The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

THE HEALTH BULLETIN. 219they to attempt to live in a tribe ofsavages.The Day Bei ore the Dream.But I must stop these parentheticalexcursions and get back to Dr. Smithand his dream. On a certain day inNovember of the present year he hadbeen unusually busy, even for onewhose working hours frequentlydouble the legal limit. During hisoffice hours he had seen several caseswhich gave him grave concern. Therewas William Thompson, the son of hisold classmate and college chum, nowJudge Thompson. William finished atthe old University and is now an embryolawyer promising to follow in thefootsteps of his honored and honorablefather, but William belonged to afast fraternity at college and came toDr. Smith this morning with coppercoloredspots over his body and a localsore. The doctor easily diagnosedthe case and pointed out to Williamthat he was a walking culture flask ofspirochetes, a constant source of dangerto all who should come in contactwith him, and that years of treatmentwould be necessary to render himsound again. On the lip of a girl, thedaughter of another old friend, thedoctor had found a chancre caused bya kiss from her fiance, a supposedlyupright man prominent in church andsocial circles. He had seen a caseof gonorrhea in a girl baby contractedfrom her mother, the wife of a laboringman. A case of gonorrheal ophthalmiain a young man, whose only sinwas that he had used the same towelused by an older brother, next demandedhis attention. Several casesof advanced tuberculosis among thosewho had been told by less conscientiousphysicians that the cough wasonly a bronchial trouble made Dr.Smith lament the standard of skill andhonor among some of his professionalbrethren. Rapid loss in weight in anold friend who had been too busy toconsult him earlier was diagnosed asneglected diabetes. In another instancedimness of vision and frequentheadaches persisting for months hadnot sufficed to send an active businessman to the physician. This proved tobe an advanced case of Bright's disease,which should have been recognizedtwo years earlier.Urinary, ophthalmoscopicand blood pressure testsdemonstrated the seriousness of thepresent condition. A breast tumor onthe wife of an old and respected friendshowed extensive involvement of theaxillary glands and the operation demandedpromised only temporary relief,while had it been done monthsbefore, complete removal of the diseasedtissue would have resulted.In making his calls for the day Dr.Smith had experienced both among thewell-to-do and the poor many thingswhich had brought within the rangeof his vision more and darker cloudsthan those which floated in the dullNovember sky. More than a year beforehe had become estranged fromthe family of one of his oldest and bestfriends. The breaking of this relationship,which had continued fromhis earliest professional service andhad been filled with the common joysand sorrows shared only by the familyphysician and those under his charge,had cast a deep shadow over the doctor'slife. He had officiated at thebirth of each of his friend's five children,and he felt a parental love andpride in them as he saw them growinto healthy womanhood and manhood.A little more than a year agohe learned that the eldest of thesechildren, a beautiful and healthy girlof eighteen, was engaged to a youngman whom he knew to be a rake. Ina spirit of altruism he had gone to thefather and mother, and protestedagainst the sacrifice of the daughter.This kindly intended intervention was