112 NINETEENTH REPORT. 



A cliain is no stronger than its weakest link and the hygiene of the 

 c-omminiity is weakened by one imperfect individual. Still we will not 

 attain the ideal through personal hygiene alone. Public hygiene has to 

 do with those matters that are beyond the control of the individual and 

 must be attended to by the community whether local, state or federal. 

 Hence the interference of government in matters of sanitation. The 

 easy-going American government is quite in contrast with German pre- 

 cision and efficiency in this connection and spends little of either thought 

 or money in the enforcement of sanitary regulations and promotion of 

 hygiene in a broad and comprehensive way. We depend largely upon 

 semi-public measures to afford immediate, tangible assistance and to 

 arouse and direct public opinion on the one and to force governmental 

 action or to act as a substitute for it on the other. In this connection 

 witness the great and richly endowed research laboratories, the enormous 

 sums for eradication of some specific disease as hook worm disease, the 

 activities of life insurance companies and newspaper and magazine propa- 

 gandas. 



Society has learned that by concerted effort the interests of each and 

 all are conserved. United social effort gives us clean streets, lighting- 

 systems, central heating plants, water and sewage systems, clean or 

 safe milk supply, safe and sanitary public buildings and numerous other 

 hygienic blessings common to the better class of American cities. But 

 in what instance does the rural dweller profit by such devices .^ In the 

 first place is there any organized social life in rural communities } There 

 are the country school, the country church and the grange hall, but how 

 many are well built, properly ventilated, comfortably heated, adequately 

 lighted, thoroughly clean and attractive and supplied with flowing water 

 of unquestioned purity, and with a sanitary sewage disposal system? I 

 haven't seen one as yet. Are the farmers too poor to provide themselves 

 with ideal meeting places? Or are we asking more than sanitation 

 demands ? The meeting places in the city meet with the plans and 

 specifications, at least, many of them do, and if it is just a whim of the 

 city folks and not a sanitary requirement then the farmer must remember 

 that he is in competition with the city, which is bidding for his sons 

 and daughters and they will select the place that makes the stronger 

 appeal. If the business of farming is not sufficiently remunerative to 

 permit the farmers to house their social organizations properly then 

 there must be an economic readjustment or the business of farming will 

 not make a strong bid for the most intelligent young men and women. 

 I think the trouble is not due to lack of funds but to absence of will to 

 do and in many instances knowledge of how to do. 



