and the
value of early and correct treatment. They must then have placed in
their hands, ready for instant use, a safe and efficient preparation,
issued by the health authorities as a guarantee as to its quality and
efficiency.

"An important step was taken in this direction when a resolution was
passed by the House of Delegates at the annual meeting of the New York
State Medical Society, requesting the various health officers of the
state to include _ophthalmia neonatorum_ among contagious diseases
which must be reported to the local boards of health.

"The second essential, in order that the cause of infantile ophthalmia
be abolished, is that a solution of the necessary silver salt be
prepared under the authority of somebody capable of inspiring
universal confidence, and that it be distributed by the health
department of every state gratuitously to every obstetrician,
physician or midwife qualified to care for the parturient woman. The
nature of the solution, together with the character of the descriptive
card which should accompany it, should be determined by a committee,
chosen by the president of the American Medical Association, which
should have among its members at least one representative
ophthalmologist, one obstetrician and one sanitarian. The conclusions
of this committee should be reported back to the House of Delegates,
so that the preparation and its text should carry with it, on the
great authority of this association, the assurance that the solution
is entirely safe and necessary, and that its use should invariably be
part of the toilet of every new-born child. The solution, probably
silver nitrate, could be put up either by the state itself or by some
trustworthy pharmacist, at an insignificant cost; its purity and
sterility should be vouched for by the board of health of the state.
It should be enclosed in specially prepared receptacles, each
containing a special quantity, and so arranged that it may be used
drop by drop. These, properly enclosed, accompanied by a brief lucid
explanation of the danger of the disease, the necessity of this
germicide, the method of its employment, and the right subsequent care
of the eyes, should be sent to the obstetrician on the receipt of each
birth certificate.

"I have said that responsibility for the indifference that is annually
resulting in such frightful disaster lies primarily with t