per thousand for
all troops stationed in the United
States. This low rate is due partly
to the much larger proportion of
permanently stationed married mill
tary personnel in this area"
The witness said it was self-evi-
dent return to civilian life of over
half of the Nations male popula-
ton in the ages of 18 to 38 will ap-
preciably increase the duties and re-
sponsibilities of civilian health de-
partments."
Premarital Law Urged.
Another witness, Ray H. Everett,
director of the Social Hygiene So
ciety, declared the new communica-
BILE disease law not only was needed
but that Congress also should adopt
premarital and prenatal laws. ID
brought out that Health Officer
George c. Rutland advocated a pre-
marital law several years ago but
pointed out that a House subcom-
mittee had ''pigeonholed it."
Mr.. Everett said that when DR..
Rutland came here the District
had only one clinic-for tuberculosis
and venereal diseases. to handle
the cases of all races, sex and ages
and that the program was "a horri-
BILE mess"
The health officer. he continued,
had built up the program to
modern, functioning structure-one
of the good health departments OF
the Nation"
Increase is Cited.
Robert Swank, special investigator
for the Public Health Service, in
urging passage of the proposed bill,
warned that the percentage of per-
sons who are refusing to cooperate
by submitting to examination and
treatment has increased from 4
per cent in the first six months OF
1914 to 8 per cent in the last half
Of that year and to nearly II per
cent in the first five months of 1945,
Other witnesses who indorsed pas
sage of the measure included Ver-
non E. West, principal assistant
counsel of the District,
who pointed out that present law
permits a recalcitrant infected per-
son to be fined or jailed but does
not permit the District to compel
quarantine or treatment; Capt. Sid
ney Olansky, medical officer of the
Districts Rapid Treatment Center;
Dr.. Daniel L. Seckinger, deputy
health officer, and DR.. Iva G. MUIR
ply, epidemiologist of the Public
Health Service, assigned to the Ven-
sreal Disease Bureau of the Health
Today's session concluded the
hearings but some data will be sup
olied by District authorities before
he subcommittee makes it's report
% the full District Committee.