Importance.
—In the whole range of conservatism, there is probably no subject of greater importance at this time than that of county health administration. County health administration is important, first, on account of the size of the field, and second, on account of the stage of the development of the problem.In size the field embraces approximately three thousand counties or rural governments in the United States. For 53 per cent, of the population of this country the county government is the nearest, the most direct, and the most responsive government; for this majority of our people the county or rural government is the nearest approach to the ultimate object of all government, to wit, intelligent self-control.The present state of development of the county health government is embryonic, plastic, susceptible to direction. If organized influences, like that of this Association, if centralized agencies, like that of the federal government,