58 FOREST LANDS FOB THE PROTECTION OF WATERSHEDS. 



STATEMENT OF DR. GEORGE L. GAY, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERI- 

 CAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 



Doctor GAY. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 

 have been asked to appear here as the representative of the American 

 Medical Association, the largest medical organization in the country. 

 There are three of that association here, Doctor Jacobi, of New York, 

 Doctor Mussey, of Philadelphia, and myself from Boston. Doctor 

 Jacohi is at the New Willard attending the conservation commission 

 having its meetings there. 



Governor Guild asked me to speak to you for a moment as to the 

 results of the low streams upon the health of the community. If there 

 is a doctor on the committee, and I hope there is, for there ought to 

 be a doctor on every committee that has anything to do with public 

 health, he knows very well, if he has lived in the country, that there 

 is more sickness when the streams are low than there is when the 

 streams are high. There is one disease that is particularly a water- 

 borne disease, and that is typhoid fever. I hope you have all had it, 

 gentlemen, because if you have, you will not have it again. If you 

 have not, you are in daily risk of getting it. It is carried in water 

 more than it is carried in any other possible way, and while this is 

 not the time or the occasion for the committee to say anything about 

 pollution of streams, yet this Congress will never do its duty to the 

 people of this country until they prohibit the pollution of water 

 resources. Why the inhabitants of one state should be obliged to 

 drink the excreta of another state, the typhoid fever poison or any 

 other poison of another state, passes our comprehension. 



The low stream, as I say, is a constant source of danger. We have 

 30,000 deaths from typhoid fever in this country every year. We 

 have more than 200,000 cases of typhoid fever in the country every 

 year. A case of typhoid fever that gets well in two months is a for- 

 tunate case. That means 400,000 months of lost time, supposing they 

 were all laboring people, wage earners, which of course they are not. 

 Anybody who is fond of figures can carry out that computation to his 

 satisfaction. It is one of the most widespread diseases. There are 

 only one or two that beat it consumption and pneumonia and it 

 is a preventable disease. There are many diseases that are not pre- 

 ventable and we are not to blame for them, but when we have a pre- 

 ventable disease it is our duty to. do all we can to prevent it, and 

 keeping our streams full of water is one of the methods of preven- 

 tion, and the other very important method of prevention I hope will 

 come before Congress before many years. I thank you gentlemen for 

 your attention. 



Mr. HARVEY. Mr. Chairman, we will endeavor to make our word 

 good, and on behalf of all of the interests that are here represented, it 

 gives me great pleasure to express our appreciation of the great cour- 

 tesy and consideration that you gentlemen have given us in the 

 patient hearing and the patient manner in which you have listened 

 to what he have all had to say. The knowledge which you have ob- 

 tained from your study of this question and its merits has impressed 

 all of us who have been here to-day. 



The ^questions that have been asked by your distinguished self as 

 chairman and the other members of your committee have all been 



