Public Health

When Shirley W. Wynne, New York City's new health commissioner, left the public health conferences at Chicago a fortnight ago (TIME, Oct. 29), he was cynical. By the time he reached home and was called to give a great conference of New York nurses a talking to, he had be come, Jeremian. Hard words were those he spoke: "We have been placing too much emphasis on selling the idea of public health and not enough on actually de livering the goods in dispensing public health. . . .

"Although there is a safe antitoxin for diphtheria there were 715 deaths from this disease in New York City last year and 13,500 cases.

"The greater part of the reduction in numbers of tuberculosis cases come solely from steadily improving economic conditions, and only a small part from public health work. That may sound like a startling statement from a public health officer, but it is true. . . .

". . . Industrial nurses can do much more thorough work if they will make complete examination of all newly employed people. They will then have some thing definite on which to work. You nurses will find that you will be able to do a much more thorough job than if you try to spread your efforts over the whole laboring staff."

A last deed of the American Public Health Association meeting (TIME, Oct. 29), was the election of George Warren Fuller of Manhattan as president. The election was unusual for the association. Mr. Fuller is no medical man. He is a sanitary engineer, commonly considered the foremost in this country. One hundred and fifty U. S. communities have hired him to get them pure water or to dispose of their garbage. Most important was his program, now in execution, of getting rid of Chicago's offal. Just recently he out lined a method for New York City's sewage disposal. The calls on him are too many for one man to fulfill. So years ago he formed a partnership with the late Rudolph Hering. His present partner is James Robinson McClintock. They operate as Fuller & McClintock.

Mr. Fuller's election as president of the American Public Health Association causes him a personal conflict. The association is to meet at Minneapolis next October. But next October he must be at Tokyo, where the World Engineering Congress next meets. He is a member of the executive committee of that body and chairman of the committee on promotion & attendance, exigent jobs.