466 ANNUAL IlEI»ORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1937 



only to meeting minimum standards which have been agreed upon 

 jointly by the State health officers and the PubUc Health Service. 

 The $13,200,000 bemg granted by the Public Health Service and the 

 Children's Bureau is producing significant results in better health for 

 the people. This appropriation, however, represents only about 10 

 percent of the total cost of public health work. The recent national 

 conference on venereal disease control called attention to the need of 

 greater Federal interest in the control of these and other diseases. 

 At this conference, it was earnestly recommended to the adminis- 

 tration that authorization for $25,000,000 be given in appropriate 

 amendments to the Social Security Act, to be administered by the 

 PubUc Health Service. It was also the opinion of tliis conference 

 that the percentage of Federal money invested in the prevention of 

 disease should not be less than the percentage invested in the care of 

 dependents. 



We must narrow the gap between what we know and what we do 

 in public health. There are major causes of tlisease and death in 

 regard to which present community action is totally inadequate. 



The control of syphilis is a notable example. With the recent 

 great increase in public mtercst in this subject, it should be possible 

 to make this a rare disease within our generation. Medical and public 

 health officials are agreed as to the methods. The recent conference 

 drew a series of blue prints which every State and every community 

 can follow. 



Cancer stands second among the causes of death. The cause of 

 cancer is not yet known, but many cases of cancer can be cured by 

 many known methods. Experts in this field estimate that 25 percent 

 of cancer deaths could be prevented if all of our knowledge of cancer 

 control was used. Two States have accepted some measure of respon- 

 sibility for the treatment and cure of cancer through providing public 

 facilities for those in need of care. 



Pneumonia ranks high among the causes of death, but recent sci- 

 entific advances point the way to preventing many such deaths. For 

 several of the most frequent types of pneumonia, an improved concen- 

 trated serum has been developed which is quite effective. Moreover, 

 a rapid method of typing the disease makes it possible for those cases 

 to be located promptly which are amenable to serum therapy. 



The control of tuberculosis is a job half done. This disease has 

 been reduced by two-thirds in the present century. We have now^ 

 reached a point where we can look forward to the practical eradication 

 of tuberculosis. 



The medical care now being furnished to the dependent groups of 

 the population is poorly organized and inadequate. There must be 

 general acceptance of the principle that the medical care of such 

 dependents is a public responsibility. 



