PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 112, 4 February 1908, Page 8

PRESS OPINIONS.

WORTHLESS LYMPH-. . We liavo ascertained that there .have been frequent'cases in Otago lately where tho lymph which has been in use has proved entirely worthless, so that, indeed, somo medical practitioners have refused to delude parents ..with ■ the belief that' vaccination might-lie effectively performed. In tho circumitanccs it is tho. : clear duty ' of tho' Department to:make such arrangements as aro.necessary to ensnro tho provision of » supply of lymph of .such a quality- as' will satisfy the requirements of tho ease. Otherwise tho Department is a contributory to tho neglect of the law ' which it seeks to administer. In the meantime, a 'distinct hardship is inflicted upon many persons, particularly residents in country districts, who'aro put to tho inconvenience' and expense incidental to'tho making of ■fruitless'visits-to vaccination . officers, whilo the ; whole community would, bo in a state of. unprotected helplessness if, from any cause, there should bo a dangerous outbreak of smallpox Within our islands. We have at tho present tirao not only what tho Chief Health Officer has described as an ''"absolutely futile, system of pretended, compulsion," but also ah absolutely, futile system olkpretended vaccina-' tion,.aud it is neither cre-ditablo to the Department Hor comforting to' the public that it should be-so. —"Otago Daily Times." '

THE GOVERNMENT AND MOTJNT COOK. We "are _ very. glad to seo that as a result' of his visit to the Hermitage, Dr. Findlay, the Minister of. the Interior, has apparently reulised somo of tho possibilities of tho Mount Cook district as a health and tourist resort, Slid somo of the duties of tho-Govern-ment in regard to its development. Thoro is : no doubt that tho South Island generally has fared very badly, at the hands of the Ministry, in comparison .'with- the-North: Island, where the opening up of tourist attractions is concerned. Tho policy laid down ,by Dr. Wohlmarin.'sbmo years "ago, and evidently accepted by his. political chiefs, was that the attention of the Government should ho concentrated as far • as possiblo on Ilotorua with a view to making it tho showplace of the colony. The consequence is that public money has been poured out like water in. the "'Northern sanatorium, and somo of it has boon spent very foolishly,.as for example, in a drainage systc-m- which has had to.bo very largely reconstructed bccause.it was .found to bo defective.. More recently largo | sums >o£ money have been spent in . what wo cannot , but regard as , unnecessary.-■ ostentation. . . . Wo are now promised that a now accommodation house shall bo .'provided, and Dr. Findlay has selected a. site which from our knowledge of tho locality we' should say ought to bo very suitable. Wo hope, however, that tho new building will be gone on with vigorously, and. not delayed -month after month, _ and year after year, in the usual fashion , of Government undertakings. We agree with,. Dr. Findlay that it 'would bo, an excellent thing to provide in, the new Henniitago for a class of visitors not robust onough to go in for . active climbing, but who would , b'o benefited by a change in tho midst of the. glorious scenery and tho ,invigorating ; air. .-.Tho- Government should'eii-, deaiour to, cater not onljv for tho flving tourist but for the. visitor, who is prepares! to mako a leisurely/stay 'in the, district. , "Wo see. no reason-why ...there . should not bo a, winter, season at Mount Cook," as there is in the Engadine and the Bernese Obcrland. But tho first essential, is-, to improve the means of access.—Christohurcli "Prc-ss.'

CHILDREN'S TEETH, It is well within the bounds of probability that tho extraordinary decay of teeth in modern times is not duo wholly to new causes and to modern -renditions, but mainly to causes old as tho- ! first human so-ciety.-and to the removal of the. influences which once so eliminated* t.hoso< whose teeth were not. sound;-. Toi-attompt to permanently and publicly: deal with , 1 tho problem by remedial, action ,-alone, would- be extraordinarily, burdensome, -though it,is useless to deny that there is a- tendency in that direction. The children°of this country, as tho children of every - countrv, are very generally ..losing their tenth at "a much more rapid pace than they need-if steps were taken to retard deiit.il. disease, and are. suffering in health -as they need: : not. snffer. if. steps wore takpm to afford them artificial aid. Vvhile science is-scarcliiiig'for .the sourco of-tlie evil, and while .Imperial or International ' Commissions : are investigating it, we have several hundred thousand voting people in this Dominion alone wliose future happiness - may he greatly • enhanced 'and whose':future• value, to; the State .may.-: be greatly increased by immediato attention to their-teeth and by ,dental carf. as. we nmv understand it.. Any reasonable plan for' their .inspection and .any .intelligent. proposition, for their treatment are therefore deserving of public-sympathy arid 'entitled to public- support. 'Arid there is'."at. least' this gain- certain,'that as,'. whatever may.;' he the remoto.o.r .thd,immediate causes of. dental de-' pay.' .personal unclcaiiho'ss. aggravates this as' it, does every knoWri f.orm of dis'easd, ; personal, cai-c for the' teeth will be preached arid oncfiiiragcd, among those whom it:will most advantageously , affect.—"New Zealand herald." 1 .

; • -.' DENTAL WARDS. • ' \Th<T movement in favour of tho establishment .'of. dental wards at- the' chief hospitals of,the Dominion 'should be stimulate'd'by the attention given to tlip matter at- the' annual conference in Auckland of tho New Zealand Dental Association.; . It- is .tho natural sequbneo of. tho. proposal which has'been before/the public for somo timo Tor a systematic examination of the teeth of school children. Such voluntary examinations •in individual schools as ■' haro , been conducted :by professional- men liayo revealed, a very bad condition of. things, fully ninety per conk; of the children, having decayed.teeth, whilo an even larger proportion .suggested -that neither they nor their parents knew'tho first principles of hygiene of the mouth nor tho serious results of, a lack of cleanliness. Mr. Fowlds, speaking' at, .tho Dental Confer onco tho' other day, expressed the hop.o that somp method could be adopted for. examining school children's teeth. The mattor. after all,, rests largely with Mr. Fowlds and .his - colleague's, 'since, Parliament "would probably vote, the funds required . for ' the work,, arid' as tho '.Minister for Education seems.to exorcise n feir, amount of infliieiico in the Cabinet; ■he could no doubt, if li% wished.'induce his colleagues to adopt anr scheme' that was feasible and not too costly. The expense should not bo .great, and, considering the importance of sound teeth to the community,;especially- -in; the. case of the luture .fathers and mothers of the Dominion, it would -bo money wel] spent. Tho examination of school children's teet-li pre-suppos°s the establishment of dental wards at hospitals, where peoplo who could not- afford to pay a'dentist's feo could have their "children attended free, or for a nominal c-hareo.— Chnstchitfch' Press."