THE OUTLOOK OF PUBLIC HEALTH WORK 



once the cause is known, the cure is in sight. This is due, 

 of course, to the fact that every phenomenon has multiple 

 causes. The one essential causative agent in meningitis 

 is the meningococcus, but the contributory causes of 

 epidemics have not yet been envisaged. As the health 

 official surveys his public, he finds only a small percentage 

 who, at any given time, can be described as in perfect 

 health. On the average, each individual spends a week or 

 more out of the year completely incapacitated on accoimt 

 of acute illness, and, in addition, a large proportion drag 

 themselves around for much of the time in a state of reduced 

 efficiency and well-being. The field for work is thus practi- 

 cally illimitable. 



The health man has now no hesitation in turning to 

 science for the solution of his problems. If he knows his 

 history, he sees centuries of complete failure to control 

 any disease on a non-scientific basis followed by the spec- 

 tacular disappearance of a number of the worst scourges 

 after the introduction of scientific control. The conquest 

 of the remainder is to him merely a question of more 

 science. Possibly this will have to be directed along lines 

 as yet little explored, and, likely enough, progress will 

 be held up pending the discovery of new methods of attack; 

 but the major conclusion is clear — disease is conquerable 

 by scientific means. 



For this reason research has the hearty support, in theory 

 at least, of all health workers. Though many of them are 

 submerged in the day's task so deeply that they can seldom 

 come up to take breath and look around, at least on these 

 occasions they realize acutely how needful is more knowl- 

 edge and how scanty, all told, is the provision for securing 

 it. This research must be conducted not only in the labora- 

 tory, but also at the bedside and in the field. It must em- 

 brace not only immediate pressing problems but must 

 probe deeper into general laws of nature. It must enter and 



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