THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1910 THE GREAT WHITE PLAGUE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 973, 17 February 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1910 THE GREAT WHITE PLAGUE.

Sir Lauder Brunton has just declared that "if the people of England would unite in a whole-hearted, endeavour to extirpate consumption, in twentyfive years or less consumption would be as rare as leprosy is now." That great scientist Lord Lister has also declared that "if the prevention of tuberculosis is to be effectively carried out the general public must aid the physician and the surgeon in the endeavour." A remarkable book has just been published which discusses with much first-hand knowledge the whole of this great problem which is so vital to the nation. For over ten years Dr u. Muthu has devoted great gifts of insight and sympathy to the personal and social causes to wbich this disease i? Hue, and the book he has just published is a triumphant proof that if taken in time the disease can be cured in the individual. Dr Muthu declares that the .openair movement, of which he is one of the most active apostles, "has taught this most precious lesson, that when consumption is taken in hand

in its early stages more than 90 per cent, of the sufferers can be restored to health." As physician to the Mendip Hills Sanatorium at Wells and at the Inglewood Sanatorium in the Isle of Wight, he has been fighting this disease for ten years, and his book, "Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Sanatorium Treatment" is a remarkj able record of success, and facts with rtgard to individual cases are cited. It also shows that the medical man can be a literary man, and that his experience in dealing with men and women and the diseases which afflict them compels him also to be a vigorous social reformer. The first part of Dr Muthu's book deals with the scientific aspect of this great white plague; the second deals with the method of treatment in sanatoria, and the pictures which accompany it show how attractive these sanatoria are when placed among pines and green trees; the third part deals with the social aspect of tuberculosis. The introdution emphasises the importance of trusting Nature and of following her methods and ways in the cure and prevention of disease. The open-air movement has, says Dr Muthu, "revolutionised the treatment of consumption, and has shown a way for the attainment of larger health and iLore wholesome living. Open-air sanatoria are really doing the work of the State in that, as in so many centres of education, they teach the people the gospel of fresh air to improve their stamina and efficiency, so that they may take their place as worthy citizens. Man is not a machine, but a living personality. He is also a social being, subject to the influences of environment Both these aspects of life should be borne in mind if we are to solve satisfactorily the problems of tuberculosis and, in lact, of any d'sease. "The conditions for the free flow of the vital energy are twofold," says Dr M-ith'i. "The body should be kept in good repair by food. The mind should be undisturbed. Vitality flows from the secret springs of calm and peace. Sleep is the symbol and expression of peace. It seems as if the Angel of Life comes in the silent hours of the night and fills the < myty pitchers of cells with vital energy which has been spent during the day; the night of weariness gives place to the restored energy of the morning. . . . The health, therefore, of an individual or a nation is brought about by perfect adjustment to environment." "Open air treatment," adds Dr Muthu, "has taught this precious lesson—that it is only by going back from the bustle and excitements of town life to the calm and communion of Nature that man will regain his lost peace and health." And that is Dr Muthu's method of treatment. It must be remembered that the world loses'a London of people every year through the scourge of consumption —that 5,000,000 die from it everv ) year. Therefore Dr Muthu's chapter I on the social causes of tuberculosis is of high value. He declares that "of all the predisposing causes of consumption poverty comes first and foremost. Poverty leads to overcrowding." These lead to the disintegration of the home. The decay of home'Jife seems to be the greatest menace this country I has to fear. As Lord oiice said, "In rookeries and slums-an imperial race cannot be raised.' " Dr( Muthu closes his thought-provoking book with acute suggestions as to how the nation'can legislate for clean conditions of life.