The Ogden standard. [volume], December 27, 1913, 4 o'clock p.m. City Edition, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 16

About The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920

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H THE STANDARD MAGAZINE SEC TION- -OGDEN, U J 'AH, DECEMBER 27, 1913.
I Every third person in the United
States who dies between the ages of
IS and 45 years, dies of tuberculosis.
There are 1.000.000 persons in the
United States today suffering from
that disease. Every year 200 000
persons in tills country are Itllled by
the white plague.
Quite an array of statistics. Isn't
It If an Invading army marched
across the United States killing rlht
and left and showing no mercy to
women and children, an awful howl
would ascend to Congress demand
ing more battleships and armies.
Every able-bodied mnn would fly to
arms.
Hut because the tuberculosis germ
is only one-tcn-thousandth of an
Inch long we pass him by with lit
tle attention. That's why the nurse
cf the double red cross gets a Job.
In every large city of the I'm . i
States and In many of the smaller
ones these nurses are lighting for the.
prevention and relief of tubercu
losis. Their work chiefly Is among those
who are unable to pay for the serv
ices of a physician. Many of those
they deal with resent interference.
They don't want to believe they are
In the grip of the tiny monster
Living carelessly as they do, ig
norant of the menace they are to
society, they spread the disease to
others and add to the annual death
toll of the cities.
The nurses of the double red
cross work under the auspices of
the Antl-Tuberculosl.s societies of
the city Jn which they are em
ployed A newspaper reporter in
St. Louis started out on morning
to trail a nurse and see tho work
Fhe did. Here are some of the
things he 3aw.
Early in the morning a telephone
message came Info the headquar
ters of the anti-tuberculosis so
ciety siting:
"There's a man down hero that
hors Ho was careless, ignorant and
Irresponsible He was loo weak to
work and the family lived on the
earnings of the wife who ought to
have been out of doors or In a hos
pital. The city ordinance provides
that persons 111 of tuberculosis can
be sent to the City Hospital whether
(hey want to go or not, but the or
dinance does not provide they can
be kept there
The sick man was sent to the hos
pital, but In five days he was back.
The nurses kept after the family
showing them how to keep clean
and instructing the man of the houso
how to take care of himself so as
not to spread the disease The f.im
11 did not like the Interference, so
they moved. The nurses followed
them, trailing them from place to
place. Everywhere they went the
nurses would Insist on cleanliness.
They forced the family to obey tho
sanitary laws for the protection of
others. The family moved eighteen
times in ninety days trying to evade
the nurses, but the nurses of the
double red cross would not give up.
Several times the family were lost
for a few days, hut they were al
ways found again living In Ignorance
and carelessness. Eighteen times
the nurses fumigated their homes
and finally the head of the house
pave up.
"I'll go to a hospital," he said
He was sent to Koch Hospital,
where he would not be a menace to
others. His wife was sent to the
State Hospital for Incipient Con
sumptives, where the disease was
arrested. The baby was sent to the
Children s Hospital, where he was
given a chance to live.
All day long the reporter fol
lowed tho nurse and the further he
went the more Impressed ho be
came with the Idea she was earn
ing all she got and more, too The
nurse visited many regular patients.
Most of them were glad to see her
and accept her advice. She taught
how to be cleanly and prevent the
spread of disease to others She
taught that it is only the careless
consumptive that Is a menace to
looks as though he had tubercu
losls. He takes no care of himself
Mb and takes no care to keep the dls-
9H case from spreading to others."
A nurse was detailed to go to the
address given and try to And the
jH man. Tre reporter followed. To
jH reach the home she had to pass
jjH through a long dark hallway in a
jjHl tenement house In order to get to
HH the rear of the building where tho
man lived. The nurse s entrance to
jH the house was blocked by the man's
l wife. She wanted no one intcrfer-
Hj Ing with her affairs.
SPREADING DISEASE
TO THE NEIGHBORS.
The nurse had to get a policeman
Hi to force an entrance. She found tho
man suffering severely from tuber
culosts. He refused aid, but the
nure realized the man had given
tbe disease to his wife apd child
and was spreading it t the nclgn-
others- The one who takes proper
care of himself does not do any
harm.
She taught how to sleep at night
with windows wide open and showed
how to fix window tents so they
could sleep with their heads out of
the windows. Where It was pos
sible she had them buy screen wire
and build a sleeping porch. Sho
showed them how to propure food
so as to build up their bodies and
(throw oft the disease and told them
what food to eat.
There are many throughout tho
city who aro constantly giving tips
to the Society for tho Prevention
and Relief of Tuberculosis, telling
them when they find consumptives
who are violating tho laws of
health and spreading the disease.
The nurses quickly go to prevent
further increase of tho disease
germs.
These tips often are Indefinite.
sy u k&i:
Deaths Per 100,000
i From Tuberculosis
St. Louis 132.0
Chicago 157 8
London 1592
Boston ..'..'.'.'.'...101.0
New York 177.1
Philadelphia 1 1 1 .7
The tipster can tell only the local
ity where the victim was seen and
. the nurse goes to the spot and from
there makes inquiries Sometimes
the consumptive escapes and con
tinues to spread the disease germs.
FINDS GIRL MISINFORMED
BY HER PHYSICIAN.
On one of these trips a nurso
found a girl that Boemod to be In
the second stage of the disease.
"When questioned by the nurse she
learned the doctor had said the case
was bronchitis.
' o and aak the doctor if you
have tuberculosis." directed the
nurso. The girl did as instructed
and tho doctor admitted sho had the
'li. . isc. Ho said he had not told
her because he did not wish to
frighten her
After tho girl ga o the doctor a
scoldln? for his treatment of her
she applied to the society for aid.
Aid was given at once and tho dis
ease arrested.
A tuberculosis patient In a levee
restaurant was reported. The nurses
visited it and found tho placo in a
most unsanitary condition, the pa
tient was a cook and proprietor, and
at the time of thu first visit was
cutting sandwiches with unclean
hands and rolling them to his
boarders. Whites and negroes wore
habitues of this place, twenty-four
of them sleeping In the samo room
with tho proprietor. The man was
ejen mined and the report was posi
tive. The patient became angry
and stated ho did not have tubur-
culosls and that ho would he ex
amined by his own physician This
was done, the patient giving tho
wroiiK speolmen and tho report
therefore was negative. The patient
was se-nt to the city clinic, two ex-
nminations were made and the
Bpeclmens were positive The man
v.; - compelled to cease operating
his restaurant on account of its un
sanitary condition and because of
his being a menace to others.
Another striking Instance is that
of tho tamale vendor. Several
cases of tuberculosis have been lo
cated In the homes of these venders,
one a man halng his plant in a
small room, used tho shucks in
which tho tamules are encased for
a bed for his dog A dirty wash
basin was used as a mixing pan
in I In various other ways the man
ufacturing establishment was be
yond question Hie most unsanitary
Imaginable. He had an IhCscted
. finger and, his wife cancer When
able to sell his wares he claimed
he had a lucrative business. With
tho co-operation of the Health De
partment and the Food Inspector
Oils man has stopped making ta
males. MICH MONEY NEEDED
TO CARRY ON WORK.
Tuberculosis work needs more
money than any other charltablo
undertaking. To separate the pa
tient from the family more room Is
needed, a bed and bedding Is neces
sary; the rent Is Increased and as
they already aro paying all they
can afford It Is Impossible. many
limes, to carry on the work of pre
vention successfully. The tuborcu
losis patients cannot eat tho ordl-
ITPPER left: Group of anti-
tuberculosis nurses.
Upper right : Two views of a
nurse hunting for victims of
the white plague to stop the
spreading contagion to
others. Center: A basement
home with only one win
dow, tuberculosis thrives
here. Below: Two views of
a nurse directing the re
moval of a patient from a
tenement house to the hos
pital. nary food given the poor by char
it.il.l nrgani.atlons anil then. tOO
when the patient is first reported
it needs nutritive food quickly.
Without a relief fund this food Is
often impossible to obtain.
The Soclefty for the Relief and
Prevention of Tuberculosis Is sup
ported by oluntary contributions
entirelv. Money is given by people
of moans, and there Is an Incomo
from the sa!o of Christmas st.nips
and from the collection of old pa
pers and magazines.
Tho means for fighting tho dis
ease Is wholly inadequate In cery
city. Some cities have advanced
further than others. Tho annual
damage In the Unlled Stutos from
the disease is half a billion dollars
a year in loss of life and labor due
to the attack of the White Plague.
When a man is stricken with lep
rosy he Is taken away from society
and isolated in a cabin. Doctors
say tuberculosis Is more Infectious
than leprosy, but we pay little at
tention to isolating for tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis however, Is entirely
a preventable disease. It Is never
inherited It is acquired. In 1882
Dr. Robert Koch In Berlin discov
ered the germ that causes tho dis
ease. It is a vegetable growth red
shaped and only 1,100 000 of an
Inch In thickness Growing In the
body It destroys the tissues and
produces poisons.
The commonest form la tubercu
losis of the lunKs, called consump
tion It lodges In the digestive or
gans and In the bones also. The
germs aro present in the air almost
all the time because of the careless
ness of those who have the dlsoaso
It thrives In dark corners where
Ignorant men expectorate. When
It dries the germs float through the
air and are inhaled, reaching the
lungs where they f.nd lodgment. j
To a person In vigorous health
there Is no harm done from Inhal
ing the germs. But to the persons
whose sstcm is run down by over
work, poor food, lack of sleep or
other disease, t.ho little germs often
mean death.
WEAKENED BODY UNABLE
TO THROW OFF DISEASE.
The weakened system is unable U
to throw off the disease and It grows 7
rapidly destroying the tissue.
T nder proper care tuberculosis
can be cured In the early stages.
The condition"? which caused the
disease must be removed. :
Experts In the treatment of tu
berculosis ha e prepared the fol
lowing statement' P
' Transient unskilled laborers are :J
great disseminators of tuberculosis.
' Cheap lodging houses are hot
beds of tuberculosis and should be
kept under strict inspection.
"One tuberculosis dispensary in a j
large city Is not sufficient.
" Vll factories should receive care
ful inspection, liht. air-space and
1 entllation regulations should bo es
tablished and enforced. h
"All thoso employed In cooking
and serii ing food in public places
should receive medical inspection. .
"Excessive use of alcohol and to- J
bacco are important predisposing f
agents. ,
"Home life Is antagonistic in I,
some degree to the dissoninatlon of "
tuberculosis. -
"The great practical importance 1
of educational measures Is evl- v
denced by the overwhelming fact
that over half of our cases had '
never recehed medical attention nor
navies ueioro applying to mo clinic. 0
"We have found none of the new- L
er methods of diagnosis as reliable
as the old.
"Tuberculin skin tests in children
aro valuable aids in diagnosis.
"The ultimate cure of tuborcu- '
losls Is economic.
"Rational preventive therapy
must bo based upon educutional and r
economic lines. We must treat thoso
who have not contracted the dis
ease. "Hospitals for advanced cases vl
should be of large capacity and as
attractive as possible.
'There should be more free san
atoria subsidized by the State. Each ,
Satle should have at least three or
four such institutions. ,
"The isitlng nurse Is indlspen- ,
sable In tho treatment of city cases.
Philanthropic organisations are also
necessary under present conditions. i!
"Though it is of utmost impor- f
tance that advanced cases should be
Isolated in hospitals, it is not proper
to force them into Institutions ,
through premeditated neglect r.
"When patients are sent away '
from homo without the assurance
of further assistance, tho results
are usually disastrous.
"The class in tuberculosis Is an
ingenious and valuable Idea, which
is giving practical results. LB
Tuberculin therapy is a valuable rj!
adjunct in tho treatment of tuber
culosis both Ik city and sanatorium
prai tice, because not infrequently
truly remarkable results are noted.
"Medical treatment Is necessary ?ss
In dispensary practice. Pronounced V j 5?
cases require symptomatic treat
ment. Most patient cannot be con- ,
trolled without some form of medi
cation, ffy
rn
Milt
Deau of American Poets. w
John Townsend Trowbridge, tho j1!
famous poet and author, celebrated peh
his eighty-sixth birth anniversary tit
September 18, at his beautiful home Hh
in Boston Many friends called Bef
during the day and he received
many letters and telegrams of con- !w
gratulatlon To a reporter he de- o
clared he felt as young as he did hv
twenty years ago and gavo an In- 'Un
tervlew favoring votes for the worn- 'rne
en who want them, but denouncing I in
the methods of the militant suffra- k 1
geltes in England. If(
Mr Trowbridge is the dean of kft
living American authors, numbering
among his early associates such lit- n3
erary stars as Cmerson. Jewell, 'ty ,
Longl-iiow. YVhlttler. Holmes. Whit- 'lit,
man and Artemus Ward. Ho is 1 Grj
best known as a writer of hoys' sto-
rles, but his poems and novels rank T)jt
high. His poem about Darius Green N ,
has been frequently quote 1 since irt
d.lng machines became a reality. tl
He has written only two books 'in hry ,
recent years. fctj