Show AMERICANS COMBAT TYPHUS AND LICE IN POLAND Disease and Filth Rampant I in Ne New Republic Doctors Doctors Doc Doc- I tors Are Scarce 1 B By Harold E. E I European Manager of N N. N E E. E A A. A I W WARSAW AilSA W Poland Dec Imme 25 25 Imme Immediate diate improvement of the appalling conditions affecting the health of new newborn newborn newborn born born Poland depends on a mammoth cleanup campaign now under way with the strongest sort of Cf American assistance It wUl will require lre years of continuous labor and education to bring the re republic republic republic re- re public to a high high standard of ot health and sanitation A typhus epidemic Is raging andis and andIs andis Is expected to grow STOW worse during the winter I Disease d and filth ar are are everywhere I throughout most districts there is an I almost unbelievable absence of f even I Ithe Ithe the most primitive sanitary improvements improve improve- ments menta improve improve-I ONE PHYSICIAN FOR There are only doctors for a population of more than and I many districts of from to people are dependent upon the I services of a single physician In the United States there is js a doctor for every persons Vilna for example a town with about as many people as Akron O O. has no sewer system and few cess cess- pools Most of the refuse of the city goes Into open gutters where a little lime is thrown on it In the smaller towns and villages this condition is the rule not the tho exception Prevalence of lice and other vermin vermin vermin ver ver- min and bad housing conditions make the problem more acute The Poles intend to wipe out such conditions allowed to grow worse and worse under the old regimes no matter matter matter mat mat- ter how long it takes So the minister minister minister min min- ister of health Thomas Janiszewski told me In an interview outlining the plans of the new republic TYPHUS CASES In the five months months' from January 1 to June 1 there were notified cases of typhus In Poland and Poland Polan and and probably probably probably ably three times that number of cases actually because doctors were often f unable to give notice of cases because they were terribly overworked and many cases did not have attendance I said the minister It is lower now but it will wUl Increase In Increase increase in- in crease again this winter in spite of all we can do The epidemic is constantly constantly con con- I fed by refugees coming in from Russia The louse is the principal carrier of typhus The majority of the people II have lice in many districts the people are from 90 to per cent lous lousy I I We need sewers and soap and public baths and a mammoth general I cleanup And we are starting thanks to America The problem assumes such huge proportions that I do not l know now how we could cope with it were it not for Americas America's assistance I The minister told how Poland appealed appealed appealed ap ap- pealed to the allied powers months ago for aid in combating combating- typhus The I 11 Poles read with joy of the plans of ot the League of ot Red Cross Societies foran foran for foran an campaign ONLY AMERICA HELPING I IONLY I But only America actually came he said We had been organizing dividing up the country into four i divisions each division into six sections sections sec sec- and so on but we could only I I scratch the surface We Ve had no soap no no clothing no bathing plants no linen no sanitary equipment equip equip- ment practically ment-practically practically nothing to work withIn withIn withIn with In May your our Mr 11 Hoover asked us to state our needs I went to Paris in June and saw him Arrangements were made for vast quantities of American army supplies underclothing soap mobile bathing tanks tents blankets iron beds hospital supplies tar paper for hospital roofing steam sterilizers and other material Now a large part of this American material is here most here most of it in great long sheds at an American camp outside outside outside out out- side Warsaw There are thousands of cases of soap buildings full of oC underclothing underclothing underclothing under under- clothing and blankets Iron beds piled plied in great masses that look like houses |