VENEREAL DISEASES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11784, 23 August 1916, Page 5

VENEREAL DISEASES.

KORE rREFAIENT THAN PEOPLE TffM. STRICTER REGULATIONS NEEDED. When Mr T. D. Boag. chairman of lh.» Public Tfoaltli Committoo of the Hosj.ital and Charitahlo Aid Board reportfd this morning that Dr Pettit would ltH'iiuv in the Colosseum on Saturday uiglit on venereal diseases, there i nas :i gvnoral discussion on the prevalenco of these diseases, and on the failure of the present regulations to adequately cheek their increase. Toe Hon R. .Moore, M.L.C., said that ihe rem.irks made recently on the subject, by the Minister for Internal Affairs, the Hon G. W. Russell, were very and should bo read by everybody. The disv.isos wore much more prevalent than was generally believed, and it was necessary that further steps should be taken to deal with them. Both men and women who suffered from them should he held by tho authorities until absolute cure had been brought about. Mr W. T-T. Cooper said that Australia was facing the position, and it would have fob; 1 faced in this Dominion also. He was in accord with the suggestion that a new Act. giving the police and the hospital author ties greater powers of detention should lie passed. The chairman (Mr F. Horrell) said that according to the morning newspapers, one hospital in Cairo, during seven months, treated no fewer than 9000 cases of these diseases amongst the British, Australian and New Zealand troops. Young men were subjected to great temptat'ou in .such places as Cairo, and there was no doubt that venereal diseases were spreading. Mr Cooper said that it was very important that patients should be detained until thay were absolutely cured. Mr Moore said that a more determined effort should be made to cope with the trouble. There should be regula- | tions to apply just as strictly to women as to men. The publ c was too squeamish in the matter. Mr I. Andrew said that after Mr Russell's suggestions he expected that something practical would bo done, but the Government, as well, as other bodies, seemed to be going slow. He felt disappointed at the Government's neclc-ct. Mr T. D. Boag said that tho Government should be asked to print several thousand copies of Mr Russell's address, in order that it could be widely read and studied. Mi\R. Evans said that it was hardly practicable to imprison all patients suffering from the diseases. Tha i Christchurch Hospital, for instance. I might have 100 ca'ifis, and could not | detain them all. The fact was, it was i necessary to have some place set apart for venereal patients, where they could j be detained until they were abspltittly I cured. There should be power to deal ] with them in the same way as drunk-' | ards were dealt with on the island j prisons. i No motion was passed by the meeting, but a hope was expressed that j the newspapers would publish good re- : ports of Dr Pettit's lecture. A vote of thanks was passed to the newspapers . for their reports of Dr Blackmore.'s ' lecture on consumption on August 5. I