36 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



too heavy a toll. But enough evidence has been obtained 

 to indicate that however difficult the problem may seem 

 at the moment, an ultimate victory is reasonably assured. 



It is probable that most of this success has resulted 

 from definite discoveries made often as a by-product of 

 another research. The mere recognition of a danger or 

 of an unsatisfactory state of affairs does not solve the 

 problem. Discontent and rebellion, however justifiable 

 as emotional manifestations, have not contributed much 

 to a solution. 



The functions of the Public Health organizations are 

 largely those of applying available knowledge. On ac- 

 count of the tremendous urgency of the problems dealt 

 with there is little time to attempt research. Neverthe- 

 less our Public Health Agencies have managed to con- 

 tribute important new knowledge; thus diphtheria anti- 

 toxin was in large measure the result of the Public Health 

 interests of its discoverer, von Behring. 



It is natural that Public Health has been forced to con- 

 cern itself within the last generation with the practical 

 problem of physical health, and the advances in scien- 

 tific knowledge have been largely in the direction of spe- 

 cific treatment in an increasing number of physical dis- 

 eases. The advances in laboratory technique have been 

 responsible for the preventive work on a large scale. 

 There is one branch of medicine, however, which has long 

 been recognized as one of the most important, but which 

 has lagged behind the general advance in clinical medi- 

 cine. This is the field of mental science. Largely due 

 to the complexity of the problem and to the relative in- 

 accessibility of the central nervous system to available 

 methods, there is an apparent discrepancy between our 

 effectiveness in this field as contrasted with the physical 

 diseases. Nevertheless psychiatry and psychopathology 

 have not been inactive, and considerable advance has been 

 made of late, so that now we are in a position to apply; 

 in some degree at least, therapeutic and preventive meas- 

 ures. 



It is natural that the first advance should have been 

 made in the recognition and the diagnosis of mental dis- 

 orders rather than in their treatment and prevention. 



