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Show I ; i Prevailing Opinions I Comment of the American Press Problems for Clinics at ' Well ss for the Priions The San Francisco city government govern-ment and ths state board of prison terms and paroles give simultaneous recognition of the fact that some problems of crime are also problems of dtseaee, and that the disease side of them calls for special treatment Mayor Rossi is to appoint a committee to work with city officials offi-cials to consider the question of a clinie instead of the jaul for "noncriminal drunks." And tha prison board recommends to the governor that sex criminals should be handled "aa paycopathic casea rather than just like other inmates." in-mates." Both these classes of offenders offend-ers present a medical problem which Is more than personal because be-cause It also Involves the public safety. The chronic drunk is a public nuisance at best and p may become be-come dangerous. If he can restored to usefulness by a clinic, it will be cheaper than the jail In the-long run. and will be a good investment Tha sex criminal la. of course, a more serious matter. Ha la positively dangerous at large, and he is also dangerous to the other prisoners In the penitentiary. After all, even convicts have rights, and to be exposed to this menace la no part of the penalty prescribed by law for their offenses. of-fenses. And yet the sex criminal is virtually always abnormal, physically, mentally or both. He cannot be cured just by imprisonment imprison-ment In some cases he cannot be cured at all. and In all cases be must be segregated unless and until cured. Some day our practical penology will catch up to our scientific knowledge of it The Ban Francisco Fran-cisco Chronicle. Ten Horsemen of Death Of 10 big kiUers among tha diseases dis-eases that causa three out of every four American deaths, aevea do their deadliest work among the poor. Miss Josephine Roche, aa- -sistant secretary of the treasury. . told the American Public Health association meeting in New YorkJ The "10 horsemen of death" are heart d.seaae. cancer, pneumonia and influenza, cerebral hemorrhage, hemor-rhage, nephritis, tuberculosis, diabetes, diarrhea .and enteritia, appendicitia and syphilis. "From seven of these 10 all but cerebral hemorrhage, diabetes and appendicitis the death rates . n , mount steadily as income goes down," Miss Roche said. "Tha death rate from respiratory tuberculosis tu-berculosis is seven times aa great among unskilled workers as among professional workers. It Is three times as great among the skilled as the professional. These seven diseases kill twice as many of the poor as of all other classes in this country." These startling figures Indicate that disease, although a acourgs of all humanity. Is a social problem, prob-lem, cutting down its victims most cruelly among "that one-third of our people. 111 fed, ill housed and ill clothed." They should spur our common efforts to reduce poverty, abolish city and rural alums and outlaw sweatshops, child labor and other industrial evils. And they should cause us to begin thinking about more effective ef-fective local, state and federal public measures to safeguard the health of those whose incomes do not allow for adequate hospitalization, hospital-ization, medical service and preventive pre-ventive care. Pittsburgh Press. - . Another Crying Need What the world needs Is a type- , writer that will print the right let- i ter whether you hit the right key or not The Lea Angeles Times. J |