HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21802, 6 June 1936, Page 22

HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY

ADDRESSES TO SUNLIGHT LEAGUE ORGANISATION OP MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE State organisation of medical’knowledge, an improvement in the educational system, and a wider understanding of the social system were stated as being essential before there could be a thoroughly: healthy ■ community, by Dr. C. E. Beeby, educational officer-for the New Zealand Council for Educational‘Research, irt an address to the annual meeting last night of the Canterbury branch of the Sunlight League of New Zealand.

Dr. Beeby said it was amazing that the league should have to exist to g«t into the niinds of people a few simple rules of health that had been known for a generation or so, or at least for a few decades, . Those particular rules of health had been given over and over again. People could be told about their failure to put their rules in operation, but they did nothing about it. It haid been said that if a cure could be found for cancer that required a person to. give himself two injections a day, it would probably be found that there would still be a very great number of deaths from this disease.

It might be asked why, when people knew these rules and had enough knowledge to extend the expectation of human, life, they did not apply the rules; He thought the explanation could be attributed to the growing complexity of life combined with the continuing simplicity of the human mind. The main fault, as he saw it, was in the limitations of the human mind. It was very largely a lack of imagination. There was a certain unreality about what the medical profession, and other professions told the world that the individual mind did not grasp. * Co-ordination of Work “To prevent disease is not an individual thing,” said Dr. Beeby. “To do that you must have a co-ordination of different social activities. Health is now a matter for the State.” Dr. Beeby went on to say that there were two school medical officers for the Wellington district and the Marlborough Sounds district, but in Wellington there were about 30 doctors ready to cure disease after it had occurred. It was essential, he said, to have some degree of socialisation of medical functions, some organisation by the State of this medical knowledge. It was too big a thing to be left to the work of individual competitive industries. Medical research in most cases could not be left to be done by individuals. “We want more medical research, but also more research into other things. The time may come when we will think as reasonably in terms of human affairs as we do in terms of the machine. Until you have that understanding of the social system you are going to have difficulty in getting health. Again, you may not be able to get your health until you have an educational system. A health talk given in < a school that is little better * than a dusty barn, cannot mean very much.” Views of Archbishop Julius The view that the natural advantages of New Zealand could be used to more abundant advantage in assuring the health of its people, was expressed by Archbishop Julius, who presided .over the meeting. He said that to-day young meh of the Dominion did not exercise themselves because, he thought, they had never learnt how to do sd. Wasters and loafers were not wanted in this country, but to eliminate them it was desirable that the fullest use should be made of the advantages of the country. Archbishop Julius said that when he arrived in this country he had found a very remarkable attention to the health of the children. There had been inspectors to give advice and examine the children in the schools. That system, however, broke down with the Great War. To some extent it had been resumed after the war, but he believed he was right in saying that .the visits of these inspectors to the schools had not been fully resumed. Such visits were a distinct necessity, and he hoped the time would come when that very effective system was reintroduced to the schools of this country. More space was wanted for the children, for some of the playing fields were miserably poor, even in the country districts, where one might imagine there would be plenty of room. The young men of this country did not exercise themselves enough. Military drill was of some use in achieving a desirable state, but in spite of that New Zealand people were lacking in grace of movement. What people called drill to-day tended to a spasmodic energetic movement that was far from graceful. To teach the children something of graceful movement would cost money, but it could be asked whether there was any better scope for the spending of money than on children.

ANNUAL MEETING OF SUNLIGHT LEAGUE

ELECTION OF OFFICERS Nearly 200 members were present at the annual meeting last night of the Canterbury branch of the Sunlight League of New Zealand, which was held in the Jellicoe Hall. Archbishop Julius presided. The following officers were elected: Organising secretary, Miss Cora Wilding; honorary assistant secretary,’Miss J. Musker; auditor, Mr C. G. McKellar; treasurer of league and secretary of health camp sub-committee, Captain Roderick Anderson; honorary solicitor, Mr T. D. Harman: honorary architect, Mr Heathcote Helmore; health camp sub-committee, Mesdames John Montgomery, H. Acton-Adams, T. Cracroft Wilson, R. J. McLaren, Hobson, Mona Tracy,, Misses M. Enright. Grace Wilson, L. M. Trumble, and J. Musker, Dr. E. Baker-McLaglen, Drs. I. C. Macintyre, H. E.' W. Roberton, and H. Turner Jennings, and Messrs A. J. McEldowney, W. S. Baverstock, F. Davis, R. Browning and A. Perry; dental and diet sub-committee, Mrs O. Greenwood, Misses Mary McLean and Helen Buchanan, Drs. J. P. McQuilkin, T. Fletcher Telford, J. Rothwell, and E. V. Reilly, and Messrs G. F. Allen and A. Leslie; smoke abatement sub-committee, Mrs R. J. McLaren, Miss J. Nicholls, Drs. L. Crooke and D. E. Currie, Professor S. Steele, and Messrs A. J. Scott and C. J. Banwell; publicity sub-committee, Drs. Francis Bennett and W. Aitken, and Mr W. S. Baverstock; entertainment sub-committee, Mesdames Edgar Stead and E. H. H. Taylor, and Miss Lois Ollivier. Addresses were given by Dr. C. E. Beeby, educational officer for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. and Dr. O. H. Frankel, plant geneticist of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. A motion of thanks was passed to the* speakers on the motion of Mrs J. Mowbray Tripp. Archbishop Julius was also thanked for presiding over the meeting, on the motion of Mrs J. Cracroft Wilson. Members of the league’s tramping club sang the tramping song. This item was arranged by Mrs R. J. McLaren and Mr B. Rennell,