38 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



health of the men of the nation. It was impressed upon 

 us that it was not only essential that we should have men 

 free from disease and physical defects for the military 

 service, but that it was quite as essential that we should 

 have strong men and women to meet the demands of the 

 tremendous speeding-up of our industrial activity. 



The actual story of accomplishment in the prevention of 

 disease during the war is effectively summarized by 

 Colonel Victor C. Vaughan in a recent publication and 

 under the caption, "The Fruits of Preventive Medicine." 

 In this very striking article Colonel Vaughan says, "By 

 making use of our increasing knowledge of medicine and 

 sanitation since the civil war times it has been possible 

 during the war just closed to prevent 500,000 cases of 

 disease and save the lives of 10,000 soldiers." 



Colonel Vauglian contrasts the sickness rates prevailing 

 among the Northern armies engaged in the Civil war with 

 those of the American Army engaged in the recent world- 

 war, and sets forth the following extraordinary facts indi- 

 cating the progressive tendency of preventive medicine and 

 sanitation, and the part which they have played in winning 

 the war for democracy. According to Colonel Vaughan 

 the incidence of t^q^hoid fever has been reduced over ninety- 

 nine per cent; minor intestinal infections have been reduced 

 ninety-six per cent and malaria has been reduced to the 

 same extent. Inflammations of the mouth and throat have 

 been reduced to eighty-seven per cent and pneumonia 

 sixty-five per cent. Measles, which was one of the serious 

 menaces in Civil War days and Avhose epidemiological 

 problems are not fully mastered at the present time, was 

 reduced thirty per cent, while the incidence of tubercu- 

 losis, aptly termed "The captain of the men of Death", has 

 been decreased fifty per cent. 



For a number of years, health officers and physicians 

 liave urged the periodical physical examination of all per- 

 sons to determine the existence of serious disease in its 

 incipient and curable stage. While some progress has 

 been made in this line, we have all been so engaged with 

 our personal, professional and business interests that we 

 have ignored individual health and precautionary meas- 

 ures to a large extent. 



