THE
POPULAR SCIENCE
MONTHLY
FEBRUARY, 1912
| THE INTERNATIONAL HYGIENE EXHIBITION AT DRESDEN |
By Dr. HENRY G. BEYER
MEDICAL DIRECTOR, U. S. NAVY, U. S. DELEGATE TO THE EXPOSITION
THE "Internationale Hygiene Ausstellung, Dresden, 1911," has by this time closed its doors and passed into history. It was one of those rare and remarkable creations of the human mind that will absolutely refuse to die. The exposition itself was only the opening scene in a performance which had its beginning in the month of May and ended with a climax in the month of October, when the curtain dropped. Its real work, though impressive and monumental from the start, has only just begun. Little folks and little minds may criticize the little imperfections about it from a distance. Those who are in the habit of looking for principles in things with broad and generous minds, having taken the trouble to visit and study the exposition more conscientiously, were overwhelmed with its grandeur, its beauty and the nobility of the motives underlying the undertaking. Fortunate indeed are those who were allowed to witness the great event, still more fortunate those who may count themselves active participants in it. For, nothing, no event in history, could be cited as showing the working of the human mind in the Germanic race of man, as illustrating it in all its splendid attributes and as placing it in a clearer light, to better advantage, than did this magnificent hygienic exposition. No other human endeavor could be cited as showing the ultimate motive power in the accumulation of personal wealth to be, in reality, that of aquiring the ability and power of giving to others and of, thus, contributing to the happiness of others, than did this exposition. As an organized endeavor to prevent sickness and prolong human life, to project the living laws of health and happiness into the minds, the hearts and the very homes of people, it certainly surpassed anything of the kind in the whole history of hygiene and sanitation.
