The Wanganui Herald [PUBLISHED DAILY.] FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1911. THE WHITE PLAGUE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13433, 21 July 1911, Page 4

The Wanganui Herald [PUBLISHED DAILY.] FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1911. THE WHITE PLAGUE.

The Eight Bon. John Burns, opening the conference of the National Association for the Prevention of Consumption, stated that the disease during the last decade had decreased 19 per cent, in England and Wales, 24 per cent, in both Scotland and Ireland, and 30 in LondonThere were now two deaths in London compared with every throe in Berlin, and five in Paris. Consumption and tuberculosis we.re diminishing forces, and, experts believed their annihilation ought to bo effected in 25 years.

Thu above-mentioned item, which appeared amongst out London cable messages last evening, must be encouraging to those specialists and philanthropists who are engaged in a ceaseless fight against humanity’s deadliest enemy. In the older countries science rests not in its efforts to vanquish the foe, and in the colonies, too, considerable activity is displayed. Notwithstanding, however, the advance in science during the last decade, and the many valuable discoveries made in the direction of alleviating suffering humanity, that dread scourge, tuberculosis, still holds its sway and continues to claim its victims in hundreds of thousands annually in almost every part of the civilised world. Despite strenuous efforts on the part f the greatest intellects to discover a cure for this devastating disease, the remedies advanced from time to time fall far short of what is required, and the scourge < ontinues to be a menace to mankind. The distribution of tuberculosis is world-wide, and it seems to be unaffected by geographical situation. It is found in Greenland and Siberia, and flourishes in the tropica, India, and the colonies. It may be called a disease of civilisation. Domesticated animals .are more susceptible to it than wild ones, and the latter are more liable to it in captivity than in their natural state. Comparative immunity of uncivilised races is explained by their open-air life, as when brought to live under civilised conditions, and in contact with white people, they succumb far more readily than the latter. The disease, as is well known, is most rife in large centres of population, in which people live under the worst air conditions. Tho fact that the annual mortality of tho human race from the scourge is sotimated at 5,000,000 at least, or over one-seventh of tho whole, has led to great attention being given to the discovery of measures for its prevention, including all means by which the conditions of life are improved, among the mass of the people, the most important | probably being housing and food supply. Open-air treatment of consumptives lias naturally attracted much attention. Nature’s method of spontaneous healing has long been recognised and understood, and complete success is not at all uncom-

ton even under the ordinary conditions of ifc. Tins natural tendency is undoubtedly uucli assisted by the modern system of treatment which makes pure air its lirst ■.onsiderat ion. Germany has extended the jdvanlagcs of treatment in special sanatoriinns, where patients can virtually live ‘ll the open air, to the working classes on a large scale. 'Hiis has been accomplished by the united efforts of friendly and philanthropic soeities, local authorities, and the State, and statistics clearly prov< that such efforts are responsible for up oreeiable benches to those afflicted.

Amongst the good work being done in Britain at the present time is the enlightenment of the people with the ravages if the disease. The National Association for the Prevention of Consumption has lit upon the idea of a travelling caravan -a copy on a sniqll scale of the Tuhorcuosis Exhibition. It has been found by experience that through the medium of inch an exhibition, forming a kind of object-lesson, and appealing to the eye, tho great points in connection with the liseuse could effectively be brought within die comprehension of all classes of the community. The power of such exhibitions to interest and impress the popular mind has been abundantly proved by their success in America, where they have been in use for several years. The exhibition is mainly of a popular and educational character, by the help of diagrams, models, and other means to illustrate the nature of the disease, the extent of its ravages, and the possibility of its prevention and cure as well as the methods to be employed. Popular lectures, homely talks, find lantern demonstrations arc all used to this end. The exhibition has far exceeded the anticipations cf its promoters. Starting in the East End of London, a couple of years ago, it has since visited 28 centres, including the poorest quarters of London, many of the great provincial cities, and then moved along to Scotland. Put in figures, it is calculated that there are at the present time in the United Kingdom one out of every ten deaths due to consumption; that the Poor Law authorities are spending annually one and a half millions, and the friendly societies a million aijid a quarter on the relief of this disease, while the working classes are losing three millions a year in wages from the same cause. The exhibition is arranged to show charts and diagrams of tho tuberculosis death rate, the comparative mortality from the chief diseases, and the death rate from consumption in the prime of life, the period upon which the disease falls heaviest, occasioning therefore an immense economic loss. The consumption microbe is fully explained, and its destructive effects described in plain and convincing language and diagrams. The prevention of the spread of tho disease and its treatment and cure arc- also dealt with. Models of shelters and pictures of sanatorium life, and the means of treatment used in these institutions, are on view, showing the patient from his entrance, when still weak and feverish, and still confined to his bed, to the successful ending of his cure, when he is seen engaged in manual labour of the heaviest description. Such an exhi- ■ bition cannot fail to arouse those who witness it to a sense of the necessity of conforming to the strictest regulations for cleanliness and pure air in the home life. Much yet remains to be discovered by scientists before any certain cure may bo expected; meanwhile by educating the people, especially the poorer classes, regarding their responsibilities in this important matters, homo life may bo made more healthy, and tho ravages of the scourge at least checked if not abated.