1931 - Annual Convention

              S E V E N T E E N T H A N N U A L C O N V E N T I ON 73
Lieutenant- Governor on A p r i l 17, 1919, a n d the Honourable A . G. M a c k a y was
appointed the first M i n i s t e r of H e a l t h for this Province about the same date.
Sixty Years Since— It is o n l y s i x t y years since the coming of P u b l i c H e a l t h.
It was some time in the 70' s that people's thoughts turned to Public H e a l t h.
There had been prophets of P u b l i c H e a l t h like Edwin Chadwick who said in
1828 that sickness ought to be prevented and that health ought to be preserved,
but his voice was " as the voice of one c r y i n g i n the wilderness." It was forty
or fifty years before that voice began to be listened to.
The House of Public Health— At first our ideas about Public H e a l t h were
only h a l f - r i g h t and our plans for P u b l i c H e a l t h were makeshifts. Not t i l l the
twentieth century did we r e a l l y begin at the foundation to b u i l d the house of
P u b l i c H e a l t h . We used to t h i n k we could legislate and dragoon and compel
and police people into Public H e a l t h .
The Only Way— Now we k n ow that the only way to keep people well is
to get everybody to help us. That means H e a l t h Education, Health Pro­motion
and Preventive Medicine. L i t t l e or nothing is ever done by compul­sion.
Lasting Leagues and Empires are founded on co- operation, which is far
better. Look at the League of Nations— look at the B r i t i s h Empire, if y ou
want examples of this truth. As Ranjit Singh said last year in London, " The
B r i t i s h Empire is the greatest c r i c k e t - t e am the world has ever seen."
What is Public Health Work?— P u b l i c H e a l t h work is a general organized
effort to secure and maintain for all general health and mental efficiency, to
lengthen life and to a b o l i s h disease by learning and practising the principles
of Preventive Medicine.
Departments of Health— Alberta and Edmcnton and all other modern
P r o v i n c i a l and Municipal Governments have set up Departments of Health.
We know that we need a well- organized Department of Health in every
Government, small and great.
Organized Medicine— Then we have Medical Associations, such as the
Canadian M e d i c a l Association, an association which has become a great power
for the health of Canada, and the A l b e r t a Medical Association, w h i c h does so
much for the health of this Province, a n d the Edmonton Academy of Medicine
w h i c h we should all k n ow about and support. These three M e d i c a l Associa­tions
could and would do more for P u b l i c H e a l t h,
These Associations of Doctors are a great help in the community and
should have far greater support from the doctors and far greater interest
f r om the public than they have now.
T h e n we have Unofficial or V o l u n t a r y H e a l t h Associations such as the
Canadian Red Cross, C h i l d Welfare Council of Calgary and the Canadian
P u b l i c H e a l t h A s s o c i a t i o n , and the V i c t o r i a n Order of Nurses and many others.
They have no direct official connection w i t h governments. They do a great deal
of good. T h e y help people to understand Preventive Medicine a n d to keep well.
Educational Authorities— Finally, we have educational authorities— Univer­sities,
Colleges and Schools, especially the schools. They can do more for
H e a l t h Education than any other organization whatsoever.
When we come to look at these four— Official, Medical, Unofficial, Educa­tional—
we see how indispensable every one of them is and how almost equally
important they a l l are. They and we are only beginning to see the glory of
Preventive Medicine.