Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Jan. 12, 1909, edition 1 / Page 5
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'-':-rc 1909. ? - r . " , . Q ..-:'. v -nnTTT TIGHT WHITE PLAGUE (Continued from Page One.)- -t upon the ignorant-cultured, cul- - in letters and manners but ig t:,rent upon this subject. I am in r''y i t believe that in many instan ( "nVhe VtTect upon those In this class , -ive them more Inaccurate and exaggerated Ideas of the dan ir.ore ctlon than those given to "TYer classes. And all this was ' esary accompaniment of such rv?:utKnary propaganda. Just as rv 'eat movement of religious re f has developed multitudes of re SW fanatics, so has this great ed- ,tioral reform developed a host of U;'.hfori obiacs who threaten to en ; ;"er the very purpose for which .V; reform was undertaken. n our frantic efforts to obtain ... remits we have set Into motion Q reat 'all. The force which started f. . rotallv Inadequate to stop it; un- " - i n fl n tn f lt direction tre ran -'" 7." "IVrnT destroy everj-ming in na pain. t- . ni? to me that we must now use effort to so modify the lesson every KTvo taught that a more accurate i.i ,-t inc u " - vf j I'e E'ven. in order that the next great '-i 'ocit'Tiate advance In our fight f';v W successful, the leading back t'y health and good citizenship of the ;,r; -ies. for it Is the early cases "' oil are the most difficult to reach j w hi 'h we most wish to help r.in always reach the advanced '.lr whom we can uniwriuimieij t,," little. The great movement .--,-:- has an Impetus wnicn win ;y,"tu;iny limit the spread of the In- -'n. When we have reached the eiT'r- cases and have shown them the rr1,i vack to health there will be few ..hm.vd cases. It is, the Insane fear t Ii,.rcnlosis which confronts us ,'.!,.. ami which most gTeatly hamp- lr :"s in getting at the early cases the poorer people. one or tv men who first recognized the log V3' lancer of our educational cam ra zn was Dr. Victor Vaughan, who frorn the very beginning has raised j:'i'v.-!ce against the exaggerated fear c t masses. He has said "there i.r.e thin-s worse than tuberculosis, ani tat is the insane fear of the disease." And that Is the very thing I wish to emphasize to-day. Don't think for a moment that this Insane fear 've have developed by our meth ods is limited ot the lower classes, because it is to be found in its most aggravated and cruel forms in the hl-her classes. Have I not seen time and t!rne again people of education anJ culture hold their handker cir,rs to their noses (and probably hvjin their breath besides) when raslni an institution for tuberculo sis? It has been a matter of frequent observation that people would cross over to the other side of the street fcffere reaching the sanitarium and then cross back ajaln to the same side after they had gotten by. I have seen doctors who would not treat a case of consumption. I remember one ho stood off In the middle of the room without coming near- the pa tient and would not sit down In a chair in the sick room. He acted very much as some of us have doubt less acted in the presence of our first smallpox patient. I have known of re.ile who would not live in a house adjoining one occupied by a consump tive. Within the last year I receiv ed a telephone call from a lady in one of our fashionable hotels to go see her little child. A few minutes later, before I could answer the call, the "phone rang again-t-it was the same lady. In the most anxious tone she said: "I have Just learned that you treat consumptives; please don't come I would not. have -you see my baby for anything in the world." The i roprietor of a certain hotel in Ashe vi'.le entered a frantic protest against the establishing of a sanitarium a lull half mile from his hostelry. The directors of a collegiate institution re quested that a sanitarium be not L'ult fully a quarter of a mile from th.Mr nearest building. In full Jus tice to them It should be said, how ever, mat they stated that they made the lequest rot because they them telves believed it would be a menace to the health of their students, but -eeause In the present state of pub lic nrtd on the subject of tuberculo us t'uy were sure that it would Ih ure. tntir prestige. Were such ridiculous Instances as tht-se the only result of the Insane Te-r oi" tubetculosis the subject would hardly be worthy our consideration more than to afford us amusement: But. alas, it has a -much more serious Eide a side not only momentous from an economic standpoint, but sad and cruel In the extreme. It is hard to realize how far-reach-in? is this fear. In the Detroit tele phone exchange a young lady who was chfe' operator In one of the sta tiurs had a cough. The other girls wnt to the manager and threatened t leave In a body if this young wo-n-an. who was one of their most val uable employes, was not discharged. The manager sent her to Dr. Shurley, :-t an examination. Fortunately, she h.id only a pharyngeal polyp, the re nsoval of which instantly stopped all tough. Had she been tuberculous tne T'l'n? woman would have lost her r.'-;ins of a llv-.-'-hood and the busl- "-s and routa.e of a great public utility would have been seriously h.i:njored. I could relate to you nu-ini-rous instances where men have 1 st their positions because they had a cough and took tne precaution to svif-uard their associates by using unitary spit cups. Th.- taking of proper precautions ty tuberculous Individuals is a signal t'-r avoidance by their friends afid as eiatts. All this might be borne for th- common good were it necessary. l't it finds its saddest phase in the isi'lation of the sick by their families a ii.l by those to whom they are bound i-y the dearest ties of life. I'could t- II you of instances where brothers have avoided the presence of a sick sister; yes. of where a mother turned hr tuberculous child over to the car o a trained attendant and onljr fMeared in the sick room at long int. rvals, and then for a moment, phe let that little life slip away day v dny without giving the child a sin-J-i" caress. One day in the sick room I plf kej the poor little withered body in my arms, and as I held her she l"f'ke.l up into my face with her great, t-isr ys, to which her illness had K:en even a greater brightness. In p'et l:ilt 1sps ghe gajjj. ..0n jot- tf r. it has been ages and ages since li'arna has held me in her arms and fjckej me- Unnatural mother she vas. hut made so by an insane and unsriflsh fear of tuberculosis. In the practice of a brother physician even creator cruelty was practiced by a utter to her brother. A less common phase of this -in-ja.n" f"ar of tuberculosis is illustrated a youni? man who came under my some months ago. The poor fel fV .Woild not allow a member of his i-imiiy to touch him: he would not at the same table with the family; y" wuld not touch a door knob with is bare hand all for fear of infect i.iar some one else. Those with sensitive temperaments crea.ijng being ostracized by their irifnds win hide the evidence of their urease, it is sometimes with the rtatest difficulty that the consump tive can fiwi - i . - .. How . x 1 1 unit:. unnecessary all this Is I need ieu the doctor in my audience to-day. We have overreached our selves Indeed.' (Let us use everv effort to bring the people. to understand that tuberculosis is only ..a dangerously transmissible disease when a- few very simple precautions are neglect ed that tubercle bacilli are not sit ting, like little devils, perched upon the persons of the tuberculous ready to spring down the throats of every individual who comes near him; that with every breath! milliards of germs are hot belched firth like destroying fire from the nostrils of a snorting devil; that, the air of a consumptive's room is not an atmosphere of living death. But, rather, let us impress upon them that when the consump tive has taken proper care of his sputum and has exercised the ordi nary decencies of right living, that he is a menace to no man; that when these precautions are taken one might live for years in well ventilated and lighted room with him without risk. At this point, and before conclud ing, I want to "pay-my respects to ani tiseptics and disinfectants and say that the encouragement of their use by the laity has been productive, upon the whole, of much more harm than gocd. The smell of carbolic acid or the fumes of formaldehyde gives a feeling of false security which results in carelessness and Indiscretions. A childlike faith in the germ-killing powers of disinfectants. Is responsible for more indecent habits than . any other thing I know. A teaspoonful of. carbolic acid In a pail of water sprinkled about a room is supposed to remove the dangers of infection with the same facility that marked the miracles of the early Christian Era, a piece of inert paraform. Ma soned with mystic insignia .when burned In a room with cracks, open 'fire 'holes and grates to work with the magic of an Indian Juggler. . In fact. Just as the misinterpretation of negative findings has led me to state that the microscope was one of our greatest barriers to the early diagno sis of tuberculosis. I firmly believe the misuse of disinfectants despite their unquestioned ability has been one of our most productive sources of extension of infection. Let it be known that the tubercle bacillus hates fresh air and sunlight more than the devil hates Holy water. Just as antiseptic surgery has given way to aseptic surgery', so must disinfect ants to a great degree be displaced by cleanliness in our fight against the spread of tuberculosis. Let us preach the gospel of cleanliness and decent habits of life and we will have not only limited the spread of tuber culosis, but will have opened up a new era of better manhood, both physically and morally. Dr. Falson'8 Interesting Address. Following the annual address of President Dunn, of Asheville, on "Over-education of the Public as to Dangers of the Infectiousness of Tu Wmiinoio nr I. w. Faison. of Charlotte,' read a paper on "Tubercu lar . Prophylaxis." In this paper. Dr. Faison pointed rt.t t Vio iinnrprs arlsine" from Inher ited disposition towards tuberculosis. and also the metnoas Dy wnicn tu berculosis is communicable, tracing v.o hicnrv of the individual from birth to maturity, together with the special dangers that tnreaten or are to be guarded against in each stage nvoinnmpnf of the human body. Dr. Faison expressed his belief that tuberculosis was communicable tv.mi.o-V. fVio mprtlnm of COW's milk. nnst o.m that all school children should be examined by the tuberculin test before being admlttea into puo 11c schools. He took a very advanced position on the subpect. but declared rhat he had rather express nis sin cere opinions in the matter and have m-tnA trv acrri0 with hi mthan to re- press his opinion of what he believed to be the truth regarding the dis ease, and have everyDoay agree wun him rr FnWnn held the closest at tention of his audience and his paper was received with applause, ms pa no. woci followed bv a SDirited dls- oiininn in which Dr. Minor, of Ashe ville, participated, and to which Dr. Faison made reply, ur. juinor neiu that a tuberculous person, or even a rTiiiri in school, who was tuberculous, was not- a source of danger so long as the individual took scientific and reasonable precaution against spread ing the disease. DR. LEWIS ADDRESS. The State Sanatorium For Tuberculo sis. : Tnncmnrh n there is to be an- nthep nan(r on this subject by the superintendent of our State Institu tion, who will, no aouoi, irem it in extenso, I propose. In the few min utes that I shall detain you, to devote myself to one phase of such work : by far the most important in my Judgment. The main object in the conduct of all sanatoria for tuberculosis in this country, so far as I know, is the cure of the disease. They are. hos pitals for its treatment by the most approved methods. Incidentally they are educational in effect, but only in cidentally. Now my claim Is that the emphasis Is put on the wrong feature. The sanitarian's work is not the cure of disease, but its prevention, and his calling is known not as the practice of medicine but of preventive medi icine. The relative importance of the two is forcibly expressed in the axiom that, "an ounce of prevention Is worth a 'pound of cure." While a certain proportion of cases of tuber culosis can be cured quite a large proportion. 50 per cent, or even more of incipient cases under the most favorable circumstances it is claimed the ratio of cures to deaths under the conditions as they actually exist Is pitifully small and must ever- re main so. Consequently the object of our association and of all the agencies organized to fight this great foe of mankind is prevention. So the prac tical question, as Jl see it. Is: What is the best method of conducting a sanatorium for tuberculosis to obtain the greatest results? My answer is: As a training school with a view to prevention primarily and to cure sec ondarily, ad not as a hospital with the cure as the main object. Let us consider the question In the concrete, assuming In round numbers accom modations for one hundred patients; for which number we hope the Leg islature now in session will provide in our own institution. The Time Allowed. As generally conducted, the time allowed each patient in the sanato rium is six months, so that two hun dred would be treated in one year. Of this number, if only incipient cases are admitted, 50 per cent., let us say, will be cured, a considerable number benefited, while some will grow worse in spite of everything. The educational results of the sana torium are secured through the in fluence of the patients after their .atn.n linm a a nhlect lpmnn to their families and neighbors. The all im-J portani ming in me. prevenuye jiruu- lem is the care of the suptum, in are the germs found. If this could be confined until destroyed in every case the great white plague would be extinct in a few years. One hun rfrori hn-vlner been cured, beyond -con tinuing the out-of-door life, with reg ularity as to ineir naous ana care as to their diet, would not serve as, ob ject lessons at all. So the net result in foci of r Instruction would be .only one hundred per. annum really less, because a number .of those benefited would -have no expectoration. " : Now let us consider the sanatorium conducted, not as a hospital for the cure"., but aa a school for training the patients in the proper management of. their own -cases, witn a view w curiner themselves at home and pre venting the spread of tuberculosis .to others. , . , . In the fJst place the name of the institution should be changed from sanatorium ' to "The Ctate Training School for Tuberculosis," so as to make definite and postive its object, in order to prevent - any misunder standing. Patients should be admitted for a stay of one month only, but . after trial, this should be found insufficient the school term might be increased A thorough examination and accu rate diagnosis should be made Dy me skilled superintendent and it should be fully recorded in detail, ai should also the dally history for a month. in a book kept for that purpose for future reference. They should . De taught in mass by daily lectures or talks by the superintendent) as is already done by Dr. Brooks, I am glad to say as well as individually, so as to emphasize such points as might be specially needed in each case. They should be persistently drilled in the methods of the best modern treatment of fresh air, sun shine, rest and .the proper diet. They should also be made to understand the necessity of cheerfulness and hope, that courage and a rigid self discipline are all important and that for the most part those recover who sternly resolve to get well. The "students" should be deeply impressed with their responsibility to the other members of their families, in particular, and to the public in general; they should be made to feel .that It would be a crime to transmit the" disease to others by their neglect of the proper precautions. This in struction by word of mouth should be supplemented by a library of suit able .books and reports. Each "student" upon his or her "graduation," so to speak, at the end of the month, should be furnished with a placard on which should be printed the rules for cure' and the rules for prevention, a fever ther mometer, a supply of spit-cups, paper napkins and wax paper. bags to hold the latter at actual cost. A promise to report weekly the history of the preceding week should be exacted, and in this way instruction and ad vice should be continued, as in a cor respondence school. Immediately upon his or her return home the su perintendent should write a letter to the nearest of kin calling attention to those features in the management of the particular case requiring special care, and he should also, of course, answer any inquiries from the family physician. Tho Death Estimate. A low estimate of the number of deaths from tuberculosis in the State annually Is fifteen hundred. The proportion of living cases to deaths is, according to some authorities three and to others four to one, so it is safe to say that there are in North Carolina to-day. In round numbers, 5.000 cases of tuberculosis. By the. usual sanatorium methods only 200, or 4 per cent, of this number could be reached annually, while by the school method 1.200, or 24 per cent. could receive its benefits. By the sanatorium method, on a most liberal estimate, the cures. would amount to 100 a year. As the modern and most successful -treatment of tuberculosis Is not by drugs but by a mode of life, in which the 1,200 would be thor oughly trained in the school, and which mode of. life, with letters of advice from the superintendent and "The Devil' at Royal to-day only. TIEfP LATEST WONDER! xTliE:-: Miniature Grand J ust think, a wee little grand piano only 5 feet long! A wee lit tle grand piano, so small it requires only a little more space than an upright, yet contains all the tonal beauties and the perfect action of the large grand and a wonderful volume. Small enough for the smallest parlor; tone enough for the largest parlor. Costs little more than an upright piano, and within reach of the most economical buyer. CHAS. M. STIEfF Manufacturer of the " Pianos With the Sweet Tone. ' SOUTHERN WAREROOM 5 West Trade Street, 0. H. WILMOTH, Mgr. CHARLOTTE, N. C. ELECTRICITY I Now is the time to have your house wired. See Swinsoii and Springs . 'Phone 978 317 West Trade St. 4 occasional visits from the family -physician, could , be followed - almost as well at home as In the sanatorium, there is no. doubt in, my mind that, while the proportion, might not be so great, ' the total number.- of . cures would be very, much larger, two or three. times, as many certainly. .: e -But this would not ; be the greatest benefit derived from the school method. Every case of consumption In which the proper precautions against .' spread are not . taken is a source of infection to others, espe cially to members of, his own family. The thousand cases that could not be reached by the sanatorium, remain ing at home, mostly in ignorance of. these necessary precautions, would probably transmit the disease to sev eral hundred others, whereas if they were trained in the school this danger would be very greatly reduced, to say the least. Moreover, as they would return to their homes with the disease still present, they would, follow the mode of life and take the precautions taught them in the school and would be real, object lessons to any of their family or neighbors who might be similarly afflicted. Educational Lines. The campaign against tuberculosis must be on educational lines, and I can think of no method likely to prove so effective to those most in terested, the victim of the disease themselves, and the general public in directly. Think what the establish ment of 1,200 foci of instruction in the State every, year would mean. Having demonstrated, to my own satisfaction, at any rate, the great superiority in results of the -school over the usual sanatorium method I might add that another advantage to be derived from the change suggested is, being so far as I am Informed, unique in the annals of the world wide campaign now waging against man's most deadly enemy ,lt would advertise our State to. the world as Physicians Attending Convention. Among those attending the meeting are: Drs. R. H. Lewis, chairman State Board of Health, Raleigh; C. T. Harper, Wilmington; W. L. Dunn, Asheville; Chas. L. Minor, Asheville; Jno. R. Williams, Greensboro; C. A. Julian, Thomasville; J. W. Willcox, Carthage; Dr. C. B. McNairy, Lenoir; Baxter Haynes, Cliff side; H. B. Weaver, Asheville; John M. Camp bell, Morganton; .Isaac M. Taylor, Morganton; J. R. Miller, Rock Hill; J. L. Nicholson, Richland; T. A. Mann, -Durham; J. - E. Smoot, Con cord; Julian Woodcock, Asheville; Paul Paquin, Asheville, and thers. Civil Court Adjourns For the Day. Civil court adjourned for the day immediately upon convening this morning on account of the enforced absence of Col. W. B. Rodman, who was to appear in the only two cases on the docket. Colonel Rodman was called to Richmond this morning on account of the illness of Mrs. Rod man's mother. Court will convene at the usual time to-morrow. 'The Devil" at Royal to-day only. CLEARS THE COMPLEXION OVERNIGHT Pimples, Rash, Eruptions. Etc., vuu--Kiy xuraaicaiea Dy iew SKin Itemed y. Since Its fllspnvArv ono voui a r r poslam, the new . skin iemclj', nasi in its extraordinary accomplish ments, excfifirfpd th mnst an n ciii n expectations of the eminent special ist wno gave it to the world. It has cured thousands of ensoa of pc7iima. and eradicated farlai and othpr dis figurements of years' standing. Th ierriDie ucning attending eczema is stopped with the first, aplication, giving proof of its curative proper ties at the very outset. -i In less serious skin affections, such as pimples, rash, herpes, black heads, acne, barber's itch, etc.j re sults show after an overnight appli cation, only a small quantity being required to effect a cure. A muddy or sallow complexion is noticeably improved by a single application. Those who use poslam for these minor skin troubles can now avail themselves of the special 50-cent package, recentlv adonted to mftpt such needs. Both the 50-cent pack age ana tne regular $2 jar may now De oDiamea m Charlotte at R. H. Jordan & Co's and other lfad in er drug stores. ' Samples for experimental pur poses may be had free of charge by writinsr direct to th Tim Laboratories, 32 West Twenty-fifth street, jxew xork City. OFFICE . FURNITURE Largest Stock In State We make a specialty of Office, Equipments Com plete. We control on this market the best office ap pliances to be had. , Sanitary Office Desks. i Macey Office Appliances. Macey Sectional Bookcases. All Steel Office Appliances. Guaranteed Leather Office Furniture. k Card Index Systems. - Office Carpets and Rugs. Everything that goes in an office. PARHDNMRDN I Qct a Sliirt On Duiriiigl I ' 'This;. Cold Wave - 1 I All Sizes Styles and Colors 1 S8co Each I j We have an excellant line of mens' underwear 0 I M il ler Clothing Co.! 38 EAST TRADE STREET CHARLOTTE, N. 0. X - Cancels Green pharmacy's liquor Li cense. , Because the records of last Satur day showed that Green's Pharmacy had sold on prescription two pints of whiskey to R. Gibson, Mayor T. S. Franklin yesterday afternoon cancel led the whiskey license of this con cern. The latest law on this subject stipulates that one person cannot se cure more than one pint a day on pre scription from one establishment, and in this case the pharmacy clearly violated the law. However, the may A PHYSICIAN'S ADVICE TAKEN while T was nursiner my second child, my breast broke out with an itching humor, wnicn was very an noying and painful when my baby nursed. It also affected my baby's mouth, and my physician advised me to wean my baby, which I did and my breast got well. Juy tnira cnuu was born four years afterwards, and three months after the same trouble returned on my breast. My physician again advised me to wean the child, but I did not want to do this if pos sible to avoid it. Then he suggested that I write . to Mrs. Joe person, which I did, and she advised me to use her Remedy, as she had known it to cure similar eases. I bought one-half dozen bottles of the Remedy. The first bottle brought the trouble to the surface and my breast seemed a great deal worse. Qn the second bottle the eruption commenced to dry up, an dbefore I took the one half dozen bottles my breast , was well, and I am now nursing my baby, 15 months old. I believe as Implicitly in the merits of Mrs. Joe Person's Remedy as I do in my God in heaven, and -I say this not . irreverently or lightly, but revereiftly and gratefully. MRS. T. L. SELLARS. Burlington, N. C, Oct. 17. 1906. i CO or will give the proprietors to prove that possibly two men of the same name had secured prescription on the same day. as has been the case with several other drug stores of the city. Outran Two Policemen. Two members of the police depart ment responded to a hurry call yes terday morning when Mrs. Bob Smith, residing on Palmer street, reported the fact that she had entered the front part of her house to find a ne gro man engaged in taking a finger (L Arrows FVKl i 11 M i 1 II f 2 f lip Everywhere! Follow Their Direction! What Do They Mean? get in the game watch the piercing Yarrows inventory of the contents of her trunk. The man . dashed past Mrs. Smith and made his escape, having made the trip in the direction of the rock quarry, and established a record for sprinting by distancing the two policemen who made the trip. It was reported in the neighborhood that a second house was also entered, but. such is denied by the police. The at tempt was made about 8 o'clock In the morning. So far the negro has not been arrested. Falling r
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 12, 1909, edition 1
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