96 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



principal actor in which was the insatiate monster, Death. 

 Along these streets and in these homes the heavy shad- 

 ows of his dark wings fell, sweeping often into one 

 common grave whole families, from the gray-haired sire 

 down to the little babe which nestled in the crib. The very 

 atmosphere was thick with his poisonous shafts, and it 

 seemed inevitable that this beautiful and thriving city of 

 this great valley was doomed to witness the extinction of 

 her every son and daughter. Here, the wail of anguish 

 and suffering Avent up from childless parents, parentless 

 children, husbandless wives and wifeless husbands, un- 

 til it touched the great humane heart of Christendom, 

 and the fountains of charity were opened up, and a broad, 

 stead}^ stream flowed from every section; often coming 

 in the form of a brave, philanthropic man, a fearless, de- 

 voted woman, or in limitless quantities of money or sup- 

 plies to meet the wants of the suffering and to sustain the 

 strength of the well. It was here that the heroes and 

 heroines were born ; it was here that they died. ' ' 



Compare this death and destruction, together with the 

 panicky flight northward upon announcement of yellow 

 fever in the South and the attending shotgun quarantine 

 and drastic inspection with enormous expense and de- 

 struction of property, with the sane and calm measures 

 of today, consisting of screened isolation of the yellow 

 fever patient and the destruction of the mosquito, with 

 no thought of panic or extensive quarantine because ac- 

 curate, effective, scientific methods of control now exist. 

 Truly, scientific knowledge simplifies health measures. 



In malaria, too, we know today that this disease is not 

 a visitation either of providence or noxious gases but 

 rather a visitation of a certain variety of mosquito. . To 

 banish this disease, science has shown it is necessary only 

 to abolish the breeding places of this variety of mosquito. 

 In the diagnosis of malaria, also, the old empiricism of 

 the old style doctor with the confusion of typhoid fever, 

 yellow fever and other fevers with malaria are a thing 

 of the past, since the microscope reveals the blood picture 

 and gives an accurate diagnosis of malaria. 



At present in public health work in progressive com- 

 munities, the basis for the termination of diphtheria 



