THE STANDARD MAGAZINE SECTION OGDEN, UTAH, JUNE 1914,
I UNCLE SAM S ' KiNDNESSOBMi
; BY WILLIAM RIES.
il e ew remaining Indian in the
Vl United Statees are withering Into
I fes extinction through t ho agency of
':i$m that most deadly scourge, the White-
I V'ij! Plague.
1r . v3i The one dominant and virile inas-
H I : I ters of the Western Hemisphere,
H who roamed at will recognizing
only the boundaries of the seas,
H i-fig now are perishing of tuberculosis
i'J lr' their little cabins and farm
W &j bouses within the confines of gov-
em men t reservations.
;i : 58 Tne tepee, that healthful abode
I tti tneir own making, has given way
- . f.S to the permanent houses prescribed
I af y tne lnvatlers. Tuberculosis and
I th residence of civilization have
jgfga' been to the Indian what powder
; Rnr firearms were to the wild game
' tJle 'ores,!l' an the Indian la
I 3 following In the footsteps of the
I ym buffalo.
fill The torm of llvlnc p suddenly
'. H thrust upon a race who for thou-
O sand of vears knew no infection ir
I H disease and whose roof was the
Yj kin of a deer or a thatch of reeds,
J a8 tieen disastrous to the red man.
I I Infection introduced by the whites
has been responsible for the con
stantly increasing death rate among
1 the Indians.
J This alarmlnsr condition Is re-
I veaJed by Cato Sells. United States
I Commissioner of Indian Affairs, m
his annual report to the Secretary
of the Interior. The report Is ton-
, j lalned In a 300 page volume Which
J treats of the Indian, his progress,
4. thrift, diligence, and his deplorable
s health conditions.
s-' S Tuberculosis for many vears has
I I heen steadily tightening Its bold on
I u nis unfortunate race and has
i . ' rained such headway that at the
'V "I present stage, heroic efforts and an
I f normoU8 expenditure will be neces-
iV a eary to save the decendants of the
-ij aborigines to posterity.
wAS While millions of dollars are ex
Tended annually hv the government
jfifj for the education of the Indian, lit
tie Is done to safeguard his health
or ne,P him In his fight against tu-
HgW berouloela and inevitable extinction.
TO More than $85,000,000 has been
gg spent sine 1S76 for colleges and
Sgjl schools that he might be as well
gnB educated as his white brother. The
KS slight attention given to the men-
Hg nnclng health problem is scored by
R9 Warren K Moorohead, formerly a
Kg member of the United States Board
fjm Indian Commissioners, after an
sm Investigation at the Instance of an
Indian protective society.
E "Education is of little value to
H Indians who are dying of mnsump'
9 Hon," he said. "The health ques-
$9 tlbn la much more vital than the
BhI educational problem, yet It Is ex-
JB tremely difficult to secure adequate
H .appropriations.
el smat.l sri FOR
H MEDICAL STAFF.
WjM "'t was with the greatest diffl-
M culty that members of the board
Ql persuaded the Senate Committee to
Si Iiut the Indian Rill, nn Item of
H 126.000 for the Increase of the
H medical staff working among the
B Indians This amount should have
H hecn $1,000,000. but we were thank-
gj; fill to secure the sum granted."
Hi The alarming extent of this infee-
HJj Uon can not be over estimated;
hardly a family or a home bring
exempt from one or more cases To
quote the Commissioner's startling
report ;
"I find the health conditions
among the Indians are deplorable.
Under the Jurisdiction of this bu
reau there are approximately 25,
000 Indians, suffering from tuber-
ulOSla Available Indian hospital
facilities for all these patients,
adults and children, will not exceed
300 beds.
"During the last fisscal year. 1,
B05 Indians were reported as hav
ing died from tuberculosis. This
Is probably not more than 75 per
cent of the total number of Indians
who have died from this disease
during the present fiscal year, which
means tha't the death rate Is in
creasing one third every year.
"The death rate amonp Indians Is
.12.2 4 per thousand, while the Cen
sus Bureau gives sixteen per thou
sand outside the reservations"
What it is that has brought a
strong anil virule people to this con
dition Is a problem that has puz
zled scientists and medical experts
since the disease became so preva
lent among the red men?
Was It that their constitutions
were unable to withstand the rav
ages of infection brought across the
water by the white man. or was It
the mi. bb -n hange In their mode
of living demanded by civilization?
In the old life the Indians were a
strong and healthful people. The
constant roaming demanded hard
labor and kept their habitations
sanitary. With the Invaders came
the infectious diseases that found
the unprepared constitution of the
Indian so susceptible to their de
structive Inroads.
Now that the ideals of the mod
ern civilization are strictly com
plied with, and the Indian lives In
a cabin or bunk-house, the dread
scourge finds him an easy prey,
it is well known that the frequency
Of tuberculosis cases In the open
country is twice that of the con
gested sections of the city This
laid to the fact that the systems of
city dwellers have been strength
ened in the power to throw off dis
ease germs through constant con
tact and exposure. By the samy
token is the Indian unable to com
bat successfully , a disease that is
Mm
I VERM1N COST UNITED STATES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EACH YEAR
Many popular beliefs on medical
M subjects seem to be based on in-
H Btlnct without any facts to Justify
H them, yet Increasing knowledge in
H new fields frequently Justifies opln-
ions Which have been held for cen
H turles. Kats. mice, files, inos-
H cjultoes and the various forms df
body parasites have always been
held in contempt and disgust, and
always and everywhere have been
regarded as vermin. Growing
j knowledge of the important role
played by those lowerorma of ani-
mal life in the I ran: mission of dla
I ease U ample Justification for this
Hf; feeling.
The attention which has been
failed to parasites and scavengers
ft tVe human race haa resulted In
l'crniUtratlng another reason why
H rnanklna jaa alwajs abhorred them.
They ar an exceedingly expensive
luxur,. The Journal of the Amerl-
Hi . an Medical Association . ..minents
H n a recent article in tho t'arm snd
Vlroji.lc mhtrh rimruai thS
amount of damage done In this
country by rate, and estimates that
there are in the United States at
least 300,000,000 of these animals,
alike destructive to property and
dangerous to health. Kats arc said
to destroy a hundred million dol
lars' worth of grain every year In
this country, or enough to feed oru
hen for every man. woman and
( blld in the nation. The annual
cost of rats to the nation is esti
mated hi $:!fi0,000.00o.
In addition, the rat population of
the country forms fertile' field for
the dissemination of bubonic p u
which only needs a starting point In
any of our neaportg to spread
hroughout the country and cause
the los of thousands of lives.
In the same Usuc of the Farm and
Kireslde. but in a different de
partment, appears an aVticle on the
. rtttlo tick. In which It Is estimated
i hat the difference between the mar
ket value of an animal free from
this parasite and one infected with
It Is about $8 a cow, and that the
i ii tie tick is toda i e-t Ing I b ato li -men
of the country a billion dothus
each decade, or a hundred million
dollars each year. The discovery
and development of bacteriology
showed that man ha.l been carrying
m for centuries an unconscious
struggle with the lower forms" of
vegetable life Recent additions to
our knowledge of the habits and
characteristics of vermin show that
nn equally relentless struggle has
been going on between man and tbo
l"W.er forms of animal life.
Leuiguajce f wiiiinm the Conqueror
Still SMUi n In Cliarim-I Islands.
The Channel Islands where
'hi re Is still in everyday use a patois
almost identical with the Norman
French spoken by William the Con
queror are the home of other
lualnt antiquarian relics.
A local politician whose election
as Jural had been annulled by the
, royal court of the Island on the
ground of h'.s having been sentenced
to a term of Imprisonment some
years ago, knelt bare-headed at the
entrance to the Courthouse and ex
claimed: "Hare! llaro! Haro! a
l'alde, mon prince, on me fait tort."
The effect of this appeal, techni
cally called the '"clamcur de Haro,"
Is to stay proceedings until the peti
tioner's case has been heard.
In modern times the cry has
most frequently been raised to in
terrupt building operations on land
to Which the title is disputed much
to the annoyance of unsuspecting
t rangers who have settled In the
Islands Without being nware of this
curious tradition. Popular etymol
osry explains "Haro" as an abbrevi
ation of "Ha! Rollo," thus making
rho cry a direct appeal to the first
Duke of Normandy.
Mr. Lloyd George, after distribut
ing prizes at a school, said he
hoped the children would have a
pood record when he came again.
Thereupon thev ros, and with one
accord said. "Sanaa to you, sir."
0
;
comparatlvly new to his constitu
tion. Under these circumstances, it
would be supposed that the white
brother would do all in his power
to alleviate the suffering caused by
an infection of his introduction, but
t
on the contrary those connected
with the Indian Service report that
it Is most difficult to obtain aid
f r. .in the authorities. Apparently,
he Impression generally enter
tained, is that we are repaying the
Indian lor the loss of his vast do-
main by education aed mainte
nance. A pathetic appeal to the gradu
ates leaving the Carlisle Indian
.School by a young Indian girl teach
er, entreating them to tako up the
task of saving their race will serve
to show how the condition Js viewed
by the Indians themselves.
"The intelligent and effective con
trol of tuberculosis among our peo
ple is of the greatest importance to
the graduates leaving our school, in
that it has to do with our very ex
istence as mortals No matter whit
our intellectual attainments and ef
ficiency may be. without healthy
bodies we are a dead people.
"Listen! This is a call and it Is
imperative. We are dying. I en
treat you, study medicine and sani
tation and thereby save us, your
people from eternal ruin.
MINDS DO NOT
GRASP SITUATION.
"Are your ears so deaf that these
frantic death groans do not move
you to resolve immediately that
such conditions shall not exist In
the future? Are your minds so
blank that you do not realize and
grasp the situation" The obligation
is thrust upon you by those that
are your own.
"If the Indian race Is to be rid of
this killing Influence, this cancer
that Is forever preying upon our
mortal lives, Indians must become
doctors, doctors with racial sym
pathy for their stricken brothers.
They must, by urgent necessity and
bounden duty, be responsible for
the intelligent control of this dis
ease, this demon of death that has
been devouring our people by the
thousands.
"Now is the accepted time. Re
solve to take up the study that will
deliver your people. We are doomed.
Mir future shall bo In the footsteps
of the Buffalo, If we permit these
fatal shameful conditions to exist.
It Is high time that we take effec
tive steps to stamp out these hor
rible conditions that will obliterate
us and efface us from the earth.
Thirty-five deaths In a thousand
spells eternal doom and oblitera
tion for the Indian."
An examination of all the Indian
children of school age revealed that
90 per cent were Infected with tu
bercular germs. Although this does
not mean active cases, it Indicates
th.- excessive inciden-e of the dis
, much of which ' nder the pres
ent conditions will become active.
What he terms an Illusion as to
the condition of the Indian, created
by magazine articles, was scored by
Commissioner Moorehead after he
had completed his investigation
anions: the Indians. In his report
he said:
"Nothing la further from the truth
than the statement that th Indian
Is better off todav than In the days
0
SgPt - sSfs sV ' v
T OP. left Patagonian
tribe of Indians in
camp. At extreme right
Typical Indian home of the
better class. Next row
Angel De Cora Deitz, in
structor of native art, Car
lisle Indian School; sunset
after the council of war;
Cato Sells, U. S. Commis
sioner of Indian Affairs.
Bottom row Delaware In
dian baby asleep for the
niht; Kiowa mother and
child; a Moki maiden in her
best dress. '
of Lewis and Clark. Individuals
are better off but the Indian nation
is not. I ohserve with great regret
articles published In apparently re
liable magazines which state that
the Indian problem is virtually set
tled. Thousands and thousands of
persons who read such articles nat
urally conclude that the Indians
are as capable and as distinguished
as are certain Individuals cited as
exa rn pies.
'While the authors of these
stories write them with the best in
tentions, yet to those of us who are
in the thick of the flcrht, they may
ome as most unfortunate and In
opportune. Far be It from me to
discourage optimism, i am not by
nature a pessimist, but if we are to
save the American Indian, we must
count on tho entire citizen body of
the United States. When the best
class of people In this country are
informed that the Indians as a
whole are healthful and prosperous
when Just the reverse Is true, much
injury is done the cause for which
so many men and women are un
selfishly striving."
Pome work has been done on the
various reservations that promises
the amelioration In a taeasure of the
frightful conditions that now pre
vail. Lectures have been prepared
and delivered with stereoptlcon
slides and movlncr pictures instruct
ing the Indian how to improve his
living conditions. An appeal has
been sent out to him to take every
precaution against the spread of
any disease he may have. These
lectures have been well attended
and the Interest displayed prcves
that the Indian Is more than will
ing to do his part if cooppratlon Is
offered in the shape of adequate
hospitals and medical attendants.
Many plans have already been
worked out fo- the government to
follow.
Stammering Causrd by Carelessness
of Mother.
An Interesting lecture was given
at the Polyclinic Hospital by Dr.
fj Hudson Makucn. on the reasons
for defective speech and the men
tal progress of the child when It
learns to speak.
"Most cases of stammering." he
said, "are to a reat extent tho
fault of the mother. She talks too
fast and the child tries to Imitate,
but Is unable to do so. because Its
muscles and brain will not work
fast enough. Thus It starts to say
a word and has to wait for the
image to complete Itself In the
brain before it can finish It. While
waiting It makes a repetition of ths
first sound.
"In all cases of defective speech
we find that the real cause Is that
the brain receives no auditory
'mages. Thuc the person does not
know what he says when he makes
sounds with, hie mouth.
.