ease is spread; the means to prevent it; what is necessary to get well if one has it, etc., is all printed on the certificate. When the member gets the certificate and has learned all that is printed on it, the first step has been taken in the education of the individual in regard to tuberculosis, so it should be the aim of the officers of the leagues to get the certificates in the hands of the members. The officers of the league can see that the instructions on the certificate are understood and carried out. Many individuals are careless and must be constantly watched to see that they do not neglect important precautions. Probably the most difficult thing the league will have to do will be to induce its members to keep their windows open and let fresh air and sunlight into their rooms. The officers and committees of the league should urge the members to keep the windows open, especially at night, and to avoid overcrowding their sleeping rooms. Whenever a dark room or closed window which should be open is found, the danger should be pointed out, and the member urged to correct it. The practice of sleeping with the head and face covered is so deeply rooted in the Negro race that it seems almost hopeless to attempt to eradicate it in the present generation. It is a most pernicious habit. The dangers of the practice should be pointed out, and the members urged to abandon it. Children should not be allowed to contract the habit. The careless spitting of consumptives in their homes is a practice dangerous to others. The careless at times spit on the floor, the walls, the hearth of the open fire, or on the stove if one is used. The sputum of the consumptive dries and is carried into the air as dust. This is drawn into the lungs when one breathes. The dangers of this should be emphasized, and the proper way to dispose of sputum shown. The consumptive should catch all of his sputum and burn it. There are cheap cups made of paper that can be had at small cost, and these should be used to spit in, and when they are full they should be burned. The better cups have covers to them, so that the flies cannot get at the sputum. While consumption is a dangerous disease, the careful consumptive is not dangerous to live with. The careless consumptive, however, is dangerous to live with and a menace to those around him. The minister and the officers of the leagues should consult frequently with the health officer of their community. Working together they can accomplish much more than by working alone. The minister and officers of the league can teach their people to be careful and not produce unsanitary conditions, and the health officer can remedy conditions that the people cannot correct. The leagues should urge the members to beautify their homes, no matter how humble they may be. If the home is made more attractive, interest will naturally follow. Teach the members to have grass and flowers in their yards. See that there is no dirt, trash, or litter scattered about; that the loose paling of the fence is nailed on, and the sagging gate has a new hinge. Pull the dirty rags from the broken window pane and burn them. Let them put their bed clothing out in the sun occasionally, and sweep the dust from under the bed and furniture. Open the window and door and let air and sunlight into the rooms. All of these things tend to improve the sanitary conditions, which means health and happiness. Members should be taught that remedies advertised as cures for consumption are not to be relied upon, and that the only known way to get well is to live in the open air as much as possible, both day and night, and to eat nourishing food at regular intervals. The consumptive when possible should go to a physician or a dispensary and follow exactly the instructions given. Aside from the help that can be given the individual consumptive, which will be discussed later on, there is much that leagues can do by concerted action to improve the conditions under which the Negro lives. Probably one of the most important factors in the spread of tuberculosis, aside from his habits, is the manner in which the Negro is housed. The Negro as a rule is a renter. The houses that he can rent are usually located in the poorest and most unhealthy part of the city. They are often poorly constructed, badly lighted and ventilated, and frequently in bad repair. The rooms are usually small and dark, having but one window, and the top sash is seldom arranged to be lowered. Many houses are built on poorly drained ground, and water stands under them after each rain, making the rooms damp and cold. These houses are seldom provided with bathing arrangements or waterclosets, thus necessitating the use of privies, or the back alleys, with all the dangers attendant upon such conditions. For such houses or more frequently for one or two rooms in such a house, the Negro pays proportionately more rent than the white race does for better houses in the same community, either because better accommodations are not available, or because he cannot, or will not, pay for better. The family, usually consisting of father, mother and several children, and often friends or relatives, all live, eat and sleep in these two or three rooms, frequently with the windows and doors tightly closed, and in winter a stove going at full blast. In the Negro section of the city the streets are usually either badly paved or not paved at all. The sidewalks are either in bad repair or missing. The streets are badly lighted at night, garbage cans are not emptied regularly and the scavenger service is poor. "There is a reason for these things," say the landlords, the municipal authorities, and others who have dealings with the Negro. The landlord says: "Negroes are destructive; they pull down, but they never improve property. A house rented to Negroes will depreciate from 25 to 50 per cent in a year. If you put in plumbing they break it, they deface the walls, they tear off the shutters and the doors, they break and burn the fences. It is useless to give them good houses as they neither appreciate them nor take care of them." The municipal authorities say that Negroes make no effort to keep their surroundings clean and sanitary. They throw things into the street, choke the plumbing, drains and sewers with old rags, trash and dirt, and make no effort to help the authorities keep things in order; therefore, it is useless to try to help them until they learn to help themselves. They say that there are exceptions to these statements, but that they are true so far as the great mass of the Negroes is concerned. Reference is made to the subject here to draw attention to the fact that the leagues can do much to change these conditions, thereby bettering the condition of the race. If the things that are said about the Negro by the landlords, the municipal authorities, and others, are true, then it is necessary for the Negro to change these conditions before there can be hope for much betterment. If they are not true, steps should be taken to convince the landlords, municipal authorities and others that they are false. It is in this way that the leagues, though aimed at tuberculosis, may be the means of bettering the conditions along many lines. If the Negro can demonstrate that he is not destructive, and that he can and does take care of the house in which he lives; if he will keep his surroundings neat and clean; if he shows that he is clean and sanitary in his practices, and that he feels his responsibility as a citizen by trying to keep up the sanitary condi tions and the appearances of his home and his city, he will find that many of his troubles will disappear. If a landlord finds that his property is being cared for by his Negro tenant, the yard, fences, etc., being kept in order, the rent promptly paid, and tenant is desirable, he will be only too glad to keep him, and to make such alterations in his house as he may desire. If it is demonstrated to the municj. pal authorities that the Negro is as careful of his section of the city as the whites, his wants will receive consideration. The educated Negroes succeed in getting surroundings that are far better than those of the average because they have learned to appreciate the above facts and have put them into practice. When the leagues have taught their members that it is not healthy to live in dark, damp rooms, with bad sanitary surroundings, and have educated them to the point where they will refuse to live under such conditions, then the landlords will build proper houses for them. The leagues working in conjunction with the health officer can get the city authorities to so frame the building ordinances that only sanitary dwellings will be erected in the city. What a church league can do for the individual consumptive.-In addition to supplying the members of the league with information in regard to tuberculosis and sanitation, which is the work of the committees, and trying to induce the members to follow the instructions given them, there are other things that the league can do for the individual consumptive. The chief difficulty that will be encountered by the leagues is the lack of money to help their sick members. It is hoped, however, that as the league demonstrates its value to the community more money will be available, and the work of helping the sick members can be extended. This work contemplates the "class method" of treating patients at their homes, the establishment of dispensaries, and ultimately sanatoria and "tuberculosis farms," where a patient can earn a living by working on the farm and at the same time be under medical supervision. It is realized that these things are for the future, but it is well to keep them in mind as one of the ultimate aims of the leagues. Dispensary. As soon as the church league is formed, some physician should be designated who will examine all members referred to him, to decide if they have consumption. Usually there will be found one or more physicians who are members of the league, who will probably act in this capacity. If practicable, a tuberculosis dispensary might be established at some convenient point, possibly in one of the rooms in the church, where the physicians could be found on certain days at stated hours, say, twice a week. Here they could see the consmptives and examine and advise them as to the treatment necessary. They could also examine other members referred to them to decide whether they had consumption or not. Records of the dispensary work should be kept. It is not practicable at this time to go more minutely into the details of the work of these leagues, which are now in their formative stage. News and Notes It is a noteworthy fact that the only promotion made by Washington University at its final meeting last spring was the elevation of Dr. Meyer Wiener to the position of associate professor of opthalmology. It is reported that the steamship Korea, arriving at Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 20th, had on board a case of plague, a Chinaman from Hongkong. The case was removed and the vessel held. All compartments connected with the infectious compartment were fumigated and the passengers in same removed and bathed and all their clothes disinfected. No one was allowed to land, and passengers for Honolulu were held seven days. The vessel was not allowed to go to the wharf until the case was removed, contacts treated and compartments fumigated. The trustees of the Barnes University of St. Louis have recently increased the teaching staff of the medical department. Dr. James Moores Ball has accepted the chair of ophthalmology and ophthalmic surgery. Dr. J. J. Houwink has been elected professor and head of the department of dermatology and syphilology. Additional laboratory equipment has been installed and the medical buildings have been thoroughly renovated in preparation for the winter's work. The Centenary Hospital, with 100 beds, adjoins the medical school, and is a valuable asset for clinical teaching. Dr. Samuel C. Stanton, treasurer of the Mississippi Valley Medical Association, was in St. Louis recently to go over the situation with the various members of the local committee in charge of the arrangements of the meeting to take place October 12th-14th. He was quite enthused over the arrangements already made and assured the local committee that he had every reason to believe that the meeting would be both large and representative. Passengers Must Furnish Drinking Cups. In harmony with the desire of the State Board of Health, the Iowa Central Railroad has abolished public drinking cups on its trains. Water is provided, as usual, but passengers must furnish their own cups. Hucksters Must Be Quiet.-An ordinance has been passed by the New York City Board of Aldermen providing that peddlers shall not make any unnecessary noise, such as blowing a horn, in calling attention to their wares. The penalty may be a forfeiture of any amount up to $5. Animal Tuberculosis Increasing.-Notwithstanding the effort being made by individuals and by State and National Governments to stamp out or limit the amount of animal tuberculosis, the disease is steadily increasing among live stock, as shown by recent reports of the Department of Agriculture. Consumptives Cannot Marry.—According to the marriage law now in force in the State of Washington, tuberculous patients in the advanced stage cannot obtain a marriage license. The law also denies marriage license to sufferers from some other contagious diseases, and to habitual criminals and drunkards. Children's Teeth Defective.-President Darlington of the New York Department of Health, states that during the past season the mouths of 386,744 New York school children were examined, with the result that 290,167 were found in need of dental work. Dr. Darlington urges that dental clinics be established for the care of the teeth of school children. Harvard Establishes a Department of Hygiene.The Harvard Medical School has established a new department-the department of preventive medicine and hygiene and has appointed to the professorship Dr. M. J. Roseneau, who has rendered distinguished service in connection with the United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. Dr. Roseneau's work as an instructor, as an investigator, and as an administrative officer has eminently fitted him for this position. THE MISSOURI STATE NURSES' ASSOCIATION. The Missouri State Nurses' Association will hold its annual meeting in the St. Louis Medical Society Library, 3523 Pine St., on October 7 and 8. The completion of arrangements for State Registration for Nurses will be the most important work of the association. The bill for the registration of nurses was passed at the last General Assembly. Its object being to provide for the examination, regulation and registration of nurses. There are now 360 members of the association and applications are being made daily for membership. Soja-The Soy Bean. Soja is a preparation derived from the soy-bean (soya hispida), a plant growing in China and Japan, and used as a condiment and in the preparation of sauces for meats, fish, etc. The beans are mixed with roasted barleys and salt water and allowed to ferment, various other spices being added in order to give the product a more pleasant taste. The beans contain glycinine, an albumin, insoluble and soluble globilin, leguminin and a small quantity of proteose. Recently a kind of condensed vegetable milk, for use in tropical countries, has been made from the beans by softening them in water, expressing the magma and boiling with water. To the resulting liquid, which has the appearance of cow's milk, are added sugar and potassium phosphate-the latter to prevent separation of the albuminous substances, and the whole is then evaporated. The final product is yellowish in color and is said to have a pleasant taste.-Journ. Luisse Pharm. Army Medical Corps Examinations. The surgeon-general of the army announces that the War Department has appointed a permanent board to meet at Washington, D. C., for the preliminary examination of applicants for appointment in the Medical Corps of the army, in addition to the usual preliminary examination boards that are assembled at various army posts throughout the United States from time to time. The board at Washington will probably hold its first session about September 7, 1909, and on such other dates thereafter as may be designated by the surgeon-general. This should be welcome news to a number of young physicians who are desirous of entering the corps and who do not wish to wait until the usual examinations are authorized; also to those who are near the maximum limit of age. Physicians who are successful in the examinations by the Washington board will be given employment at army posts, as their services are needed, as first lieutenants, Medical Reserve Corps-sal ary $2,000 per annum-until the next session of the Army Medical School, when they will be ordered to attend the school as "student candidates." Full information concerning the examination can be procured upon application to the "Surgeon General, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C." The essential requirements to securing an invitation are that the applicant shall be a citizen of the United States, shall be between twenty-two and thirty years of age, a graduate of a medical school legally authorized to confer the degree of doctor of medicine, shall be of good moral character and habits, and shall have had at least one year's hospital training or its equivalent in practice. The examination in subjects of general educa tion (mathematics, geography, history, general literature and Latin) may be omitted in the cases of applicants holding diplomas from reputable literary or scientific colleges, normal schools or high schools, or graduates of medical schools which require an entrance examination satisfactory to the faculty of the Army Medical School. The medical service of the army permits of a great variety of general medical and surgical practice, besides affording opportunities for those specially qualified to engage in special work, such as sanitation, chemistry, pathology, microscopy and bacteriology. All appointments in the medical corps are made with the rank of first lieutenant ($2,000). At the end of three years the officer is promoted to captain at $2,400 per annum, which, at the end of five years' service, is increased to $2,640, etc. In addi tion to this, officers are furnished with quarters, medical attendance and medicines for themselves and their families, the privileges of the commissary, mileage at the rate of seven cents a mile when traveling under orders, and allowed one month's leave per year with full pay, which may be allowed to accumulate to a maximum of four months; also the privilege of retirement. These allowances are estimated to add from $1,200 to $1,600 to the yearly compensation in the grades of first lieutenant and captain. Applications for permission to take the examination may be filed with the War Department at any time. Unless the statement is made that the candidate desires to appear before the Washington board at or about a certain time, arrangements will be made to have him examined before the next board assembled in his vicinity. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION MEETING. In another department we are publishing the preliminary program of the meeting of the Mississippi Valley Medical Association for the meeting which is to be held in this city October 12, 13 and 14 next, It bears out our statement in our last issue that this is to be a scientific feast. But something more is being prepared than appears in the published program. The Surgeon-General of the Marine Hospital Service has detailed Dr. C. H. Lavinder, assistant surgeon, to read a paper on Pellagra, and Dr. C. W. Stiles, of Washington, another, which will be illustrated with stereopticon slides, on Hookworm Disease. Dr. B. S. Warren, of the United States Marine Hospital at St. Louis, has also been detailed to take part in the proceedings, and will open the discussion of the paper of Major S. C. Stanton on Camp Sanitation. Dr. Lavinder is the highest American authority on pellagra, and Dr. Stiles occupies a similar position relative to hookworm disease. Efforts are being made to have brought here for the meeting several patients from Peoria who are under treatment for pellagra, and indications are that this clinic will do much to acquaint the profession with this, to us, new disease. It is not bad advice to suggest to members that hotel accommodation should be secured in advance. St. Louis hotels are busy, and it is quite possible that you may not be able to secure what you most desire if you make no reservation in advance. All the work of the association is to be done in the Southern, and there are naturally many advantages in being located in that hotel, the only way to be certain of quarters there is through definite advance reservation. Excursion rates over roads entering St. Louis are available for the meeting, on the cer tificate plan. Certificates should be secured when purchasing tickets. The remarkably low rate offered in connection with the St. Louis Centennial will doubtless tempt many members to come for the two weeks. It has not yet been possible to determine whether or not excursion rates can be made to cover the longer period. Preliminary program of the thirty-fifth annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Medical Association, Southern Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., October 12, 13, 14, 1909: Officers, 1909. J. A. Witherspoon, President, Nashville, Tenn. Louis Frank, First Vice-President, Louisville, Ky. Albert E. Sterne, Second Vice-President, Indianapolis, Ind. Henry Enos Tuley, Secretary, Louisville, Ky. Registration-Henry J. Scherck. Exhibits-Louis H. Behrens. Preliminary Program. Address of President-J. A. Witherspoon, Nash ville, Tenn.: Medical Education, Past, Present and Future. Address in Medicine-Sherman G Bonney, Denver, Colo.: Mistakes in Medical Practice. Address in Surgery-John B. Deaver, Philadelphia, Pa.: Modern Surgery of the Digestive Tract. Symposium. S. P. Beebe, New York City: Medical Treatment of Exophthalmic Goitre. George W. Crile, Cleveland, O.: Post Operative Results in Exophthalmic Goitres and Tumors. J. H. Jacobson, Toledo, O.: Bi-lateral Ligation of the Upper Poles of the Thyroid Gland for Base dow's Diseases. Allen B. Kanavel, Chicago, Ill., in association with Lewis J. Pollock, Chicago: Thyroidectomy in the Treatment of Catatonic Dementia Praecox; A final report of the results in a series of twelve cases. Albert J. Ochsner, Chicago, Ill.: Surgical Treatment of Exophthalmic Goitre. Discussion opened by Herman Tuholske, St. Louis, and Arthur R. Elliott, Chicago, Ill. Papers. Isasac A. Abt, Chicago, Ill.: Use of Cathartic Drugs in Infancy. Maynard A. Austin, Anderson, Ind.: The Socialistic Future of Medicine. Charles E. Barnett, Fort Wayne, Ind.: Genital Canal Block Following Neisser Coccus Infection. Discussion opened by Alexander S. Wolf, St. Louis Channing W. Barrett, Chicago, Ill.: The Treatment of Peritoneal Infections in the Light of the Protective Nature of Peritonitis. L. W. Bremerman, Chicago, Ill.: Methods of Estimating the Renal Function and Their Relation to Surgery. George V. I. Brown, Milwaukee, Wis.: The Surgical Treatment of Cleft Palate; Continued Report with Illustrations. J. H. Carstens, Detroit, Mich. : What Women Should Know in Regard to Uterine Cancer. A. H. Cordier, Kansas City, Mo.: Elements of Success in Surgical Work. Discussion opened by Duncan Eve, Nashville, Tenn. Leo M. Crafts, Minneapolis, Minn.: The Problem of the Insane and Defective. Jos. Rilus Eastman, Indianapolis, Ind.: Sarcoma of the Prostate. Frank Parsons Norbury, Jacksonville, Ill.: Secondary Cancer Affecting the Spinal Cord, with Report of Cases. F. M. Pottenger, Monrovia, Cal.: Diagnostic Aids in Tuberculosis, Muscle Rigidity and the Orthodiagraph. B. M. Ricketts, Cincinnati, Ohio: Local Versus General Anesthesia. Nathan Rosewater, Cleveland, O.: Atony and Tonics. C. N. Smith, Toledo, O.: The Latent Gall Stone. Willard J. Stone, Toledo, O.: The Latent Duodenal and Gastric Ulcer. Discussion opened by A. C. Croftan, Chicago, Ill. J. A. Stucky, Lexington, Ky.: Some Reflex Neuroses Arising from Nasal Abnormalities. Edwin Walker, Evansville, Ind.: Acute Dilatation of the Stomach. Discussion opened by Jesse S. Mver, St. Louis, Mo. H. O. Walker, Detroit. Mich. : Pfannenstiel Incision, with Report of Cases. Alex. C. Wiener, Chicago, Ill.: emia in Surgery. Tuberculous Tox Daniel N Eisendrath, Chicago, Ill.: Sigmoid Diverticulitis. Discussion opened by Robert Edw. Wilson, St. Louis, Mo. Earl M. Gilliam, Columbus.: A New Method of Dealing with Urethro cervical Fistula. Report of Case. M. L. Heidingsfeld, Cincinnati, O.: Ballous Vaccinal Dermatitis. C. F. Hcover. Cleveland, O.: Arterial Sclerosis. C. W. Stiles, Washington, D. C.: The Hook Worm Disease. Passed Assistant Surgeon C. H. Lavinder, Marine Hospital Service. Pellagra. J. J. Watson, Columbia, S. C.: Pellagra. E. Mark Houghton and H. S. Yntema, Detroit, Mich. : Some comparisons of the Physiological Action of Preparations of the Heart Tonics of the Digitalis Series. John A. Landis. Cincinnati, O.: Alcohol. Discussion opened by Marc Ray Hughes. St. Louis, Mo. G. Frank Lydston. Chicago, Ill: The Russianizing of the American Medical Profession. Milton H. Mack, Chicago, Ill.: The Macroscopical Appearance of the Stomach Contents as a Diagnostic Aid in Stomach Diseases. A. H. Barkley, Lexington, Ky.: Report of Burn, Where One Half of the Body Area Was Involved With Recovery; Exhibition of Patient. R. Alexander Bate, Louisville, Ky.: Therapeutic Renaissance. E. O. Smith, Cincinnati, O.: The Treatment of Urethral Strictures. Louis H. Warner, Brooklyn, N. Y.: Actualities of Bacterial Vaccine Treatment. S. C. Stanton, Chicago, Ill.: Camp Sanitation. Discussion opened by Passed Ass't Surgeon B. S. Warren, St. Louis, Mo. Geo. Allen Staples, Dubuque, Ia.: Some Pediatric Cases found in General Practice. D. O'rsay Hecht, Chicago, Ill.: The Treatment of Neuralgias by Deep Injections and its Limitations. J. Rawson Pennington, Chicago, Ill.: The Rectal Circle or Zone of Rectal Pathology. Willard D. Haines, Cincinnati, O.: Surgery of the Gall Bladder. Charles Carter, Clinton, Ill.: Infant Feeding in Country Practice. Florus F. Lawrence, Columbus, O.: Mortality and Morbidity of Abdominal Surgery. H. Horace Grant, Louisville. Liston Homer Montgomery, Chicago, Ill.: posed Federal Health Department. ST. LOUIS'S CENTENNIAL. A Pro Shortly after the issue of this paper, St. Louis will celebrate its one hundredth birthday, and it is hoped that the celebration will be crowned with success and will attract a large number of people. Surely the program that has been prepared by the committee in charge will appeal to all classes of people. A synopsis of what will take place can be seen from the following: Balloon, airship and aeroplane races, under the auspices of the Aero Club of St. Louis, will be the most spectacular feature of the St. Louis Centen nial, October 3 to 9, 1909. The Aero Club of St. Louis has issued a booklet containing a list of Centennial week aeronautic events and prizes: October 4, 1909.-Aero Club Grounds, 3 p. m.: Spherical balloons. Friday, October 8, 2 p. m.-Aeroplanes: to be held in the West End. Contest October 9, 2 p. m.-Commercial balloon race; 3 p. m., dirigible balloon race, Aero Club grounds. The St. Louis Centennial Association is a municipal institution, whose president is the Hon. Frederick H. Kreismann, mayor, and whose purpose is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of St. Louis with the most notable series of great events ever crowded into seven days in any American city. Via floats, costumed paraders, etc., will be shown the different stages in the development of St. Louis from a wilderness inhabited by pioneers and Indians into a city of towering skyscrapers and beautiful homes, ranking, in point of many important industries, first among the cities of the world. In addition to the air events already described, there will be water and land events, as follows: A water pageant, commemorating the founding of St. Louis. A municipal pageant, comprising the St. Louis police, fire and other municipal departments, to be reviewed from the grandstand by the mayors of sister cities, the guests of honor, and culminating in the cornerstone laying of municipal buildings costing $1,500,000. An educational, historical and military pageant, in three divisions, with students, historical floats, |