OCR Text |
Show FIGHTING TUBERCULOSIS. Investigations by eminent scientific men have led them to the conclusion that consumption is a preventable and curable disease. It was Louis Pasteur Pas-teur who declared that it was in the power of man to cause all parasitic diseases to disappear from the world. When he made this statement, he well knew that before such a thing could be accomplished accom-plished there must be a long struggle before the great truth could be impressed on mankind, and a longer struggle before the people could be made to realize their responsibility in the premises. In a recent book on "Tuberculosis: A Preventable Prevent-able and Curable Disease," Dr. S. Adolphus Knopf, professor in the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital, and an authority on pulmonary pulmon-ary troubles, prints as his motto: "To combat tuberculosis tu-berculosis successfully requires the combined action ac-tion of a wise government, well trained physicians and an intelligent people." Dr. Knopf doesn't say so, but it is to be presumed pre-sumed that we already have a wise government and well-trained physicians, so that the one thing lacking lack-ing to successfully combat "the great white plague" is an intelligent people. To educate the peop along the lines suggested by the book and by other authorities au-thorities on the subject is the great stumbling block. People generally are not interested deeply in things that do not concern them directly. That there are 200,000 deaths in the United States annually an-nually from tuberculosis and that throughout the world one person dies on an average every three seconds is no cause for worry among people who are not directly affected, especially if they do not know that such is the case. To draw attention to the conditions existing and to help in the education of the people are the objects ob-jects sought to be accomplished by Dr. Ivnopf in his book, which will be read largely by those who believe they have become infected with the disease, but little by those who have no direct interest in preventing the spread of consumption. To con-dude, con-dude, as to the ultimate eradication of tuberculosis. tubercu-losis. Dr. Knopf says: "If the lover of his kind, the rich philanthropist, philanthro-pist, would do good and spread the good, help to build model tenements, open-air schools, preven-toria preven-toria for the prevention and sanatoria for the cure of patients, and provide healthful recreation for the poor; and if the lover of his kind, the poor philanthropic, rich in his heart, but poor in worldly goods, would bring his knowledge, his good will, his labor and his mite toward the prevention of this, as yet most prevalent and fatal of all diseases, the ultimate eradication of tuberculosis would seem to be in sight. .It is not safe to make a prophecy as I to when this time will come, but it may safely be said that whatever we do in the direction of preventing pre-venting the development f llni will prevent pre-vent social mif ' - ' " ". '--rich as we I diminish tultrenl )sk ;n ' - - . w- v.-!l I minish suffering, misery uud social document, and j I iiiir ' . i 1 when the problem of tuberculosis will have been solved this disease so graphically described as 'the great white plague' forever eradicated, then will we be nearer the millennium than we have ever been before, and peace, health and happiness will be our lot on earth." |