On the Firing Line (c 1936)

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] all over this broad land of ours a bitter war is being fought against tuberculosis able Warriors armed with modern weapons are the firing line how goes the battle come with me on a journey and let's see what is being done first to Washington to get a few facts in this building is a Census Bureau where Uncle Sam keeps his health record books there is a card here for each of us telling when we were born born when married what we die of and many other facts ingenious machines sought these cards so that statistics may be compiled from them imagine all the people in the United States divided into groups of 100,000 each here is one such group this chishan IR represents 50 deaths from tuberculosis in 1910 there were about 100 50 deaths from tuberculosis for reach 100,000 persons we need three earns in this role 10 years later there were 100 deaths per 100,000 persons two ears and in 1935 about 50 only one earned death rate cut to 1/3 of what it was 25 years ago what a retreat next we visit New York City where so much of the nation's business is transacted in New York the headquarters of the national tuberculosis Association its network of state county and City associations covers the country including our territories and possessions the whole Enterprise is financed by the sale of tuberculosis Cris seals which you buy each year renowned artists create a new design for the seal each year here is Rock will Kent at work on one the local tuberculosis associations send them out to you and me in some places the scouts or other organizations lend a hand every seal carries a message of Hope and cheer with the money these associations keep up the fight through education of the People by the printed word pamphlets posters the newspaper exhibits radio education of the people and through them of the state is the first and greatest need in the prevention of tuberculosis these were the words of Edward Livingston Trudeau our first president when in 195 he char part of the course of the national tuberculosis Association let's go next to serak Lake in the beautiful edex which Dr Trudeau loves so well here is the brown statue of trau reclining in his chair a pole so characteristic of his own successful struggle against aulos it was Trudeau who introduced the modern treatment of tuberculosis in this country rest fresh air and good food nestling in the Hills now surrounded by fine buildings we find the little red the first Cottage built by Trudeau in 1884 for the treatment of two young women it is served as the inspiration for the more than 700 sanatoria built since then [Music] let's have a look at one of these sanatoria or tuberculosis hospitals as they are called today real hospitals for the tuberculous and not merely rest places here we are in a large Southern sanatorium this one has beds for 500 patients altogether there are now 90,000 such beds available rest and more rest as Trudeau discovered when he himself took the Cure as a young doctor yes and good food nowadays doctors don't stuff patients with more milk and eggs than they can digest just good well-balanced meals enough to gain weight on smell those delicious loaves new ways of resting the lung have been developed this patient is getting pneumothorax treatment air is L into the chest cavity and that rests the lung so that it can heal when the diseased lung is fully healed it is allowed to expand again and Lifesaver for many each patient is helped to find its place in the work a day world when he leaves the sanatorium here's a class in typewriting in this sanatorium as in many others children of tuberculous parents who cannot be properly protected otherwise are cared for in a special Department of the sanatorium finding the cases of tuberculosis is a very important job not only the specialist but the family doctor too is constantly on the alert knowing that tuberculosis May disguise itself as some other disease doctors in The Villages and Country districts too keep in mind the dangers of unsuspected disease even when patients do not complain of the common symptoms such as cough tiredness loss of weight or indigestion the alert doctor thinks of tuberculosis clinics for the diagnosis of tuberculosis now exists in every enterprising Community Specialists are in charge and x-ray services at hand Public Health nurses teach the families of those who have tuberculosis they see that the doctor's orders are Faithfully carried out they urge all members of the family to be examined for tuberculosis though not inherited runs in families what about the thousand of people in out of the way places let's see how they do it in the Bayou [Music] Country work in the Caden Fields under the hot sun is picturesque But Mighty hard labor these sections are not well equipped with clinics or x-ray apparatus so necessary to discover tuberculosis very well says the health department if people cannot come to the doctor the doctor and all he needs will go to the people here is an auto trailer expertly designed which carries complete equipment for making diagnosis in the modern manner a doctor and nurse go with the outfit advanc arrangements are made with the doctors and local Health departments so that all who should be examined will be on hand when the trailer comes here we are arriving on the Public Square alongside the courthouse and ready for business quietly and efficiently the work is carried on by skilled workers The Family Doctor gets the report of the X-ray examination of his patient inside the trailer everything is snug and ship shaped it looks compact doesn't it but there's space enough to do the job well the dressing room is just a corner screened off by a curtain the X-ray apparatus is one of the latest models for a poor x-ray picture may be worse than none efficiency and economy make it possible to give this important service to the people slap all over the plate is removed later be to be developed in the dark room and in a moment the next patient will go through the same steps inside the court house or sometimes a school or church the doctor makes the rest of the examination gets the history of the patient and consults with the local doctor about the patient then on their way again to the next town up and down throughout the state this showed you but one of several such diagnostic Auto trailers now being used in rural areas now we are in in a large Midwestern University we meet the flower of American manhood and Womanhood how many of them will fall victims to tuberculosis well if nobody cares at least six out of each 1,000 students before they reach their 30s but someone does care enough to search out the very beginnings of the disease before there are any signs or symptoms all students are given this simple tuberculin test to show whether tuberculosis germs have entered the body all who have tuberculosis germs and their bodies are x-rayed one out of four in this University tuberculosis must be seen before it is heard say the doctors that's why they urge all young people to be tested with tuberculin and to be x-rayed if positive the X-ray plate is developed in the dark room much as you develop your own Kodak pictures in the mysterious amberl lighted closet at home when the film is dry the Shadows are read or interpreted by the doctor here's the chess picture of a young athlete the trained eye of the physician sees the damage already done by tuberculosis the fight also goes on in the quiet research laboratory scientists are studying the life and habits of The Germ did you know that the tuberculosis germ actually breathes eats and reproduces they are finding out how the germ causes disease and also how the body defends itself someday maybe they'll give us a specific cure but don't exalt yet there is another side to this optimistic picture the death rate has gone down true but 70,000 tuberculosis victims still march to their graves each year and many more are disabled most of them are young people in that period of life when it is most productive and sweet eager students young parents wage earners on the upgrade of life not an old man's disease this but a bitter foe of Youth here they are the young people we're concerned about our out of each 100,000 in the age group 15 to 45 66 died last year there's another sore spot on the optimistic picture certain racial groups such as Negroes Mexicans and Indians suffer heavy losses from tuberculosis the death rate among Negroes is three times as high as among whites not only in the Southland but also in the Northern Industrial centers poverty bad housing and a depressed scale of living seem to be largely responsible living cheaply really means living expensively how would you like to try to keep warm this way buying your firewood at the curb 16 sticks for 5 cents and when that is gone perhaps on some cold night having to pinch pennies for food is another hardship rabbits two for a quarter here's the chart we saw before showing the decline in the death rate among whites each of these strips represents 100,000 Negroes and each earn 50 deaths from tuberculosis but notice that the decline has been just as rapid as that among whites and in 1935 Negroes suffered no more deaths than whites did in 1910 there's a lag but the trend is hopeful another problem industrial workers did you know that tuberculosis is the particular enemy of the working classes the men and women on whom rest the prosperity and Welfare of this nation in this chart each group represents 10,000 men with a job here are the professional men here are the white collar workers the farmers and Foresters here the skilled workers and finally the unskilled workers each earn represents one death from tuberculosis among these workers professional men not many deaths among them clicks about three times as many agricultural workers seem to Fair pretty well skilled workers a little more than clerks and unskilled workers here's our problem look at the earns 17 out of each 10,000 die of tuberculosis each year this time we go west Arizona New Mexico Colorado and California for here there is still another problem years ago it got noised about that climate was the magic cure that error is still believed by many but out here in the southwest there are oh nobody knows but perhaps 5,000 persons who have tuberculosis roaming aimlessly about looking for help some of them come alone spend their last dollar for railroad fair and cheap lodging look in vain for a job and die others bundle up the whole family in the old car and start out blindly just hoping to make a new start they seldom find work eek out a miserable existence and when the last drop of gasoline gives out they become a burden on some hard pressed Community little can be done for them for they have lost their settlement rights they don't stay long enough in one place to win the rights of a resident the children suffer neglect and are constantly exposed to to the danger of getting tuberculosis from the sick parents they become shrouded in Gloom and despair whatever Becomes of them no one seems to know precisely though some excellent studies of this situation are now underway this problem is our business not only because we are our Brother's Keeper but also because every such sick Wanderer carries the seeds of tuberculosis along the countryside the wandering consumptive is of course only part of the larger problem of migration Which social organizations and government departments are trying hard to solve uh home again best part of a journey but do you know that we are still on the front line for tuberculosis threatens every door step Rich poor and me class and no home is safe until every home is safe