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Annual Dinner
1933.
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T h e Society. Reports, Proceedings and Announcements. ANNUAL DINNER. The Annual Dinner of the Society was held in the Garden Suite of the May Fair Hotel Berkeley Square, L o n d o n , on T h u r s d a y , N o v e m b e r 23rd, 1933, when the President (Dr. Charles Porter) and Mrs. Porter received over 150 members and guests. Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who, with the Minister of Health (Sir E. Hilton Young), was to have been a principal guest of the evening, unfortunately was prevented, by reasons of health, from being present. A message sent b y H e r Royal Highness to Dr. Porter, will be found later in this report. T h e President was supported by the following : - Past-Presidents.--Dr. G. H. Pearce, Dr. G. F. Buchan (Hon. Treasurer), and Dr. J. J. Buchan. Members of the Council.--Dr. Vynne Borland, Dr. R. Veitch Clark, Dr. James Fenton (President, Metropolitan Branch), Sir Francis Fremantle, O.B.E., D.L., M.A., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S., M.P., Dr. R. P. Garrow, Professor W. W. Jameson, F.R.C.P., Dr. R. H. H. Jolly, Dr. James Mair, Dr. H. J. Milligan, M.c., Dr. E. H. T . Nash, Dr. T h o m a s Orr (President, Home Counties Branch), Dr. W. Paterson, Dr. T. N. V. Potts, Dr. H. Gibbons Ward, Dr. R. It. Wilshaw, and Dr. F. T. H~ Wood, O.B.E.
Branch and Group Presidents.--Dr. W. M. Ash (East Midland Branch), Dr. George Jessel (Tuberculosis Group), Dr. H. D. Kelf (Southern Branch), Dr. Gladys J. C. Russell (Yorkshire Branch), and Dr. A. E. R e m m e t t Weaver (West of England Branch). Mrs. Ash. Dr. Marjorie Back, Lord Balfour of Burleigh (President, Royal Sanitary Institute), Dr. Cyril Banks, Mrs. Banks, Miss Bates, Dr. Agnes Bernfeld, Dr. E. J. Boome, Frederick Breese, Esq., L.D.S., Mrs. F. Breese, W. Leigh Breese, Esq., L.D.S., Mrs. W. L. Breese, Mrs. J. J. Buchan, Dr. H. A. Bulman, Mrs. Bulman. Dr. A. F. Cameron, R. Chase, Esq., L.D.S., Dr. Stella Churchill, Dr. May Clarke, Dr. F. Garland Collins, Mrs. Collins, Dr. W. J. Coughlan, Dr. G. Lissant Cox, Mr. T. Crew, Mr. H. E. Curtis. Dr. W. Allen Daley, Mrs. Daley, Sir W. DalrympleChampneys, Bt., M.D., Lady Dalrymple-Champneys, Dr. L. Meredith Davies, Dr. Helen P. Dent, Lt.-Col.
J. A. Dixon, M.R.C.V.S.(President, Society of Veterinary Officers). J. C. P. Elliston, Esq., Dr. Margaret Emslie. J. S. Fairbairn, Esq., M.A., F.R.C.S. (President, British College of Obstetricians ; Chairman, Central Midwives Board), Dr. H. A. Fawcett, Mrs. Fawcett Mrs. Fenton, Alderman J. Fettes, j.P. (Mayor of St. Marylebone). L. J. Gill, Esq., A.S.A.A., R. C. Graves, Esq., LL.D., W. H. Green, Esq., j.P., L.C.C. Cecil Hanbury, Esq., M.P., Dr. J. A. Harbison, Maj.-Gen. P. H. Henderson, D.S.O., A.M.S., Dr. T. W. Hill, Mrs. Hill, Sir Frederick Hobday, K.C.M.C., F.R.C.V.S., F.R.S.E. (Principal, Royal Veterinary College), Dr. J. B. Howell, Mrs. Howell, Dr. R. N. Hunter, K. H. Hunter, Esq., Dr. A. F. Hurst. Miss Jackson, Maj. R. W. H. Jackson, R.A.M.C. (ret.), Mrs. Jolly. Dr. F. Leonard Keith. Dr. G. Quin Lennane, Henry Lesser, Esq., LL.~., Mrs. Lesser, Dr. W. A. Lethem, M.c., Mrs. Lethem, The Countess of Limerick, Warren Low, Esq., F.R.C.S. (President, Royal Society of Medicine), Sir Henry Lunn, M.D., J.P. Dr. E. K. Macdonald, Mrs. Macdonald, Dr. G. W. McIntosh, Mrs. McIntosh, Miss McMullen, Mrs. Milligan, Miss E. M. Musson, C.B.E., R.R.C., LL.D., S.R.N. (Chairman, General Nursing Council). Mrs. Nash, Dr. Agnes H. Nicoll. Lt.-Col. G. S. Parkinson, D.S.O., Dr. R. H. Parry, Mrs. Parry, Mrs. W. Paterson, Van Delden Paterson, Esq., Mrs. V. Paterson, Mrs. G. H. Pearce, Councillor Miss E. M. Pennefather, O.B.E., Dr. A. Pollock, Miss Maire Porter-Porter, Miss Sheila Porter-Porter, Dr. C. R. D. Porter, Arthur Purkis, Esq. Dr. Maitland Radford, Mrs. Radford, Councillor G. B. Ramsay (Chairman, St. Marylebone Public Health Committee), Dr. J. Rhys-Herbert, Sir Arthur Robinson, G.C.B., C.B.E. (Secretary to the Ministry of Health), J. W. Dudley Robinson, Esq., M.SC., PH.D., A. E. Rowlett, Esq., L.D.S. (President, British Dental Association). Lt.-Col. C. T. Samman, j.P. (Deputy Master, Society of Apothecaries), Dr. E. V. Saunders-Jacobs, Dr. W. G. Savage, Dr. R. W. Scarff, W. G. Senior, Esq., L.D.S., Dr. A. J. Shinnie, Mrs. Shinnie, Dr. R. J. L. Sladen, W. H. Smeaton, Esq. (Deputy Master, Worshipful Company of Plmnbers), F. B. Smith, Esq., W. L. Swain, Esq. George Thomson, -Esq., L.D.S., Dr. I. S. Thomson, Mrs. Thomson, Arnold Thorne, Esq., Mrs. Rosa Thome, D.D.S., Dr. Mildred Thynne, Dr. A. A. Turner, M.C., E. E. Turner, Esq., L.D.S. Dr. J. Sim Wallace, Mrs. Wallace, Dr. W. H. S. Wallace, Sir Holburt Waring, u.s. (President, Royal College of Surgeons), F. Webster, Esq., B.A., LL.B., Mrs. Webster, Dr. C. F. White, Mrs. White, Dr. A. B. Williamson, Mrs. Williamson, Miss Wilshaw, Dr. J. Greenwood Wilson, Mrs. Greenwood Wilson, Dr. C. Isobel Wright. Sir Hilton Young, P.o., G.B.E., D.S.O., D.S.C., M P. (Minister of Health), Lady Hilton Young.
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Captain G. S. Elliston, M.C., M.A., I.e., M.P. (ConSecretary, Society of Medical Officers of Health), and Mr. G. L. C. Elliston. M.A. (Executive Secretary). Letters of regret for unavoidable absence were received by the President from Dr. T. W. Naylor Barlow, o.B.E., Mrs. Harold Kerr, Dr. A. S. M. Macgregor, O.B.E., Dr. A. B. McMaster, Dr. H. Leslie O1dershaw, Professor Ralph M. F. Picken, Sir John Robertson, C.M.G., O.B.E., and Dr. V. T. Thierens. The loyal toast, proposed by the President, was enthusiastically honoured. The Rt. Non. Sir E. Hilton Young (Minister of Health), in proposing the toast of The Society of Medical Officers of Health," said that it gave him very great pleasure to do so, and to share in the celebration of the year's work in the field of preventive medicine. It also afforded an opportunity of expressing his deep sense of the utility of such a clearinghouse of ideas as that provided by the Society, and of gratitude for past work and that gratitude which consisted of a lively sense of favours to come in the direction of the efforts of medical officers of health on behalf of the health and well-being of the people of this country. In particular, he had in mind the work of the Central Council for Health Education, and in connection with the activities of that body referred to the poster frames, recently the property of the Empire Marketing Board, which local authorities now had an opportunity of utilising for the display of health propaganda posters. In a two years' tour of the country, nothing had impressed him more than the high personal qualifications of those called upon to discharge the office of medical officer of health, and to be a guide, philosopher and friend, not only to local authorities but to the citizens generally. The-national campaign against slums was more than any personal fad of a Minister or a Government. It was the demand of a nation. In such a national campaign, medical officers of health were looked upon as the spearhead in the attack, and he emphasised the important services which they could render i n the drive for slum clearance now in progress. Little headway had b e e n made in the past, and no more than 20,000 slum houses had been cleared hitherto in the 14 years since the work was undertaken with State help. Now" they were embarking on a programme for clearing 200,000 houses in five years and rehousing over 1,000,000 people. That represented an effort 70 per cent. greater sultant
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than that contemplated by local .authorities when the Act of 1930 was passed. It would need the best energies of the local authorities and their medical officers to accomplish it in the appointed period. They must not allow their attention to be distracted and their efforts disheartened by the publicity that had been given to statements that it would require the demolition of a million houses to get rid of the slums. Such estimates were exaggerated and they had been made without adequate knowledge or investigation. Such a figure could be obtained only by including with houses which ought to be cleared, houses that could be dealt with by re-conditioning and whole classes of others that were in no sense slum houses, that were fit for habitation, but failed to agree with theories as to what a house ought to be. The country must first concentrate on the business of getting rid of the gross evil of the undoubted slums--houses that were unfit for human habitation and could not be made fit at a reasonable Cost. Local authorities, as the Society was well aware, had already submitted a programme of some 200,000 houses--a very striking programme which would cost £95,000,000 as a capital sum. Most of the condemned houses would be cleared away without compensation, except as to the value of the site. In truth, the programmes which had been framed by the local authorities at the request and with the support of the Government and an overwhelming public opinion, were by far the best, the most accurate and the most scientific estimate of the size of the slum clearance problem that the nation had ever had. The work of medical officers of health must be of the first importance in the campaign: theirs must be the initial stimulus and the continuing stimulus throughout the conduct of the five years' work. Under the Housing Acts there was power to represent to the local authorities the needs for dealing with slum properties by clearance or by securing the repair and reconditioning of all unfit houses. While fully conscious that such a national task would add greatly to the work of medical officers of health, he was confident that they would be proud to perform a work of such high service to the community. In conclusion, Sir Hilton Young said : " I t is, I think, a tribute to the importance of your Society that to-night, in connection with this great national effort, I should feel it a duty to place so high the services which you can render towards the achievement of that effort. I toast
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your Society, coupling with it the name of y o u r President, Dr. Charles P o r t e r . " The President, in response, said that it would be the wish of those present to say how p r o u d the m e m b e r s of the Society felt to have Sir Hilton Y o u n g with t h e m that evening, and to accord b o t h L a d y Hilton Y o u n g and himself a v e r y w a r m welcome. As all were aware, it had been h o p e d that there would have b e e n present two distinguished guests. H e r Royal Highness the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who had n e v e r been to a public dinner, had looked forward to m a k i n g that occasion her first appearance, but on medical advice had been compelled to remain away. He assured the guests that no one regretted that absence m o r e than the Princess herself. She would have appreciated £ully the m o v i n g words which had fallen f r o m the Minister of Health on the subject of housing. Before entering the r o o m Miss Pennefather, who would have been in attendance upon H e r Royal Highness, had h a n d e d to h i m a message. T h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n , addressed to Dr. Porter, read as follows : - }{ENSINGTON PALACE,
x,V.8. DEAR DR. PORTER,
I was expecting to be with you this evening, but have, alas, now to resort to sending you these lines instead, as I am advised not to undertake any official engagements for the present. I have for many years past watched the enormous strides the Society of Medical Officers of Health has made, and it is with much pleasure that I have done so. I would wish, had I been present to-day, to propose the health of the Society, and congratulate it and its members on their wonderful achievements. There was no organised body for the assistance of the people until in Queen Victoria's and my father's days they first insisted on the formation of a Society, and in accordance with their wish, a Society was instituted. The wonderful power which your Society has now obtained for the health of this country has extended to bring about co-operation with the Dominions, and all over the world for the promotion of hygiene and preventive medicine. You have been entrusted with the establishment of the school medical service and the maternity and child welfare service, and other measures securing the health and happiness of the people. In fact, we now live in the new era of preventive medicine. And I feel I may most heartily congratulate you all on your wonderful and extensive work. I do not enumerate all your aspirations and achievements towards this end, as they are so universally evident.
s5
One thing I would venture to lay stress on is the enormous importance of thoroughness in the training of the. teachers, and of their power thoroughly to imbue the children--the parents of the people of the future--with the advantages of hygiene for their own sake and those who are to follow. I want to congratulate you, Dr. Porter, Who hold the office of President of a Society which has within its ranks such famous sanitarians and benefactors of our nation's health, and who have all the various branches of hygiene so near at heart. May He who guides your efforts ever biess your work. Ever yours truly, LOUISE.
November 23rd, 1933. T h e President said that the m e m b e r s would doubtless wish h i m to ask Miss Pennefather to take back with her their sincere thanks for the very kind and heartening message which H e r Royal Highness had sent to t h e m . T h e i r other chief guest was their c h i e f - - t h e Minister of Health. H e had found that the housing of the people needed attention, and had p u t his h a n d to the plough, and was going to see that the slums were cleared. Medical officers of health were with h i m in the task. I t was doubtful if the Minister realised j u s t h o w i m p o r t a n t the medical officer of health was in that connection, and what that official had to go t h r o u g h in the process of a t t e m p t i n g to rid his area of slum property. T h e m e m b e r s of the Society were p r o u d to bear a share in the campaign, and he asked t h e m to drink to tile health of Sir Hilton Young, the Minister of Health, and to the success of the work of s l u m clearance into which he had t h r o w n himself so whole-heartedly. T h e toast was accorded with great enthusiasm. Dr. J a m e s Fent0n, in proposing the toast of " T h e G u e s t s , " said that the Society had c o m p l i m e n t e d itself on having elected as President, Dr. Charles Porter, who had been able to attract to the dinner, and to take part in the affairs of the Society, so m a n y distinguished visitors p r o m i n e n t in public affairs. T h e Society extended a specially w a r m welcome to Sir Hilton Young, who had gained a great reputation at the Ministry of Health and in other high offices he had held. H e was to be congratulated on the enthusiasm and the energy he had displayed in launching his great slum clearance campaign. He had said that medical officers of health were the spearheads in that drive. If, at the end of the five y e a r s '
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programme, the Minister was not completely satisfied with the results, it would not be for want of effort on their part. There was no less pleasure in seeing Lady Hilton Young present. In an entirely different sphere she had won a high place in their hearts. A cordial welcome was assured to the Countess of Limerick and to Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who attended in his capacity as President of the Royal Sanitary Institute, a sister body with which the Society of Medical Officers of Health worked in close co-operation. The Countess of Limerick and Lord Balfour of Burleigh happened to occupy the chair of the public health and housing committees, respectively, in Kensington. Both were known to be ardent workers in the reahn of social welfare and on behalf of the public health, though they regarded their work from different angles. Lord Balfour of Burleigh aimed at an unlimited supply of new houses at low rentals: the Countess of Limerick believed in a limited supply of new babies at long intervals. As medical officer of health of the borough, he was in the unenviable position of umpire in the struggle of rent control versus birth control, and such was the keenness of both protagonists that he scarcely knew which side was winning. The Society delighted to welcome once again Sir Arthur Robinson, who had honoured the members by coming to the dinner year after year. Medical officers of health were particularly happy in the knowledge that if they had a good cause to put forward, they were sure of a fair a n d sympathetic hearing at the Ministry. They placed great confidence in Sir Arthur's guidance. It was a great privilege also to have present the recognised leaders-of the art of healing, amongst them Sir Holburt ~vVaring, whose magnificent work in connection with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine had done so much to make it the foremost institution of its kind in the world ; Mr. J. S. Fairbairn, F.R.C.S., F . R . C . P , ; Mr. Warren Low, F.R.C.S. ; Lieut.-Col. C. T. Samman; Sir Frederick H o b d a y ; and Miss Musson, who attended the dinner for the first time, and to whom the Society owed thanks for her work in relation to the training of nurses and health visitors in particular. Another group of visitors heartily welcomed were those from St. Marytebone, headed by the Mayor (Alderman Fettes) and including Councillor Ramsay, Dr. Reginald Graves, and others. Their presence 9eas interpreted as evidence that in St. Marytebone their President was held in esteem as high as
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that entertained for him in the Society. Dr. Fenton finally extended a warm welcome to the ladies who had honoured the Society by their attendance, and paid a graceful tribute to Mrs. Charles Porter, whom they delighted to see in a position which they all knew she would occupy with distinction and honour to the Society. Sir Holburt Waring (President, Royal College of Surgeons), in the course of his reply, referred to the London Schoot of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with pardonable pride. He considered it the finest built and best equipped, b o t h as regards plant and personnel, of any professional educational institution in this country. With the frequent mention of preventive medicine, it had occurred to him that certain types of operation mlght well be considered in the light of preventive surgery. In regard to the housing question, he suggested that it was the duty of the Minister of Education to provide, in the elementary schools, adequate instruction for the youth of the nation who were the householders of the future, in order that full and proper use might be made of the new housing accommodation. In the schools very little had been. done to inculcate the basal principles of health, i.e., an understanding of biology in its widest sense, and in the application of such principles to personal hygiene.
Alderman John Fettes (Mayor of St. Marylebone), in thanking the Society for its hospitality, referred to the extraordinarily good work that Dr. Porter had done in St. Marylebone ever since his appointment as medical officer of health of the borough. The public health committee had been greatly impressed by his admirable views on many subjects affecting the public health, and his efforts on behalf of the health of the people had received wide recognition. Indeed, in every district the ratepayers owed a great debt of gratitude for the valuable work of the public health department. St. Marylebone had been proud that the Society had elected Dr. Porter to the important office of President. Miss E. M. Musson (Chairman, General Nursing Council), said she regarded it as a great honour to be invited to join in the response to the toast. The General Nursing Council were most anxious to help in the provision of well-qualified health visitors. In connection with the re-organisation of large numbers of hospitals it was impossible to turn out
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nurses trained in one speciality only. The medical officer of health of one county borough had tried an amalgamation between the general hospital and the fever hospital, so that nurses could obtain fever experience during the course of their training. She suggested two ways in which hospital authorities could help the nursing profession: (1) by tightening up the standard of education of entrants; and (2) by redressing the balance between trained and untrained personnel.
Captain G. S. Elliston claimed that he was exceptionally well qualified to propose the toast of " The Chairman." Very few people had been associated with Charles Porter so long as he had. Almost 25 years ago they had worked together, and since that time they had been constantly associated in every movement connected with the public health service. Although Dr. Porter might reproach in public, he never 'bore malice afterwards, but often contrived to work in a little paragraph in one of his journals in the form of a compliment to the person reproached. In the Society, Charles Porter had a reputation as a die-hard, and was averse to changes of a reactionary nature. Yet in his own health department he had always been a pioneer, and had shown the way to his colleagues in the public health service on a dozen different occasions. It was a great privilege for the Society to be honoured by a man of the calibre of Charles Porter, who now held a position which any member of the service must be proud to occupy. The Society was over 75 years old, and had had as President many distinguished men, amongst them Sir John Simon (Medical Officer of Health of the City of London), and, in later years, Shirley Murphy, John Robertson, Hope of Liverpool, Chalmers of Glasgow, and a host of others from all parts of the country, who had done much to establish preventive medicine in the position it held to-day. There was no doubt whatever that in 10, 20, 30 years' time, members .of the Society would be talking of Charles Porter as one of the great figures in public health; of his work as a teacher, not only at the Royal Sanitary Institute, but at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; as examiner and lecturer, orator and writer. He had been delighted to hear Dr. Fenton refer so kindly to Mrs. Porter. No man could be a good President unless he was wd! supported in his work. As mentor, editor, teacher, examiner, " real " doctor and
good fellow, he asked the guests to drink to the health of " The Chairman." The President, who, on rising, received a great ovation, replied in a graceful little speech. Twenty-five years ago, George Elliston and he had embarked on a journalistic enterprise in Leeds. T h e publication--now welt known throughout the public health service--appeared weekly at first, but in a wave of enthusiasm it was decided to make it a daily journal. It came out regularly each morning that week, but reverted to a weekly appearance, and since then had not looked back. Dr. Porter warmly thanked Captain Etliston and the many members of the Society who had supported him that evening. Some excellent card tricks performed by Mr. Lionel King provided entertainment and amusement for the company, and contributed to the success of an enjoyable evening.
COUNCIL MEETING. The first meeting of the Council appointed ,for 1933-34 was held at the house of the Society on Friday, November 24th, t933, at 2 p.m. The President (Dr. Charles Porter) was in the chair, and there were also present Drs. T. W. N. Barlow, Vynne Borland, G. F. Buchan, Ethel Cassie, J. A. Charles, R. Veitch Clark, James Fenton, James Ferguson, C. E. Herington, W. W. Jameson, Alex. Joe, R. H. It. Jolly, G. W. N. Joseph, James Mair, H. J. Milligan, W. A. Muir, E. H. T. Nash, Thomas Orr, G. H. Pearce, R. M. F. Picken, T. N. V. Potts, E. H. Snell, V. F. Soothill, J. A. Stirling, D. J. Thomas, A. G. G. Thompson, Ernest Ward, H. Gibbons Ward, R. H. Wilshaw and F. T. H. Wood. Before proceeding to business, the President welcomed as new members of the Council Drs. Borland and Thompson (Met. Branch), Dr. Orr (Home Counties), Dr. Cassie (M. and C.W. Group), and Dr. Ferguson (elected under Article 19). The minutes of the last meeting having been approved and signed, apologies for absence were received from Sir Francis Fremantle, Drs. J. J. Buchan, A. S. M. Macgregor, W. Paterson and P. H. Stirk. The
Advisory
Committee
on
Nutrition.--A
letter was received from the Secretary to the Advisory Committee on Nutrition, conveying
PUBLIC HEALTH.
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T h e Society. Reports, Proceedings and Announcements. ANNUAL DINNER. The Annual Dinner of the Society was held in the Garden Suite of the May Fair Hotel Berkeley Square, L o n d o n , on T h u r s d a y , N o v e m b e r 23rd, 1933, when the President (Dr. Charles Porter) and Mrs. Porter received over 150 members and guests. Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who, with the Minister of Health (Sir E. Hilton Young), was to have been a principal guest of the evening, unfortunately was prevented, by reasons of health, from being present. A message sent b y H e r Royal Highness to Dr. Porter, will be found later in this report. T h e President was supported by the following : - Past-Presidents.--Dr. G. H. Pearce, Dr. G. F. Buchan (Hon. Treasurer), and Dr. J. J. Buchan. Members of the Council.--Dr. Vynne Borland, Dr. R. Veitch Clark, Dr. James Fenton (President, Metropolitan Branch), Sir Francis Fremantle, O.B.E., D.L., M.A., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S., M.P., Dr. R. P. Garrow, Professor W. W. Jameson, F.R.C.P., Dr. R. H. H. Jolly, Dr. James Mair, Dr. H. J. Milligan, M.c., Dr. E. H. T . Nash, Dr. T h o m a s Orr (President, Home Counties Branch), Dr. W. Paterson, Dr. T. N. V. Potts, Dr. H. Gibbons Ward, Dr. R. It. Wilshaw, and Dr. F. T. H~ Wood, O.B.E.
Branch and Group Presidents.--Dr. W. M. Ash (East Midland Branch), Dr. George Jessel (Tuberculosis Group), Dr. H. D. Kelf (Southern Branch), Dr. Gladys J. C. Russell (Yorkshire Branch), and Dr. A. E. R e m m e t t Weaver (West of England Branch). Mrs. Ash. Dr. Marjorie Back, Lord Balfour of Burleigh (President, Royal Sanitary Institute), Dr. Cyril Banks, Mrs. Banks, Miss Bates, Dr. Agnes Bernfeld, Dr. E. J. Boome, Frederick Breese, Esq., L.D.S., Mrs. F. Breese, W. Leigh Breese, Esq., L.D.S., Mrs. W. L. Breese, Mrs. J. J. Buchan, Dr. H. A. Bulman, Mrs. Bulman. Dr. A. F. Cameron, R. Chase, Esq., L.D.S., Dr. Stella Churchill, Dr. May Clarke, Dr. F. Garland Collins, Mrs. Collins, Dr. W. J. Coughlan, Dr. G. Lissant Cox, Mr. T. Crew, Mr. H. E. Curtis. Dr. W. Allen Daley, Mrs. Daley, Sir W. DalrympleChampneys, Bt., M.D., Lady Dalrymple-Champneys, Dr. L. Meredith Davies, Dr. Helen P. Dent, Lt.-Col.
J. A. Dixon, M.R.C.V.S.(President, Society of Veterinary Officers). J. C. P. Elliston, Esq., Dr. Margaret Emslie. J. S. Fairbairn, Esq., M.A., F.R.C.S. (President, British College of Obstetricians ; Chairman, Central Midwives Board), Dr. H. A. Fawcett, Mrs. Fawcett Mrs. Fenton, Alderman J. Fettes, j.P. (Mayor of St. Marylebone). L. J. Gill, Esq., A.S.A.A., R. C. Graves, Esq., LL.D., W. H. Green, Esq., j.P., L.C.C. Cecil Hanbury, Esq., M.P., Dr. J. A. Harbison, Maj.-Gen. P. H. Henderson, D.S.O., A.M.S., Dr. T. W. Hill, Mrs. Hill, Sir Frederick Hobday, K.C.M.C., F.R.C.V.S., F.R.S.E. (Principal, Royal Veterinary College), Dr. J. B. Howell, Mrs. Howell, Dr. R. N. Hunter, K. H. Hunter, Esq., Dr. A. F. Hurst. Miss Jackson, Maj. R. W. H. Jackson, R.A.M.C. (ret.), Mrs. Jolly. Dr. F. Leonard Keith. Dr. G. Quin Lennane, Henry Lesser, Esq., LL.~., Mrs. Lesser, Dr. W. A. Lethem, M.c., Mrs. Lethem, The Countess of Limerick, Warren Low, Esq., F.R.C.S. (President, Royal Society of Medicine), Sir Henry Lunn, M.D., J.P. Dr. E. K. Macdonald, Mrs. Macdonald, Dr. G. W. McIntosh, Mrs. McIntosh, Miss McMullen, Mrs. Milligan, Miss E. M. Musson, C.B.E., R.R.C., LL.D., S.R.N. (Chairman, General Nursing Council). Mrs. Nash, Dr. Agnes H. Nicoll. Lt.-Col. G. S. Parkinson, D.S.O., Dr. R. H. Parry, Mrs. Parry, Mrs. W. Paterson, Van Delden Paterson, Esq., Mrs. V. Paterson, Mrs. G. H. Pearce, Councillor Miss E. M. Pennefather, O.B.E., Dr. A. Pollock, Miss Maire Porter-Porter, Miss Sheila Porter-Porter, Dr. C. R. D. Porter, Arthur Purkis, Esq. Dr. Maitland Radford, Mrs. Radford, Councillor G. B. Ramsay (Chairman, St. Marylebone Public Health Committee), Dr. J. Rhys-Herbert, Sir Arthur Robinson, G.C.B., C.B.E. (Secretary to the Ministry of Health), J. W. Dudley Robinson, Esq., M.SC., PH.D., A. E. Rowlett, Esq., L.D.S. (President, British Dental Association). Lt.-Col. C. T. Samman, j.P. (Deputy Master, Society of Apothecaries), Dr. E. V. Saunders-Jacobs, Dr. W. G. Savage, Dr. R. W. Scarff, W. G. Senior, Esq., L.D.S., Dr. A. J. Shinnie, Mrs. Shinnie, Dr. R. J. L. Sladen, W. H. Smeaton, Esq. (Deputy Master, Worshipful Company of Plmnbers), F. B. Smith, Esq., W. L. Swain, Esq. George Thomson, -Esq., L.D.S., Dr. I. S. Thomson, Mrs. Thomson, Arnold Thorne, Esq., Mrs. Rosa Thome, D.D.S., Dr. Mildred Thynne, Dr. A. A. Turner, M.C., E. E. Turner, Esq., L.D.S. Dr. J. Sim Wallace, Mrs. Wallace, Dr. W. H. S. Wallace, Sir Holburt Waring, u.s. (President, Royal College of Surgeons), F. Webster, Esq., B.A., LL.B., Mrs. Webster, Dr. C. F. White, Mrs. White, Dr. A. B. Williamson, Mrs. Williamson, Miss Wilshaw, Dr. J. Greenwood Wilson, Mrs. Greenwood Wilson, Dr. C. Isobel Wright. Sir Hilton Young, P.o., G.B.E., D.S.O., D.S.C., M P. (Minister of Health), Lady Hilton Young.
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Captain G. S. Elliston, M.C., M.A., I.e., M.P. (ConSecretary, Society of Medical Officers of Health), and Mr. G. L. C. Elliston. M.A. (Executive Secretary). Letters of regret for unavoidable absence were received by the President from Dr. T. W. Naylor Barlow, o.B.E., Mrs. Harold Kerr, Dr. A. S. M. Macgregor, O.B.E., Dr. A. B. McMaster, Dr. H. Leslie O1dershaw, Professor Ralph M. F. Picken, Sir John Robertson, C.M.G., O.B.E., and Dr. V. T. Thierens. The loyal toast, proposed by the President, was enthusiastically honoured. The Rt. Non. Sir E. Hilton Young (Minister of Health), in proposing the toast of The Society of Medical Officers of Health," said that it gave him very great pleasure to do so, and to share in the celebration of the year's work in the field of preventive medicine. It also afforded an opportunity of expressing his deep sense of the utility of such a clearinghouse of ideas as that provided by the Society, and of gratitude for past work and that gratitude which consisted of a lively sense of favours to come in the direction of the efforts of medical officers of health on behalf of the health and well-being of the people of this country. In particular, he had in mind the work of the Central Council for Health Education, and in connection with the activities of that body referred to the poster frames, recently the property of the Empire Marketing Board, which local authorities now had an opportunity of utilising for the display of health propaganda posters. In a two years' tour of the country, nothing had impressed him more than the high personal qualifications of those called upon to discharge the office of medical officer of health, and to be a guide, philosopher and friend, not only to local authorities but to the citizens generally. The-national campaign against slums was more than any personal fad of a Minister or a Government. It was the demand of a nation. In such a national campaign, medical officers of health were looked upon as the spearhead in the attack, and he emphasised the important services which they could render i n the drive for slum clearance now in progress. Little headway had b e e n made in the past, and no more than 20,000 slum houses had been cleared hitherto in the 14 years since the work was undertaken with State help. Now" they were embarking on a programme for clearing 200,000 houses in five years and rehousing over 1,000,000 people. That represented an effort 70 per cent. greater sultant
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than that contemplated by local .authorities when the Act of 1930 was passed. It would need the best energies of the local authorities and their medical officers to accomplish it in the appointed period. They must not allow their attention to be distracted and their efforts disheartened by the publicity that had been given to statements that it would require the demolition of a million houses to get rid of the slums. Such estimates were exaggerated and they had been made without adequate knowledge or investigation. Such a figure could be obtained only by including with houses which ought to be cleared, houses that could be dealt with by re-conditioning and whole classes of others that were in no sense slum houses, that were fit for habitation, but failed to agree with theories as to what a house ought to be. The country must first concentrate on the business of getting rid of the gross evil of the undoubted slums--houses that were unfit for human habitation and could not be made fit at a reasonable Cost. Local authorities, as the Society was well aware, had already submitted a programme of some 200,000 houses--a very striking programme which would cost £95,000,000 as a capital sum. Most of the condemned houses would be cleared away without compensation, except as to the value of the site. In truth, the programmes which had been framed by the local authorities at the request and with the support of the Government and an overwhelming public opinion, were by far the best, the most accurate and the most scientific estimate of the size of the slum clearance problem that the nation had ever had. The work of medical officers of health must be of the first importance in the campaign: theirs must be the initial stimulus and the continuing stimulus throughout the conduct of the five years' work. Under the Housing Acts there was power to represent to the local authorities the needs for dealing with slum properties by clearance or by securing the repair and reconditioning of all unfit houses. While fully conscious that such a national task would add greatly to the work of medical officers of health, he was confident that they would be proud to perform a work of such high service to the community. In conclusion, Sir Hilton Young said : " I t is, I think, a tribute to the importance of your Society that to-night, in connection with this great national effort, I should feel it a duty to place so high the services which you can render towards the achievement of that effort. I toast
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your Society, coupling with it the name of y o u r President, Dr. Charles P o r t e r . " The President, in response, said that it would be the wish of those present to say how p r o u d the m e m b e r s of the Society felt to have Sir Hilton Y o u n g with t h e m that evening, and to accord b o t h L a d y Hilton Y o u n g and himself a v e r y w a r m welcome. As all were aware, it had been h o p e d that there would have b e e n present two distinguished guests. H e r Royal Highness the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who had n e v e r been to a public dinner, had looked forward to m a k i n g that occasion her first appearance, but on medical advice had been compelled to remain away. He assured the guests that no one regretted that absence m o r e than the Princess herself. She would have appreciated £ully the m o v i n g words which had fallen f r o m the Minister of Health on the subject of housing. Before entering the r o o m Miss Pennefather, who would have been in attendance upon H e r Royal Highness, had h a n d e d to h i m a message. T h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n , addressed to Dr. Porter, read as follows : - }{ENSINGTON PALACE,
x,V.8. DEAR DR. PORTER,
I was expecting to be with you this evening, but have, alas, now to resort to sending you these lines instead, as I am advised not to undertake any official engagements for the present. I have for many years past watched the enormous strides the Society of Medical Officers of Health has made, and it is with much pleasure that I have done so. I would wish, had I been present to-day, to propose the health of the Society, and congratulate it and its members on their wonderful achievements. There was no organised body for the assistance of the people until in Queen Victoria's and my father's days they first insisted on the formation of a Society, and in accordance with their wish, a Society was instituted. The wonderful power which your Society has now obtained for the health of this country has extended to bring about co-operation with the Dominions, and all over the world for the promotion of hygiene and preventive medicine. You have been entrusted with the establishment of the school medical service and the maternity and child welfare service, and other measures securing the health and happiness of the people. In fact, we now live in the new era of preventive medicine. And I feel I may most heartily congratulate you all on your wonderful and extensive work. I do not enumerate all your aspirations and achievements towards this end, as they are so universally evident.
s5
One thing I would venture to lay stress on is the enormous importance of thoroughness in the training of the. teachers, and of their power thoroughly to imbue the children--the parents of the people of the future--with the advantages of hygiene for their own sake and those who are to follow. I want to congratulate you, Dr. Porter, Who hold the office of President of a Society which has within its ranks such famous sanitarians and benefactors of our nation's health, and who have all the various branches of hygiene so near at heart. May He who guides your efforts ever biess your work. Ever yours truly, LOUISE.
November 23rd, 1933. T h e President said that the m e m b e r s would doubtless wish h i m to ask Miss Pennefather to take back with her their sincere thanks for the very kind and heartening message which H e r Royal Highness had sent to t h e m . T h e i r other chief guest was their c h i e f - - t h e Minister of Health. H e had found that the housing of the people needed attention, and had p u t his h a n d to the plough, and was going to see that the slums were cleared. Medical officers of health were with h i m in the task. I t was doubtful if the Minister realised j u s t h o w i m p o r t a n t the medical officer of health was in that connection, and what that official had to go t h r o u g h in the process of a t t e m p t i n g to rid his area of slum property. T h e m e m b e r s of the Society were p r o u d to bear a share in the campaign, and he asked t h e m to drink to tile health of Sir Hilton Young, the Minister of Health, and to the success of the work of s l u m clearance into which he had t h r o w n himself so whole-heartedly. T h e toast was accorded with great enthusiasm. Dr. J a m e s Fent0n, in proposing the toast of " T h e G u e s t s , " said that the Society had c o m p l i m e n t e d itself on having elected as President, Dr. Charles Porter, who had been able to attract to the dinner, and to take part in the affairs of the Society, so m a n y distinguished visitors p r o m i n e n t in public affairs. T h e Society extended a specially w a r m welcome to Sir Hilton Young, who had gained a great reputation at the Ministry of Health and in other high offices he had held. H e was to be congratulated on the enthusiasm and the energy he had displayed in launching his great slum clearance campaign. He had said that medical officers of health were the spearheads in that drive. If, at the end of the five y e a r s '
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programme, the Minister was not completely satisfied with the results, it would not be for want of effort on their part. There was no less pleasure in seeing Lady Hilton Young present. In an entirely different sphere she had won a high place in their hearts. A cordial welcome was assured to the Countess of Limerick and to Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who attended in his capacity as President of the Royal Sanitary Institute, a sister body with which the Society of Medical Officers of Health worked in close co-operation. The Countess of Limerick and Lord Balfour of Burleigh happened to occupy the chair of the public health and housing committees, respectively, in Kensington. Both were known to be ardent workers in the reahn of social welfare and on behalf of the public health, though they regarded their work from different angles. Lord Balfour of Burleigh aimed at an unlimited supply of new houses at low rentals: the Countess of Limerick believed in a limited supply of new babies at long intervals. As medical officer of health of the borough, he was in the unenviable position of umpire in the struggle of rent control versus birth control, and such was the keenness of both protagonists that he scarcely knew which side was winning. The Society delighted to welcome once again Sir Arthur Robinson, who had honoured the members by coming to the dinner year after year. Medical officers of health were particularly happy in the knowledge that if they had a good cause to put forward, they were sure of a fair a n d sympathetic hearing at the Ministry. They placed great confidence in Sir Arthur's guidance. It was a great privilege also to have present the recognised leaders-of the art of healing, amongst them Sir Holburt ~vVaring, whose magnificent work in connection with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine had done so much to make it the foremost institution of its kind in the world ; Mr. J. S. Fairbairn, F.R.C.S., F . R . C . P , ; Mr. Warren Low, F.R.C.S. ; Lieut.-Col. C. T. Samman; Sir Frederick H o b d a y ; and Miss Musson, who attended the dinner for the first time, and to whom the Society owed thanks for her work in relation to the training of nurses and health visitors in particular. Another group of visitors heartily welcomed were those from St. Marytebone, headed by the Mayor (Alderman Fettes) and including Councillor Ramsay, Dr. Reginald Graves, and others. Their presence 9eas interpreted as evidence that in St. Marytebone their President was held in esteem as high as
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that entertained for him in the Society. Dr. Fenton finally extended a warm welcome to the ladies who had honoured the Society by their attendance, and paid a graceful tribute to Mrs. Charles Porter, whom they delighted to see in a position which they all knew she would occupy with distinction and honour to the Society. Sir Holburt Waring (President, Royal College of Surgeons), in the course of his reply, referred to the London Schoot of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with pardonable pride. He considered it the finest built and best equipped, b o t h as regards plant and personnel, of any professional educational institution in this country. With the frequent mention of preventive medicine, it had occurred to him that certain types of operation mlght well be considered in the light of preventive surgery. In regard to the housing question, he suggested that it was the duty of the Minister of Education to provide, in the elementary schools, adequate instruction for the youth of the nation who were the householders of the future, in order that full and proper use might be made of the new housing accommodation. In the schools very little had been. done to inculcate the basal principles of health, i.e., an understanding of biology in its widest sense, and in the application of such principles to personal hygiene.
Alderman John Fettes (Mayor of St. Marylebone), in thanking the Society for its hospitality, referred to the extraordinarily good work that Dr. Porter had done in St. Marylebone ever since his appointment as medical officer of health of the borough. The public health committee had been greatly impressed by his admirable views on many subjects affecting the public health, and his efforts on behalf of the health of the people had received wide recognition. Indeed, in every district the ratepayers owed a great debt of gratitude for the valuable work of the public health department. St. Marylebone had been proud that the Society had elected Dr. Porter to the important office of President. Miss E. M. Musson (Chairman, General Nursing Council), said she regarded it as a great honour to be invited to join in the response to the toast. The General Nursing Council were most anxious to help in the provision of well-qualified health visitors. In connection with the re-organisation of large numbers of hospitals it was impossible to turn out
1933.
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nurses trained in one speciality only. The medical officer of health of one county borough had tried an amalgamation between the general hospital and the fever hospital, so that nurses could obtain fever experience during the course of their training. She suggested two ways in which hospital authorities could help the nursing profession: (1) by tightening up the standard of education of entrants; and (2) by redressing the balance between trained and untrained personnel.
Captain G. S. Elliston claimed that he was exceptionally well qualified to propose the toast of " The Chairman." Very few people had been associated with Charles Porter so long as he had. Almost 25 years ago they had worked together, and since that time they had been constantly associated in every movement connected with the public health service. Although Dr. Porter might reproach in public, he never 'bore malice afterwards, but often contrived to work in a little paragraph in one of his journals in the form of a compliment to the person reproached. In the Society, Charles Porter had a reputation as a die-hard, and was averse to changes of a reactionary nature. Yet in his own health department he had always been a pioneer, and had shown the way to his colleagues in the public health service on a dozen different occasions. It was a great privilege for the Society to be honoured by a man of the calibre of Charles Porter, who now held a position which any member of the service must be proud to occupy. The Society was over 75 years old, and had had as President many distinguished men, amongst them Sir John Simon (Medical Officer of Health of the City of London), and, in later years, Shirley Murphy, John Robertson, Hope of Liverpool, Chalmers of Glasgow, and a host of others from all parts of the country, who had done much to establish preventive medicine in the position it held to-day. There was no doubt whatever that in 10, 20, 30 years' time, members .of the Society would be talking of Charles Porter as one of the great figures in public health; of his work as a teacher, not only at the Royal Sanitary Institute, but at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; as examiner and lecturer, orator and writer. He had been delighted to hear Dr. Fenton refer so kindly to Mrs. Porter. No man could be a good President unless he was wd! supported in his work. As mentor, editor, teacher, examiner, " real " doctor and
good fellow, he asked the guests to drink to the health of " The Chairman." The President, who, on rising, received a great ovation, replied in a graceful little speech. Twenty-five years ago, George Elliston and he had embarked on a journalistic enterprise in Leeds. T h e publication--now welt known throughout the public health service--appeared weekly at first, but in a wave of enthusiasm it was decided to make it a daily journal. It came out regularly each morning that week, but reverted to a weekly appearance, and since then had not looked back. Dr. Porter warmly thanked Captain Etliston and the many members of the Society who had supported him that evening. Some excellent card tricks performed by Mr. Lionel King provided entertainment and amusement for the company, and contributed to the success of an enjoyable evening.
COUNCIL MEETING. The first meeting of the Council appointed ,for 1933-34 was held at the house of the Society on Friday, November 24th, t933, at 2 p.m. The President (Dr. Charles Porter) was in the chair, and there were also present Drs. T. W. N. Barlow, Vynne Borland, G. F. Buchan, Ethel Cassie, J. A. Charles, R. Veitch Clark, James Fenton, James Ferguson, C. E. Herington, W. W. Jameson, Alex. Joe, R. H. It. Jolly, G. W. N. Joseph, James Mair, H. J. Milligan, W. A. Muir, E. H. T. Nash, Thomas Orr, G. H. Pearce, R. M. F. Picken, T. N. V. Potts, E. H. Snell, V. F. Soothill, J. A. Stirling, D. J. Thomas, A. G. G. Thompson, Ernest Ward, H. Gibbons Ward, R. H. Wilshaw and F. T. H. Wood. Before proceeding to business, the President welcomed as new members of the Council Drs. Borland and Thompson (Met. Branch), Dr. Orr (Home Counties), Dr. Cassie (M. and C.W. Group), and Dr. Ferguson (elected under Article 19). The minutes of the last meeting having been approved and signed, apologies for absence were received from Sir Francis Fremantle, Drs. J. J. Buchan, A. S. M. Macgregor, W. Paterson and P. H. Stirk. The
Advisory
Committee
on
Nutrition.--A
letter was received from the Secretary to the Advisory Committee on Nutrition, conveying