Proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration of the establishment of the Michigan State Board of Health : held at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1898.

Michigan. State Board of Health

Date:: 1898

Credit: Proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration of the establishment of the Michigan State Board of Health : held at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1898. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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$and notliin}^ so wastcdiil as sickness. Here was faith to remove inonn- tains, and true economy won the day. Ihe leay(m of tliis lo^ic Ite^^an to work amonii; oiir best people, bnt tin* fermentation IxM-ame especially activt* at the meetinj^ of onr State Medical Society in 1S72, wlu*n l)r. Hitchcock in his j)resid(*ntial address recom- mended the ap]iointment of a sjn-cial committ(*e to carefnlly consider and rejioi-t upon th(‘ laws of h\}i:i(Mie in their relations to onr public schools. The snj^j>[(*stion was heartily aj)i»roved, for the W(*lfare of onr schools lies very close to the In-art of onr p('oj)h*. The committee aji- pointed, with l)i\ Hitchcock as chainnan, divided np and assigned the topics as follows: ‘‘Lij;ht in tin* school i-oom,” “The kind of tyj)e for scliool books. “Tin* hyji;i(*ne of tin* (*ye, (*tc., Di‘. Noyes. “Methods of study, firadinjt, r»*war(ls, kinterftart(*n,” (*tc., Di-. McHraw. “School }xov- (*rnment, honrs of study, rec(*ss.’’ (*tc.. Dr. Hitchcock. “Physical condi- tion of school rooms, warmin^^ and V(*ntilation,'’ Dr. K(*d/.i(*. On account of the pr(*ssnre of ]>n)fessional duties, Drs. Nov(*s and McOraw could not find tinn* to pi*(*par(* pajters, bnt Dr. Hitchcock jire- par(*d a valnabk* i»ap(*i' on his topic, and tin* pa|i(*r on. tin* warmiii}' and v(*ntilation of school rooms pr(*sentcd tin* I'csnlts of analysis of air, and Ihe distribution of t(*mj)(*iatnr(* in a larjje nnndter of school rooms dni-in^f school honi-s. Roth j)ap»*i'S w(*re i‘(*ad at a sid)S(*(]nent me(*tinjt of the Society, when tin* n(*wspaj)(*rs took np tln*se snbjects and ventilat(*d them thoroiifilily, and thus did much to ci(*at(* a d(*mand for sanitary irform. Tin* Soci(*ly ai»i)oint(*d a committee* to wait upon the ont-j^oinp: nnd the in-cominji (lovernoi-s to ni';;e the impoi-tance* of sanitary leftislation by creatiiif; a State Roai'd of ll(*alth. (lov. Raldwin f>av(* tin* committ(*e a cordial rec<‘])tion. ^^'hen the subj<*ct was laid befoi-e* (!ov. Ha<tley his bi«i ln*art beat r(*sponsiv(* to tin* call. Tln*s(* infln(*nc(*s and a score more j»av(*<l tin* way for tin* State* Reeaiel e»f He*alth. I’erhajes 1 elwe*ll te>e) leenj; een this snbje*e-t and have’wielely wande*re*d inte) dise-nrsive tie*lels, bnt the* best ‘‘sanitary weerk eleene twe*nty-five* ye*ars ajte) was in establishiii}; the State Roai’el e>f He*allh. and feer this work the* State* Meelical Seeciety is entitled to a me*asnre e>f e*redit. > Need of Knowledge. l’>efe)re sj)(*akinc' of sanitary woi-k done twenty-tive years aj;o, let me* e-all ye)ur atte*ntie)n to the* e-eenelitieens e-allin^- for sne-h work at that time. It was before the weerld had availe*d itself of the* labe)i-s e>f l*aste*nr, Liste*r atnl Ke)ch; whe*n the* terms tnbe*re-le* bae-illns, antiteexine*. asepsis and antisei»tic were nnkneewn, eer witheent nn*aninf>-. “The <^reat white])lajtne* was tin* creature of heredity and nonrisheel by environment; in ])e)])nlar the)u<rht “the visitatiem eif (leeel. The*n typheeid and cheelera were in tlm air and flew with the wind—inhale*d, not in{xeste*d; if yem would only e-lasp your neise and hold yemr breath in the* ])resence of tin* pestilence*, you wemlel be safe nei matter what yem swalloweel. The infectious ])rin- e-ijde e-onlel be e-ombatte-el by bnrninf; a fe-w <ii-ains eif reilTee en- a linen rajt, the* ])re)phylae-tie* jiower eif a stronjj snn*ll was ])ei])nlarly recognize*d. Not thirty ye*ai‘s ajto in an inte*rior city a doctor calmly went from small- ])e)X ])atients tei visit either jiatients, without ablution or change of cloth- inji:, and in re*ply to expostulation said, “there is no danejer of my {tivinj; the* small-iieix be*e-anse I always e-arry a lumj) of e-amjihor in my vest$