20, igig] 



NATURE 



491 



lin Press "i February 15 contained the full texl 

 he scheme foi .1 I 1 ague "I Nation-, which had 

 n unanimous!) ai 1 1 pti 'I the pi <\ ious daj b 

 esentatives oi thi fourteen Powers assembled al 

 V 1 1 sailles. ["his States is based on 



the solid foundation of the conf lal has 



ited the autocratic Empires, and German) and 

 her satellites will be admitted to ii only if and when 

 thej ^iv evidence thai the) are sincerel) disposed 

 observ< their international obligations and con- 

 form ti> such principles as ma) be prescribed b) the 

 I in naval and militar) forces and 

 armaments." \s to the details of the scheme, the) 



of the nature of a sound working compn 

 between the projects of those who would have created 

 an immediati super-S ki the Hoi) Alliance oi 



1815 and the projects of those who would have been 

 ■ ontent with a 1 nineteenth-a 



Europ rhi n. i ernal ional authority 

 is in have a real conti means of an 



assembly of 1 1. Ii il, and a 



permanent secretariat. At the same time its control 

 is so limited in time and sphere thai it does n»i inter- 

 fere much more than existin obligations do 



with the sovereign independeno ol the 



It contemplates and makes provision for Un- 

 employment of force, if necessary, in the vindication 

 - decisions. It insists on the publicity of treaties, 

 though not of the process of negotiations. Ii wisely 

 - the impracticabl 1 the creation of 



International armies and the establishment of inter- 

 national control 1 rid substitutes 

 the incomparably tngi m< nl of mandatory 

 Powers. Tn sum, the scheme is a hopeful and a 

 workable one. lis preparation and its unanimous 

 ire excellent auguries both for the future 

 work of the Conference and for the peace of the 

 world. 



\ I'.n 1 to 1 stablish .1 Ministn oi Health and .1 

 I ol Hi alth 01 1 England and Wales, 



Scotland, respectively, powers with respeel 

 cal govi rnm< nt, was present d to the 

 House "I Commoi I ruar) 17 by Dr. Addison 



and read .1 I Mi. general powers and duties 



of the Ministei ol Health will be to take all such steps 

 as may in desirable to secure the effective carrying 

 out and co-ordination of measures conducive to the 

 health of the people, including measures for the pre- 

 vention and cure of diseases, the treatment of physical 

 and menial defects, the collection and preparation oi 

 information and statistics relating thereto, and thi 



trainir s engaged in health services. It is 



proposed to transfer to the Ministry 11) all the powers 

 and duties of the Local Government Board; (2) all 

 • In powers and duties of the Insurance Commissioners 

 and the Welsh Insurance Commissioners; (3) all the 

 power- nl the Hoard of Education with respect to 

 • 1 ant mothers and 

 nursing mothers and of children who have not attained 

 five years and an nol in attendance al 

 ■schools recognised In the Board of Education; (4) all 

 the powers ol the Privy Council and of the Lord 

 President of the Council under the Midway. - VctS, 

 100J and [918; and (5) such powers of supervising 

 the administration of Part I. of the Children Vet, 

 1908 (which relates to infant life pi have 



heretofore be< 1 exercised b) the Secretar) "t State. 



British war-time propaganda, a- directed b) various 



■mi. ni departments ranging from the Ministry 



of Information to the Mini-try of Food, ended at the 



Armistice with a spasmodic suddenness characteristic 



.if i:- origin and of much of it- conduct during 

 lities. It was about the -ami- time thai othei 

 NO. 2573, VOL. I02] 



countries, notably tin I nihil States, redoubled their 

 propagandist work in further the activities of p 

 An 1 sample of the wa; in which ihi- work i- pursued 

 I nii.-d State- wa, furnished by a correspondent 

 of the Times, whose article appearing mi Februa 



11 .1 the " world's record advei tising 1 ampaign " 

 organised b) the U.S. Governmenl in South Am. ma. 

 While the war was still in being tgorous cam- 



paign, excelling the efforts oi an) other belligerent, 

 ha.i made South America lull-, aware ..l every phase 

 of the United Stales war effort, ami a, .1 natural 

 corollary of its plans for industrial construction, 

 inventions, and so on. The information, supplied to 

 new-papers free of charge and withoul an) condition 

 a- I., acknowledgnn nt of it- source, was prepared by 



teal newspaper men, who wen- well 

 with a newspaper's need for "copy" that 1- excli 

 interesting, and novel. That was not all. II .1 news- 

 paper wanted special information on United Sim. , 

 industrial matter- the representatives of tin- U.S. 

 Public Information Committee in the large cities 1.1 

 South America were willing to cable for it and supply 

 it. This is the kind of elastic and adaptable 

 ma. hinery which is very much wanted in Great and 

 Greater Britain in enable the public to learn, and, 

 abovi ..II, 1.1 make the public interested in learning, 

 what is going on in British industries, in industrial 

 science, discover) and invention. The Ministry of 

 Information, joined to the Department of Scientific 

 and Industrial Research, might have provided the 

 machinery for some such distribution. At present the 



1 nf Agriculture distributes leaflets and has its 

 Journal, and the Board of Trade Journal also pub- 

 lish' - lor a public of its own. Bui what is needed 

 i- -..in.- organisation which, while having as its prin- 

 cipal functions those of informing special publics at 

 home and in the Dominions, should make ii its busi- 

 ness to get at the general public through the news- 

 papers. 



A recurrence of influenza has sel in ovei the British 

 Isles. In the south of Ireland the renewed outbreak 

 is said to be of a virulent type, and is particularly 

 severe in parts of Kerry and Cork. The Registrar- 

 General's return for the week ending February 8 

 shows a marked increase in the deaths from the epi- 

 demic, the number for the County of London being 

 100, which is greater than in any of the preceding six 

 weeks. In the ninety-six great towns of England and 

 Wales, including London, the deaths from influenza 

 were 604, which is also greater than in any of the six 

 I H. -. 1 ding weeks. The deaths from pneumonia in 

 London were 182, and from bronchitis 226, which is 

 more than in any of the preceding nine week-. For 

 the last eight weeks the deaths from bronchitis have 

 been mure numerous than those from pneumonia; 

 prior to this, pneumonia had the larger number of 



deaths. 



A GENERAL Order ha- been issued by the Local 

 Government Board making malaria, dysentery, trench 

 fever, acute primary pneumonia, enteric fever, 

 relapsing fever, and typhus fever notifiable a- epi- 

 demic and infectious diseases under the Public Health 

 Aii The Order, which applies to England and 

 Wales, comes into force on March 1. "Dysenter) 

 includes the anuvbic and bacillarv varieties of the 

 disease, ami "enteric fever" include- typhoid and 

 pai yphoid fevers. In cases of malaria the medical 

 officei ma) suppl) the patient with mosquito-netting 

 if necessary, and provide for quinine treatment. A 

 per-.. n suffering from dysentery may !"■ required to 

 discontinue any occupation connected with the pre- 

 paration or handling of food or drink for human con- 

 sumption. In cases of trench fever the medical 



