442 EDITORIAL. 



laws and ordinances by force in one such town as San Fernando, La 

 Union, with its 64 separate barrios or villages? 



We should not forget that even in the United States sanitary condi- 

 tions which leave much to be desired are only too common. How then 

 can we expect immediately to remedy such conditions here? It is so 

 easy to pass a good law and then to imagine that all difficulties have been 

 met and solved. It would, I am sure, be easy to secure a majority vote 

 of the Philippine Legislature in favor of a law providing for the entry 

 into the kingdom of heaven of all of the inhabitants of the Philippine 

 Islands, but I fear that the passage of such an act would work no 

 material change in the present condition of public morals. 



In actual practice we find it necessary to advance little by little, 

 feeling our way as we go. The attempt to enforce sanitary measures 

 which are scientifically correct has not infrequently done serious harm 

 in the past. The mistakes of this kind made during the cholera epidemic 

 of 1902 are still green in the memories of many of us. We succeeded in 

 arousing hostility and opposition which for some time went far toward 

 nullifying our work. In drafting and enacting legislation we must 

 seek to get measures which will bring results rather than those which 

 look well on paper but can not be enforced in actual practice. 



We are rapidly reducing the number of victims of leprosy and small- 

 pox. We have succeeded in completely eliminating bubonic plague. 

 We are confronted by the grave problems presented by the prevalence, of 

 tuberculosis and of hookworm disease. In my opinion we should con- 

 centrate our efforts for the present upon combating these diseases, which 

 cause such a shocking mortality. After we have eliminated them we can 

 turn our attention to ordinances dealing with less important matters. 

 I hope for the time when a comprehensive series of health ordinances 

 can be enforced throughout these Islands as I hope for the millennium, 

 but it is my opinion that one is about as distant as the other. 



Dr. Henry J. Nichols, first lieutenant, Medical Corps, United States 

 Army: Dr. Jackson has had a considerable experience in the Philippine 

 Islands. He has been on the ground and has personally seen many 

 things. His views are not Quixotic, and I fully agree with him in certain 

 of his suggestions. Manila has been made a beautiful spot, and those 

 of us who have been in the provinces and have seen the lamentable lack 

 of sanitary measures, find that a great discrepancy exists between Manila 

 and the provinces, not only as relates to 'disregard of the law, but also 

 to a disregard of personal habits relating to cleanliness. 



Dr. N. M. Saleeby, superintendent of the University Hospital, Manila: 

 There is left but little for me to say. I have had experience in the 

 provinces. I served on provincial councils, and had a chance to look 

 into these matters. I have seen small towns where a change of officials 

 made marvellous improvement in the conditions, and I think the whole 

 is a matter of local government. It will take a considerable time before 



