the simple ordinary coryza, which is a polite running at the nose, to the sore throat, the aching chest, fever, and generally "knocked-out" feeling. The cough, the sneeze, the headache, and the varying degrees of inefficiency which a cold produces are, alas, only too well known. Common colds occur in epidemics and are distinctly contagious. They sweep through an entire household, an entire city, an entire State, attacking the young. the adolescent, the middle aged, and frequently carrying off the aged, the weak, and the debilitated. Schools, factories, stores are suddenly crippled by epidemics of this sort, and the complications and serious disorders following the disease add to the great economic loss produced in this way. Infection of the cavities beneath the cheeks and brows, ear derangements, chronic lung infections, rheumatism, heart disorders, kidney impairment, and depressed vitality may all follow in the train of this widespread infection. How to Prevent a Cold To prevent a cold it is necessary, first of all, to keep the body resistance at a high point of efficiency. This means that the body machinery should be kept in good order at all times. Good wholesome food in proper amount, plenty of sleep, the careful attendance to the voiding of the body wastes, the taking of regular exercise in the open air, keeping the body clean, keeping the mouth and nose clean, the avoidance of hot, stuffy, dusty rooms, the avoidance of exposure to sudden changes of temperature, the prevention of the chilling of the body either by cold or wet, are all protective measures. It should be borne in mind, however, that even robust persons may contract colds from people who have them. The germs of colds leave the body in the secretions of the mouth and nose. They enter the body through the same route. Thus a careless sneezer and the person who does not cover his mouth and nose when he coughs are breeders of these infections. The little living bodies which cause colds are so small that a million could rest on the head of a pin. When a person coughs or sneezes, a fine spray carrying with it untold numbers of these germs is spread into the surrounding atmosphere to a distance of several feet and may be easily taken into the mouth and nose with the respired air. More direct contact, such as by kissing, the common drinking cup, the common roller towel, by pipes, toys, pencils. fingers, food, and other things. which have been contaminated by the mouth and nose secretions of a person having a cold may also carry the disease. Keep Your Cold to Yourself It is an obligation on the part of persons having colds to see to it that they do not spread these colds. to somebody else. The person who neglects to cover his nose and mouth when he sneezes and coughs, the careless spitter, the person who permits his germ-laden discharges to contaminate things which are going to be handled by other people is a menace to the community. If such a person uses public swimming pools, if he is not amenable to reason and persists in distributing his infection, he should be avoided as a spreader of pestilence. A good deal has been said about hardening people so that they will not contract colds. There is an element of danger in this, since to expose a weak person to the rigors of cold baths and cold drafts is apt to lower resistance, thus favoring the very condition which it is de sired to avoid. At the same time it should not be forgotten that the Arctic explorer does not ordinarily have colds so long as he stays out in the open, and that it is not the engineer and fireman in the cold, drafty cab who have colds, but those who ride in the close, dusty, overheated coaches behind. When all is said, it must be admitted that dusty, unventilated rooms perhaps play the greatest role in producing colds. Treat Colds Seriously Since colds are a serious condition they should be treated as such. A great many people think that they have an infallible remedy for breaking up a cold. This may be harmless in itself, but usually it is not and consists of a combination of harmful drugs and alcohol, the latter usually preponderating. The sufferer takes these preparations in large quantities, and if he is strong enough he may survive them and eventually get the best of his cold. Self-medication or medication by untrained persons is always dangerous. It is especially dangerous to those having colds and should always be scrupulously avoided. As a rule, much time, inconvenience, and suffering will be obviated by consulting an intelligent physician promptly. If this is not practicable, a brisk saline may be taken and the patient put to bed. This gives his body an opportunity to regain its vitality and at the same time isolates him from other people. The sick room should be well ventilated and the windows so opened as to keep the air moving freely. It is also wise to moisten the air a little bit by putting a pan of water on the radiator or over the register or on the stove. The handkerchiefs and bedding used by the patient should be sterilized by boiling. Kissing, and the use of drinking cups and towels, etc., in common with other members of the household should be forbidden, it being borne in mind constantly that colds are infectious and readily spread from one person to another. SALESMEN'S WIVES TOLD HOW TO KEEP. HUBBY IN CONDITION Recognizing that industrial or business efficiency is largely a matter of individual health, a large Ohio manufacturing concern recently called together the wives of its 500 salesmen for a convention, at which it presented to them a series of addresses telling how they could aid their husbands in attaining success in their work. Suggestions for keeping him cheerful and in good health were important. "tips" which each wife received. Among the bits of advice handed out were these: Serve simple food. plenty of sleep, lend encouragement keep him cheerful, see that he gets at the right time, encourage him to take regular exercise. Addresses were given on such conservation, subjects as food proper methods of preparing food, balancing of meals and prevention of disease. GULLS PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH Sea gulls as an aid to public health were given a boost by the National Association of Audobon Societies recently. Large seacoast and lake cities which dump their garbage offshore are protected by the gulls from the disagreeable results which would ensue if the refuse drifted ashore. The birds eat the waste matter. THE ART OF LIVING LONG. Let us get away momentarily from the war. There seems to be a widespread desire among people to live long. This is indicated by the success which attends the efforts of "specialists" who advertise various kinds of medicines and also by the fact that many of the citizens of our beloved country spend much of their time and most of their money in efforts to secure remedies for the things that ail them. Some of them travel to far-away places, hoping to find strength in climatic changes; not a few subscribe for courses of physical training, and there are many who endeavor by dieting and engaging in other diversions to ward off the decay that insists upon making itself manifest in spite of the general reluctance with which it is acknowledged. Every little while we hear from a scientist who alleges that he has discovered how to prolong life indefinitely, and the hope which springs eternal in the human breast is refreshed and strengthened, only to be followed by disappointment when it is found that the scientist has been unduly impulsive in announcing his discovery. What chance is there for prolonging life? Are the people who think they can lengthen their years by taking medicines, by finding changes of climate, by engaging in special physical exercises or by adopting any of the other courses recommended likely to gain the desired end? It is not to be denied that some medicines are helpful or that climate and proper exercise may be beneficial. The great trouble, however, is that people do not begin at the proper time to try to live long. It is difficult to save an apple that has begun to rot. When a tree has been permitted to decay, doctoring will not restore its former strength. People who by careless and improper living bring on physical deterioration are not likely to recover youthful vigor and healthiness by taking drugs or engaging in exercises that have been too long deferred. The time to begin to live long is when one is young and sound. Young people who keep late hours; who inhale cigarette smoke, who drink stuff that is injurious to living tissues, and whose associations. are unhealthful may be expected to find it necessary later in life to seek remedies for the prevention of untimely decay. The sound apple that is left in the barrel where many rotten ones are soon rots. So it is with the healthy boy or girl. Neither the one nor the other can associate with people who are unfit, without becoming tainted with unfitness. In the big cities most of the cabarets may be likened unto the barrels containing rotten apples. The young man or young woman who frequents such places is in danger. Rottenness is contagious. Let no one conclude hastily that it is intended here to convey the impression that all people who find it necessary to seek health have been guilty of youthful folly. Many good men and women become unsound physically through no faults of their own. Overwork may bring on disease or early exhausted. Circumstances which may not always be controlled are responsible for much of the suffering and many of the ills that people have to bear; but in too many instances decrepitude is directly traceable to careless living and dangerous indulgence that could and should have been avoided. The boy or girl who is to live long and be useful in the world must begin early to live right. Rottenness that begins where rotten conditions prevail is not to be cured by change of climate, by the consumption of nostrums, or by any remedy that science is likely to develop. Springfield Daily News. THE CHILD LABOR PROBLEM. FRANCES M. HOLLINGSHEAD, A. M., M. D. Director Division of Child Hygiene, State Department of Health. As a result of the Federal child labor law having become effective September 1, we are facing a new series of questions in Ohio. The law requires that no child under 14 years of age shall work in any mill, cannery, workshop, factory or manufacturing establishment which ships in interstate or foreign commerce. This will set free many children in states where no such provision has before been made and these children must be kept in school at any cost. Ohio should not be affected by such a law if her own child labor law was enforced to the limit. We all know, however, that it requires eternal vigilance to attain even near perfection in such a case. There are places in Ohio in which the law is not fully enforced and a special effort must be made throughout the state to see that all the children of such ages are enrolled in school. From a number of smaller cities have already come reports of much larger enrollment and overcrowded schools. Whether or not this has any connection with the new law. it is too early to predict. At least we hope that some children have been given a new opportunity. There is danger in the economic crisis which exists, of children in the rural districts being kept out of school for a longer period because of the shortage of farm labor. This should not be permitted. and all possible influence should be brought to bear upon school men not to countenance such a procedure. Labor can be furnished thru the various state agencies but it is sometimes easier to keep the boy on the farm than to hunt up a paid laborer. Again there is danger in the large cities of children escaping notice and slipping into industry because of the absence of so many men. There is as yet no pressing need in Ohio of even adult women in industry to say nothing of boys and girls. They should be the very last resource. Agencies need be very active in our cities to obviate such conditions. The Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense hopes to help in this campaign because of these possibilities. There has been a woman chairman appointed in each of the counties whose duty it shall be to organize the woman's work in her county. She will appoint a chairman in each of the incorporated places of her county. It shall be the duty of this chairman to obtain as much information as possible about child labor conditions in her community, the actual work she may delegate to as many women as she wishes. The questions asked will be: I. Are all children between 6 and 14 years of age in your community or school district in school? 2. How do you know this? 3. Are any children in need of scholarships in order to attend school? These questions will, in certain places, be incorporated in a series asked in connection with local studies of birth registration. This information will be collected in the State Department of Health, Division of Child Hygiene, as the director of this division is also chairman of the Woman's Committee for Child Welfare. In this manner we hope to have some definite information as to what the situation in the state really is. If the children of school age are all in the schools we should know it. If they are not, all possible effort must be made to put them there and keep them there. PHYSICIANS AID STUDY OF SICKNESS INSURANCE The Ohio State Medical Association's committee, recently named, to aid the state health and old age insurance commission in the study. of health and old age insurance consists of: Dr. Walter H. Snyder, Toledo, former president of the association; Dr. O. Geier, Cincinnati, chairman of the public health section of the American Medical Association, and Dr. G. E. Robbins, Chillicothe, former president of the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis. WAR PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE (Continued from page 508.) university study will take the place of this early training and education. I believe that all nurses should receive their nursing education in the universities. The need for the authority and prestige of a university in the recognition of nursing as a profession is just as imperative as it has been in the recognition of any other profession. This does not mean that I would care to see any actual contact with patients or any bedside care omitted from the curriculum. This experience which must be obtained in hospital words is the foundation of nursing work. Realizing the importance of this great problem of the shortage of nurses the National Nursing Committees of the General Medical Boards of the Council of National Defense have looked to the future and have exerted every effort to increase the number of students in training schools. Thousands of letters and appeals have been sent to principals of schools or secretaries of Boards of Education, to 1917 college graduates, as well as to graduates of high, technical and private schools. The nursing schools and hospitals are doing their part to help in the great need. Several schools are offering special inducements to candidates who have had special preparation. College graduates who can bring proof of satisfactory scientific groundwork may complete their training in two instead of three years. In the Presbyterian Hospital Training School of New York City plans are being |