Evening Star Newspaper, December 12, 1926, Page 91

ILLUSTRATED FEATURES Part 5—8 Pages Washington Health In BY GEORGE H. DACY. ROM cradle to grave the trict Health Department, un der the efficlent supervision of Dr. W. C. Fowler, looks after the living conditions, sanitary oundings, wholesome food, free- Som from contagious and infectious diseases and general physical perfec: | tion of the half million inhabitants of | ‘Washington ! Without exception the Health De. | rtment is the busiest branch of the | fstrict government. The daily de mands for its service are legion A multiplicity of calls for assistance and | advice congets its routine activities| and emergency services. It is the “big doctor of Uncle Sam land which also, on occasion, has to play the part of investigator, policeman, prosecutor, teacher. lecturer, judge. dog catcher, scientist—and what not. | $iiia = tals ashitnciiwith € bumar | interest and anecdote, a story over- flowing with the romance and adven- ture of human life, a recital of | solence’s most earnest efforts to make | our tlonal rital a better place in | which to live Most of us probably visualize the Health Department as a policing au- thority, armed with a mighty night etick which it plies assiduousiy. And most of us are signally wrong in any | such judgment. Visit, if you will. the juvenile clinies: observe the invalu- able medical and dental inspection in our public schools: gain familarity with the Health Department's enforce- ment of female and child labor laws: study as complete and detajled vital statistics as are collected annually:in any city in this country; note how free our Federal city is of plagues, pests and dangerous parasites, and vou will form a new and most com- plimentary estimate of the District's guardianship of vour health. Our milk supply is the best in the United States. Rigid and frequent in- spections by honest officials protect all the foods which we eat, as well as the restaurants, lunchrooms, clubs and cafeterlas in which we consume such substantials and delicacies from pollution, putrefaction and disease contamination. Any outbreak of com municable disease is snuffed out be- fore It can mature. Washington's everv-day health record is improving and our mortality is decreasing, indic ative of the healthful. sanitary and wholesome environments in which we lve. * = UR Capital City is fortunately free from the ills and evils which accompany commercial manufactur- ing. The dust. grime and smoke of industrialism do not streak and stain our immaculate buildings with soot marks as badly as in other American cities. The air which we hreathe as we stride along Washington's streets or avenues remarkably free from Impurities. The hazards of the steel mill, the risks of rallroad shops, .the dangers of working with high-powered machinery do not in- crease Washington’s mortality rec- ords. In the main, our population is better educated, better nourished, better garbed and better cared for along health lines than the in- habitants of the average American city of comparable size. Briefly, our Health Department has superior malleable metal with which to wor The guidance of Washington’ health along the straight and narrow trall of personal contentment and well being begins when a little stranger first sees light of day. The same day that the stork arrives the Health Department records in its vol- uminous registers the newest addi- tion to Washington's population. The names of the parents and their occupations, with the name, sex and birthday of the child are written into District records. This is the begin- ning of the Health Department’s sur. veillance of the development of Washington’s newest infant. A few weeks after the child is born, its mother may wish to have the youngster examined bv an ex- perienced physician. She may desire to make regular visits to this doctor in order to see that the recent ar- rival grows and develops as he should. Rich and poor, senatorial mothers or charwomen, with their are welcomed at the nine -hyglene stations, welfare head- quarters, which the District govern- ment maintains in centralized sec- tions of the city. Regular medical inspection—weighing, measuring and the physical examination of the chil- dren—is free to all who desire to avail themselves of such service. The doctors and nurses advise the young mothers how to feed, dress and care for their young. You would be amazed to see the waliting lines which overfiow the lounging rooms and corridors at these District wel- fare stations i Mothers who register at the child hygiens stations bring their babies back at stated intervals. Detailed records are kept of the progress of each infant. A doctor, registered nurse and competent maid are sta- tioned at each center. The doctor is present for consultation and exami- nations 3 to 4 hours each week, while the nurse is on hand half-time daily, six days a week. The nurse is capable of answering the majority of the sim- ple_inquiries which young mothers make—ecientific replies which mean &0 much to the health of the child The child hyglene stations look after the health of District children up to 6 vears of age. Approximately 23,000 visits were made to these juve nile welfare centers during the last 12 monthe. while the District nurses. in addition, made some 15,000 calls at the homes of voungsters who could not be brought to the child elinics. Two-thirds of the total regis- tration consists of white children, while the remainder were colored treated at special clinics for that race. is * ok % ISTRICT doctors and dentists now strive to examine all the children that enter the kindergartens and first- grade schools. At present more than 50,000 examinations of school children are made annually to determina their freedom from physical defects and | dizeases. Of 2.614 kindergarten and | first-grade puplls examined lateiy 91.5 per cent were found to he suffering from some physical defect. Many of these defects can be cured, are not corrected they may handicap the vouthful scholasti work. Some mayv suffer from defec tive vision, which prevents them from | seeing their books and the hlackboard inly. Others have bad teeth, die- d" tonsils, adenolds, speech de- fects, impaired hearing and like alil ments. Were it not for the school- room medical examinations many par- ents would not know that their Marys, Mollles, Toms and Poliles were affiot- ed ‘with these physical shortcomings The school doctors notify the parents and recommend that the preventable or ourable defects be treated by ex- perfenced physicians Of the 91.5 per cent of children suf fering from phvsical defects men. tioned two-thirds had bad teeth, 47.6 ser Dis- | {school children annualiy MAGAZINE SECTION he Sundiy St SBUNDAY DECEMBER 12, 1926, WASHINGTON, D, ( MORNING, spectors Ar Guard People of Capital From Cradle to Grave—Examine All the Foods Sold and Banish Adulterated, Impure Products. Washington Milk Supply the Best in Any American City—Child Hygiene Stations and Medical Examinations of School Children Work Health Miracles—Drinking Water of Common Carriers Tested Regularly—Public and Private Bathing Pools Protected Against Disease Germs. Vacdcinatin District Ins Milk Sa § vision, 7 per cent required orthopedic attention, 4.8 pen cent had defective speech, 3.8 per cent pulmonary di ease and 2.6 per cent defective hea ing. The Health Department also pre vents the spread of contagious dis eases in the schools as far as possible Complete medical inspection of all the public schoolrooms, buildings and surroundings are made frequently. Such matters as the lighting of the rooms, use of sunshades, adjustment of desks, chairs and other fixtures to the size of the pupils, ventilation and heating of school buildings, the use and maintenance of sanitary drinking fountains and similar facto are included in these painstaking sur veys. The Health Department makes recommendations for improving un- | satisfactoryl conditions to the Board of Education. When school children reach an age and development where they are large enough to go to work the Health Department again acts as referee and arbiter by examining these juvenile candidates and ascertaining if they are physically qualified to perform the anticipated commercial activities. In the neighborhood of 600 school chil- dren annually are examined, as re- quired by District law, permits being jssued to those that pass the tests to work at certain trades or other forms of profitable employment. Dental examinations of 20,000 Dis- trict puplls brought to light the im portant information that 77.6 per cent needed: technical attention be. cause of defective teeth. The District records, however, show a progressive reduction in the number of school children having euch teeth, and this| improvement, unquestionably, has| been effected by the cumulative in. fluence of the District school dental clinfcs. The dental prophvlatic opera tors treat between 7,000 and £,000 Five thou- sand of these pupils also are treated at the four District dental clinics every 12 months, School teachers aid in the simple tests of the school children’s vision. | The “Enelling test chart” is used for |this purpose Approximately one- | third of the youngsters thus tested | have shown defective vision. This | research {8 being continued in crder | to ascertain what measures and pre- cautions are necessary to protect |fully the evesight of Washington's vounger generation which attends the public schools. As a result of Dr. Fowler's cam- per cent enlarged tonsils, 2.1 per cenit enlarged cervical glands, 212 per cent were suffering from poor nutritlen, 20.1 per cent defective nasal Qeathing, 11.2 p palgn to secure the immunization of as many school children as possible against diphtheria, some 3000 chil againdt diptheria at Childrews Clinic. pector Obtaining mples toxin is administered in cases where the consent of the parents to such treatment is secured. A STUPENDOUS task is the job of inspecting and supervising all the foods which are consumed an- nually in the District of Columbfa. Twenty-three experienced devote all their time to ing restaurants, lunchrooms and other eating places, as well as the stores and dealers who sell foods, to make sure that these establish ments live up to local laws and do not circulate any adulterated, con- taminated or putrefied foodstuffs During the last fiscal year 84,3 plete inspections of the 3,530 lishments which handle food were made. The remarkable infrequency of families or diners out being pois- oned by impure or decomposed foods lllustrates the effectiveness of the Health Department's service. All decomposed or tainted foor which is found by the District sleuths is con fiscated and destroyed. Dealers or restaurateurs who violate the pure- food laws are prosecuted and pun- ished. Professional shoppers, who pur- chase foods from suspicious stores, add the detective-story element to the daily doings of the local Health De- partment. Whenever Dr. Fowler and his aides believa that certain stores are gelling any food products unfit for human consumption, they make casual purchases at these shops. The goods are immediately delivered to the District testing lahor atories. Food chemists make tho: ough fests of the materials. If ii- legality in food barter in any form is discovered, the dealer is ‘called to the carpet” hefore Dr. Fowler's emergency court Each Tuesday and Friday after- noon Dr. Fowler sits in judgment on such cases of violation of the District Health requirements and laws. Transgressors are summoned before visit him at that time and required to “tell | their sides of the story.” If their re- citals show that they acted illegally in their business transactions through sheer ignorance they are informed about the “sting” of the ordinances which they have violated if they re peat the offense. This “court” sieves the cases which require prosecution from those that can be settled amicably hetween the offenders and | representatives of the Health Depart- ment. It is a “court’ cates, primarily, but twhich bellaves in the orthodox punitive meaeures {f education falls to bring about the de- which edu cent defective dren a year are tested anq toxinantl- sired results. tnspectors | Inspection of food fistu by Didtriet Experb. Eight District inspectors reside in the leading milk-production districts which supply Washington with 14,235,000 zal- lons of pure and wholesome milk each vear. No dalry farm, irrespective of location, can market milk in the Dis- trict_unless it has been inspected by the local Health Department repre- | sentatives. This applies as forcibl to milk farms in Pennsylvania, New York or Ohio as to those in Maryland and Virginia. All the herds must be tested for tuberculosis at least once a year. The Washington market is the only cne in the country which now demands that the producers who steam sterilizers on their farms and starilize all equipment after each milk- ing. Eighteen hundred dairy farms, ! which keep 32,000 cows, now provide our National Capital with dairy prod- usts that are retailed by 19 dairies that operate in Lha‘)m.flc;. Alorq supply the milk and cream maintain | |than 1,000 of the milk-producing | farms are in Maryland, while 650 are in Virginia. * oK % ARLY some morning, when you are speeding toward your resi- dence from a dance or party, do not imagine that you have run into an |amateur hold-up if you see some mo- torist stop one of the many Wash- ington dairy trucks or wagons .and demand a sample of the milk or cream. This man speaks with au- 'thorlly behind his request. He is a District inspector. The sample of milk or cream which he obtains is * | tually delivered to the District milk |laboratory, and there tested for but- | terfat content, added water and pur- {ity. Last year more than 10,000 sam- ples of milk and 370 of cream wore collecied and tested in this manner. | placed in a sterile container, even. | Testing Mille in District Laboratory | The 1local dairy inspectors can he | seen on the streets from 2 o'clock in | the morning until daylight and later | | rounding up samples of milk as they about to be dellvered to the imers, Rigid and thorough Inspections of | all the Washington dairies are also i made to check up on the sanitary management practiced and the health |and physical condition of the em | ployes. Ordinarily, the plant of each | dairy distributor in the District is in- spected _approximately 40 times a vear. This means a visit from the | District_inspector once every nine | days. The purity of our milk supply in no small measure obtains from the rigorous and continuous surveillance of dairy farms, dairies and deliveries. Another of the extraordinary duties of the District Health Department is | the supervision of the Washington ab- | batoirs. You will doubtless be sur- prised to learn that in the neighbor. hood of 6,200 cattle, 4,500 sheep, 3,100 calves and 26,000 swine are slaugh tered and prepared for wholesale and | retall distribution in the District. Lo- | cal laws require that this large vol- ume of meats and meat products be prepared for human consumption in sanitary ways. The 193 employes of the Health | Department are’ kept on the go con- stantly attending to this and that and a multitude of other duties, which invariably appear to be expanding instead of contracting. The abate- | ment of the smoke nuisance in Wash- igton is one of the tasks which re- quire considerable attention during | the Winter. Smoke inspectors make ) between 10,000 and 10,500 observa- tions every vear. As many as 800 or more violations of the District's smoke laws are located and remedied or prosecuted every 12 months. Our Na- tional Capital policed admirably against those dense clouds of black smoke which obscure skyline and the Heavens in such industrial citfes as Pittsburgh and Chicago. Twelve thousand women employed by 1,944 business concerns in the Dis. trict’ come under the jurisdiction of | the eight-hour female labor law, which | is enforced by the Health Department. This self-same agency is intrusted with the administration of the child labor laws in the City of Chief Execu- tives. Regular tests are made of the purity of Washington's drinking | water supply. Furthermore, frequent { chemical tests are made of all the | drinking water used by the common { carrfers, both water and rail, which enter the city. These analyses are reported to the surgeon general’s office of the United States Public Health Service. The average year ap- proximately 1,200 samples of water from private wells are also tested for purity by District chemists. The water in natatoriums and bath- ing pools is frequently a carrfer of infection and disease. In order te .endar the District chemical cA B Shilhets e st exposusg 61 tike i the diealth De- ' partment collects samples frequently from the 21 public and private bath- ing pools in the District and subjects them to chemical and bacteriological tests. If any evidence of contamina- tion is found water purification meas ures are instituted immediately. Dangerous, rabid and biting dogs are controlled as effectively as may be in Washington by the District poundmaster, who functions under the auspices of Dr. Fowler's far- reaching service. From 5,000 to 6,000 stray and vagrant animals are picked up annually in Washington streets and alleys and removed to the canine gaol. The existent District law re- quires that dogs be muzzled during the three or four Summer months, { when cases of rabies ordinarily are most numerous. Dr. Fowler main- tains that all the dogs in the District at such times should be muzzled or handled on leashes whenever they ap- pear on local streets. He contends that biting dogs are a source of dan- ger throughout the vear and that al! of these domesticated animals that appear in public should wear strong. durable muzzles. b HE Health Department also has charge of the issuance of permits for the operation of day nurSeries and boarding homes for children. Before official sanction is granted for any such establishments to operate care- | ful inspection is made of the premises and the experfence of the owner in caring for children is investigated. Only such institutions as satisfy all the District regulations are privileged to engage in this important vocation The Fowler force examines all public and private hospitals for man or ani- mals in the District and authorizes only such establishments as abide in all respects by local laws and regula- tions, During the last rotation of the cal labora- tory examined and tested 10,722 sam- ples, as follows: Drugs, 29: foods, 10,389; water, 132, and alr, 130, Twenty-nine ' speclal examinations were made for the Police Department and 13 for the District coroner. The bacteriological laboratory examined 17,616 spcimens of all kinds during the same perfod. The District representatives super- | Intended the disinfection of 1,940 prem- | Ises where cases of contagious dis- eases had occurred. In addition, large numbers of mattresses, pillows, bed clothing and books, which were brought from former sick rooms to the fumlssuon station, were also disin- fected. Twelve hundred or more applicants for teaching positions in District schools are given physical examina- tions to determine their fitness for such educational activities during the period from one Labor day to the next. A new District regulation makes it obligatory that all mattresses which are renovated in Washington be disin- fected slmulu.neoua“ by processeg 1 City’s Modern Crusaders approved by Dr. Fowler. A mattress | which has been used in a hospital, | sanitarium or by some private indi- | vidual suffering” from a contagious | disease cannot be sold legally there |after in the District of Columbl | For several years now, Dr. Fo has been advocating the construction | o a munietpal hospital for contasious | diseases, but as vet this eventuality is merely in the incubation stage. The District has a_special contract with Garfleld and Providence Hos- pitals to take care of such patients under existent circumstances. Ninety beds in isolation quarters are mow avaflable at these hospitals for the treatment of such cases. A special smallpox hospital owned and ‘maintained by the District Gov- ernment provides satisfactory quar- ters for Another commodious building for the quarantine of sus | pected ~contagious or communicable | disease accommodates 50 adults and 8 juvenile cases. A leper isolation hospital s always ready for service {but it has not been used for some | vears as there are no lepers in this | section. Several public dispensaries |are maintained which treat many | thousana patien | The District of Columbia strives to | provide healthful conditions within it | borders o that its residents will live | to ripe old age with the minimum of | dangerous and ordinary diseases and | sickness Each vear it expends | approximately $£351,000 to effect such |results. 1t even goes further in its charitable and official activities which |carry from the cradle to the grave. It |owns a public crematory, which has been used successfully in the disposal of the bodles of paupers and those who dle of communicable diseases. Some few private cremations were made as well as about 450 public cremations. ¢ death which occurs in the of Columbia. has to be reportad to the Health Department. It would !be more difficult to smuggle a dead person from the District without reg! tration than to bring priceless gems into this country from abroad with- out paying the import duty. The mortality records are very com- prehensive. The name, age, date of birth, parentage, residence and the cause of death are recorded in each demise as well as additional data on the duration of the illness and the disposition of the remains, | Yes, thank you, health conditions |are very good and constantly improv- |ing in Washington. Despite the large | colored population, whose death-rate |is three times as great as that of the white race, mortality is on the de- crease in the District. During the last fiscal veas, there occurred only 14 deaths in every 1,000 |of population. Infant mortality dur- ing the first year has amounted to 86.4 per 1,000 reported births. During a recent year, 65 persons who died were 90 vears of age or older, while 54 were between 80 and 89 years of age. The total deaths that year amounted to 6,553. The normal births in the District now aggregates more than 10,000 annually. L gk A Deadly Vapor, JXPLOSIONS on vessels carrying | ™ petroléum frequently occur, and | this is usually caused not by the car- | Boes of oll which they contatn, but by the inflammable vapor which is left | behind after the huge tanks of the ships have been emptied. It is diffi- cult to remove all the oil that adheres | to the sides of the tank, and the evap- oration of the oily film left in them after they have been pumped out takes place with great rapidity. More. over, the vapor thus formed mingles readily with the air and is capable of rendering more than 2,000 times its own volume of the latter inflam- mable. A spark may thus cause a fearful explosion in the hold of a ship that is apparently empty. A film of petroleum spreading over the surface of the water has been known to produce enough of this vola- tile and dangerous vapor to cause a conflagration by which a number of ships lying in a harbor have been suddenly enwrapped in roaring flames as if by a stroke of magic. In some parts of the world, as at Baku, the Russian petroleum port, a film of oil continually covers the water for a considerable distance from shore, and warnings of the danger lurking there have more than once been given, A Wooden Orchestra. 'HERE has been found in Brianza, in Lombardy, a unique orchestra or, more properly speaking, a band, the instruments of which are all made of wood. The pipes are constructed of reeds, and are fastened together side by side after the fashion of those seen in the pictures of the god Pan. Each man plays pipes of a different ’!lzs and length, the bass pipes often | being several feet long. Besides the pipes are other instruments, such as drume, flutes, French horns, and even a rude attempt at a trombone, but all are made of wood. The members of this odd band are all quite ignorant of music in the sense that they have no knowledge of the written score. But they must have a quick and sensitive ear, for harmony at least, since their entire repertoire is learned from hearing. Curjously enough these most primi- tive of musicians often learn their selections from that most modern of inventions, the phonograph. The music produced by this strange band has a curfous weird sort of effect, but is not unattractive. Criminals’ Mentality. HAT is the “mental age” of the typlical criminal? A recent Lon- don investigation of 200 criminals showed that the mental age varied, depending upon the crime com- mitted. The offense which apparently called for the most intelligence was fraud, the average mental age of this class of convicts being 15.2 years. Forgery and burglary experts were the next highest in mental age—14.5 years. The “stealing” criminals aver- aged 14 years, those addicted to crimes of violence the same, and those guilty of rape and sexual offense only 12 years. | Causes of Asthma. F you are an asthma sufferer, keep away from rabbit hair, house dust, duck feathers, horse dander, cat hair and ragweed. An _investigation quoted recently in the Journal of the American Medical Assoclation de- clares that out of all the asthmatic children tested (the total was 100), 49 per cent of them were sensitive to rabbit hair. The Journal adds that this is a matter of practical impor- tance, in view of the extensive use of rabbit hair in pillows and mat- tresses, and of clothes, including felt hats and fur coate, and toy a trimmed with rgbbit hair. ‘