THE HAHNEMANN MONUMENT The vision of eternal Truth blessing The nations of the earth. Though now enslaved In ignorance, the time must come when all Shall see fulfillment of the prophecy From lips Divine; "The Truth shall make you free." At the conclusion of the exercises and after the photographer had posed the company for a group photograph, the visitors were taken for an automobile ride around Washington; Dr. Richard Kingsman, leader. After the ride, some attended clinics and others enjoyed a fine band concert on the White House grounds given by the U. S. Marine Band. Some of the company remained in Washington for a longer stay, while others left that night for home and professional duties. The next meeting of the Institute is to be held in Rochester, New York, in June, 1917. BOSTON UNIVERSITY LUNCH AT BALTIMORE A very pleasant occasion was the Boston University lunch, held on Thursday, June 28, at Hotel Emerson, Baltimore, and presided over by Dean Sutherland with twenty-nine at table. There were present Drs. Sutherland, E. B. Hooker of Hartford, N. R. Perkins of Boston, Geo. E. Percy of Salem, W. A. Siebert and wife of Easton, Pa., H. E. Fernald and wife of Cohasset, Mass., M. E. Hanks of Chicago, A. H. Ring of Arlington, Mass., A. B. Ferguson of Portland, Maine, Sarah M. Hobson of Chicago, Ella D. Goff of Pittsburgh, Elinor Van BuskirkCummins of New York, Cora Smith King of Washington, H. Ulrich and wife, Dr. and Mrs. Watters, Mrs. L. G. Knowles, Drs. F. H. MacCarthy, W. Overholser, H. L. Babcock, H. W. Nowell, and James Krauss of Boston, Louise Ross of Washington and R. L. Emery of Rockport, Mass. THE MILK PROBLEM "There is hardly a community in the whole country which can be said to be more than half-way trying to prevent the waste of infant life." 44 No community with an infant mortality rate of over 50 can claim that its babies are getting anything like a square deal." These are the statements made by the New York Milk Committee as a result of a survey of the work done and results accomplished during the past ten years in a large number of cities throughout the United States. In a bulletin which the committee has recently issued and addressed to the mayors, health officers, editors, citizens and taxpayers, is given the statistical results of its investigation. The committee's questionnaire was sent to the health officers of 252 cities. Infant mortality statistics were obtained for 144 of these. From the remaining 108 either no reliable data could be obtained or the health officials were unwilling to supply the information which the committee requested. Out of the 144 cities furnishing information, 46 were cities of 100,000 or more population, 32 were cities of 50,000 to 100,000 population and 66 were cities of 15,000 to 50,000 population, according to the last United States census. Of the cities with a population of 100,000 or more, a baby born in Omaha, Neb., was found to have four times as good a chance to live to celebrate its first anniversary of its birth as a baby born in Nashville, Tenn., or Fall River, Mass. In the cities under 100,000 and over 50,000 population, a Salt Lake City baby has over three times the chance of surviving the first year of life that a Passaic, N. J., or Holyoke, Mass., baby has. While in cities between 25,000 and 50,000 population, a La Crosse, Wis., baby has an advantage of more than six to one over a Montgomery, Ala., or Perth Amboy, N. J., baby. Mr. Taylor, the Director of the New York Milk Committee, maintains that it is the community rather than the individual that has power to reflect the ultimate credit on itself and its individuals in baby saving as in everything else. He states, no community can excuse a high infant death rate on the ground that conditions are unfavorable. We now know that conditions which endanger the health and lives of babies can be corrected if only the known preventive measures are applied; it will, of course, cost more to safeguard babies in some communities than other communities, but is not baby saving a duty and the real basis of future City, State and National preparedness? HEALTH INSURANCE In response to public interest in health insurance the Massachusetts Legislature has created a commission to study social insurance with special reference to sickness. The State Department of Health and the Bureau of Statistics are directed to cooperate with the commission of nine members which will prepare a report and recommend the form of legislation to be introduced in January, 1917. California has a similar State Commission already at work on this problem which is attracting wide attention since the introduction this year of bills for health insurance in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Proponents of this legislation believe it will bring about a movement for "health first " comparable to the safety first campaign which followed workmen's compensation for accidents. U. S. Department of Agriculture Issues Decision on Gluten Products and Diabetic Food - Defines Diabetic Foods Food Inspection Decision No. 160, recently issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for the guidance of officials of the Department in enforcing the Food and Drugs Act, fixes a definite limit to the amount of starch and sugar that may be present in certain gluten products and diabetic foods, and also fixes the amount of nitrogen that must be present in certain of these products, and makes requirements as to moisture and other constituents. The decision covers ground gluten, gluten flour, self-rising gluten flour, and "diabetic" foods. The definitions and standards as stated in the Food Inspection Decision were recommended by the Joint Committee on Definitions and Standards, consisting of representatives of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Association of American Dairy, Food, and Drug Officials, and the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists. These two associations have already adopted the definitions and standards. Investigations by the officials in charge of the enforcement of the Food and Drugs Act have shown that various food products have been placed on the market from time to time that are recommended by the manufacturers for use by people suffering from diabetes. It is generally held that the foods best suited to persons suffering from diabetes are those which contain little or no starch and sugar. Some of the foods placed on the market and recommended by the manufacturers for use in diabetes have been found to contain nearly as much starch and sugar as ordinary products, so that they were of no more value in the treatment of diabetes than ordinary food products that could be purchased more cheaply. The diabetic patient can avoid ordinary food products that contain considerable quantities of starch and sugar, as the composition of these products are generally known. In the case of prepared foods advertised for use in diabetes, however, the patient may be misled into eating quantities of starch and sugar that might be positively injurious. Hereafter such products should meet the requirements of Food Inspection Decision No. 160, which are as follows: Ground gluten is the clean, sound product made from wheat flour by the almost complete removal of starch and contains not more than ten per cent (10%) of moisture, and, calculated on the water-free basis, not less than four teen and two-tenths per cent (14.2%) of nitrogen, not more than fifteen per cent (15%) of nitrogen-free extract (using the protein factor 5.7), and not more than five and five-tenths per cent (5.5%) of starch (as determined by the diastase method). Gluten flour is the clean, sound product made from wheat flour by the removal of a large part of the starch and contains not more than ten per cent (10%) of moisture, and, calculated on the water-free basis, not less than seven and one-tenth (7.1%) of nitrogen, not more than fifty-six per cent (56%) of nitrogen-free extract (using the protein factor 5.7), and not more than forty-four per cent (44%) of starch (as determined by the diastase method). Gluten flour, self-raising, is a gluten flour containing not more than ten per cent (10%) of moisture, and leavening agents with or without salt. "Diabetic" food. Although most foods may be suitable under certain conditions for the use of persons suffering from diabetes, the term "diabetic" as applied to food indicates a considerable lessening of the carbohydrates found in ordinary products of the same class, and this belief is fostered by many manufacturers on their labels and in their advertizing literature. A "diabetic" food contains not more than half as much glycogenic carbohydrates as the normal food of the same class. Any statement on the label which gives the impression that any single food in unlimited quantity is suitable for the diabetic patient is false and misleading. The foregoing definitions and standards are adopted as a guide for the officials of this department in enforcing the Food and Drugs Act. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE HOSPITALS CURB TRACHOMA The establishing of small trachoma hospitals in localities where this contagious disease of the eyes is prevalent presents the best solution of the trachoma problem, according to the statement contained in the annual report of the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service. The Service now has five trachoma hospitals in the three states of Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, and so great has been the number of applicants for treatment that a waiting list has been established. In the past fiscal year 12,000 cases of trachoma have been treated, the larger proportion of which were cured, while those in which a cure was not effected have been greatly improved and rendered harmless to their associates. The great majority of these trachoma patients were people who lived in remote sections far removed from medical assistance, and who, but for the hospital care and treatment provided would have remained victims of the disease practically the remainder of their lives. "When it is considered," the report of the Service states, "that thousands of persons suffering with trachoma, a dangerous contagious disease, would otherwise remain untreated, it is realized how far-reaching results have been obtained through these trachoma hospitals and the other public health work done in this connection. It would be impossible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the number of people who have been saved from contracting this communicable disease by thus removing these thousands of foci of infection." 46 In addition to treating persons with the disease the hospitals have been used for educational work. Doctors and nurses have visited the homes of the patients and have explained how to prevent the development and recurrence of the disease. One thousand three hundred and eight such visits were made during the year in Kentucky alone. It has taken some time," the report continues, to educate the people afflicted with this disease. to the importance of cleanliness and the use of simple hygienic measures in their daily life." That results have been obtained is evidenced by the noticeably better observance of hygienic precautions by those among whom the work has been done. In addition to the hospital work, surveys were made in 16 counties in Kentucky, especially among school children. Eighteen thousand and sixteen people were examined, 7 per cent being found to have trachoma. Similar inspections in certain localities of Arizona, Alabama and Florida resulted in finding the disease present in from three to six children out of every hundred. Periodic examination of school children for the disease and the exclusion of the afflicted from the public schools, are two of the recommendations the Public Health Service lays emphasis upon. One of the special features of the trachoma work was the giving of lectures and clinics before medical societies in various counties where trachoma hospitals could not be established. Patients were operated upon in the presence of physicians and the most modern methods of treatment demonstrated. Throughout, the purpose has been to stimulate local interest in taking up the campaign to eradicate trachoma. STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS FIGHTING CANCER New York "Health News" Urges Vigilance and Early Surgical Removal. Delay Chief Cause of High Death Rate Among the many agencies now active in the campaign against cancer, several of the most progressive state boards of health are making notable efforts to spread the gospel of hope which is found in the early recognition of the danger signals of the disease and its prompt and competent treatment. The health authorities of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia and Idaho have been especially active in disseminating trustworthy information and advice about the prevention and cure of cancer. The New York State Health Department, under the leadership of Commissioner Hermann M. Biggs, is the latest to enlist its forces in the war against cancer. The entire March number of "Health News," the Department's Monthly Bulletin, is devoted to consideration of the nature, prevalence and treatment of malignant disease with the object of creating among the people a healthy vigilance which leads to the taking of expert advice on the first appearance of danger signals." "There is nothing that any one of us can do to prevent the occurrence of cancer except in avoiding certain specified causes of local irritation" says "Health News in an editorial which opens the discussion. "On the other hand, there is incontrovertible testimony as to the probability of its cure in a large percentage of cases if taken in time. That cure consists in the complete surgical removal of the growth at the earliest possible moment. Early diagnosis, early removal — there is not now nor has there ever been any other successful method of curing the disease." The leading article in this special issue of the Health Department's Magazine is by Dr. Francis Carter. Wood, Director of Cancer Research at Columbia University. Additional papers are contributed by other notable figures in the scientific world, including Frederick L. Hoffman, LL.D., Statistician of the Prudential Insurance Companý and Chairman of the Statistical Advisory Board of the American Society for the Control of Cancer, and Dr. Harvey R. Gaylord, Director of the New York State Institute for the Study of Malignant Disease. 46 Writing on "What People Should Know About Cancer," Dr. Wood endeavors to dispel some of the mistaken popular notions which have grown up regarding this disease. He disposes of the stories regarding cancer villages,' cancer houses," or cancer belts," briefly showing that the occurrence of a number of cases in a house usually is due to the fact that the Occupants are old people; that cancer villages usually are small towns from which most of the young people have emigrated, and that in like manner "cancer belts" are found to be sections of the country where the population is distinctly aged. The idea that cancer is hereditary is likewise made light of by Dr. Wood, and he declares that there is no reason whatever to worry because one member of a family has suffered from the disease. "It does not at all follow that any other member of a family will have it," says Dr. Wood, and quotes from the laws governing statistics to show that if there are two or more cases in a family it is due purely to chance. The quackery which is practiced by unscrupulous people in the treatment of cancer is severely censured both by Dr. Biggs and by Dr. Wood. It is made perfectly plain that cancer is comparatively easy to cure if it can be taken in time. The Bulletin declares that if the simple truth is thoroughly established that cancer begins in comparatively innocent form and in most instances in a recognizable form, it can be successfully combated. Dr. Hoffman in his paper emphasizes the supreme importance of the earliest possible diagnosis and the incalculable value of the earliest possible medical and surgical treatment." Dr. Wood puts stress on the declaration that if the disease can be diagnosed in its early stage, the cancer can be removed with very great possibilities as to permanent cure. "The Commissioner of Health takes this opportunity," says Dr. Biggs," to warn the people of the state against the expenditure of money - often ill-afforded - the raising of false hopes, and, above all, the waste of precious time through the use of alleged cancer cures and consultation with their unscrupulous purveyors." In anticipation of a popular demand for information regarding cancer, a large edition of the "Health News for March has been printed. Any one who desires the full information as contained in the magazine may secure a copy of the publication, free of charge, by addressing the State Department of Health at Albany, N. Y. PEDIATRIC NEVERS Never give a child a dose of medicine without a clear and definite indication. Never forget that the most reliable antipyretic measure for infants is the use of cold. Never employ quinine for the reduction of temperature in children, except in cases of malaria. Never fail to first clear the mouth and pharynx of mucus in all cases of asphyxia. Never forget that nothing so well indicates that a child is thriving as an increase in weight. Never forget that woman's milk is the ideal infant food. Never be satisfied with a feeble cry in a newly-born child; if it does not cry naturally and loudly during the first few days of its existence, spank it. Never fail to insist that the mother train the child to regular nursing habits. Never experiment too long with unsatisfactory mother's milk; if it cannot be made to agree with the child in two or three weeks, get a wet nurse or start artificial feeding. Never make a diagnosis of poliomyelitis or rheumatism or malignant disease in a child until you have ruled out infantile scurvy. Never fail to operate on a case of tongue-tie, unless the child is a bleeder. Never fail to impress on the parents of a choreic that the general manage ment of the case is as important as the administration of drugs. Never hesitate to say that whooping cough is one of the most contagious .and dangerous diseases known. Never forget that severe and fatal nephritis may follow a mild case of scarlet fever. Never make a child with measles swelter under thick covering; light covering should be used during the entire febrile period. Never neglect to give a daily warm bath to a child as soon as the rash of measles has subsided; follow by inunctions, to facilitate desquamation and prevent the dissemination of the fine scales. Never constrict the child's limb in any way after it has been vaccinated. Never neglect to examine a child for diabetes if polyuria is present. Never confuse empyema with unresolved pneumonia, pleuro-pneumonia, or tuberculosis. Never make light of an attack of bronchitis in an infant; every such attack should be regarded as a possible precursor of pneumonia. |