Show MAY AID THE LEPERS NATIONAL HOSPITAL NEEDED TO I 1 CARE FOR THEM PROPE PROPERLY aly two recent cases call attention to the existence of plague but no provision for adequate treatment and isolation washington the agitation in washington over the early leprosy case and in arizona over the case of mrs wardwell is expected by officials ot of the public healt hand marine hospital service to lead to a renewed effort to obtain the establishment of a national hospital for the isolation and treatment of leprosy an effort to obtain legislation to this end which was supported by many members of the medical fraternity throughout the country was made by the he public healt health hand and marine hospital service in 1905 and a bill for such an institution received favorable reports in both houses of congress it failed of passage ho however largely because of objections from localities in which it was that the should be the bill did not name any state of territory but provided that an abandoned military or naval reservation should be used it was understood however that the authorities 8 lad had 1 new mexico AT ex I 1 co in I 1 n mind as the most desirable desirable location oc atlon and the delegate from that territory was waa not lot slow in making known the opposition of his constituents when legislation is reached again the health burgau bureau will be ready with all the statistics and arguments necessary to win consideration for tho the bill the statistics however are not very recent as aa they do not approach any nearer the present time than 1901 in that year a commission composed of surgeons ons connected with tile the bureau made a thorough investigation of leprosy in the lie united states finding that thera were 27 48 cases lit in the country and that they were scattered through ai 21 states louisiana led the list with nith cases or more than halt hali the entire number california and florida followed with 24 each minnesota with 20 and north N orth dakota with 16 the remaining cases were found in georgia illinois maryland massachusetts mississippi missouri montana nevada new mew york oregon pennsylvania south dakota texas and wisconsin of all enese cases only 72 were isolated the commission was wag of tho opinion that its report did not cover all cases cages and the belief was expressed that many of bf them were hidden in presenting its report the commission included the general recommendations ions of the international lop rosy losy conference for tho the isolation of cases as the best method to pr predent oyent tho the spread of the disease it was recommended om mended also that thai two institutions institution s inathe one in the north and the other in the south to be established in the absence of surgeon Surge oti general wyman no one connected with the public health service will undertake to say positively that the bill will be reintroduced but many incline I 1 to the opinion that it will be because of the necessity for protecting tile the general public and for dealing with leprosy victims in a humanitarian way and also because of the difficulties dIfficult les in having individual states care for them |