The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-01-05

1t Is noticed in our Washington dis.
patches this morning that the President
will probably send special message TO
Congress recommending immediate legis-
lation looking to the suppression Of small.
pox, which is now prevailing in some parts
Of the country to an alarming extent, This
recommendation, as also the proposed
action Of Congress, assumes, Of course, that
1t is entirely practicable to deal heroically
and successfully with the smallpox and
stamp it out, In this opinion the Presi-
dent is sustained by the intelligent public
sentiment OF the country, Notwithstanding
all that has been said to the con-
tary by professionals and non-pro-
fessionals. For instance, Professor
Chandler, the President Of the
New York Board of Health, gives it as his
opinion that "if we could vaccinate the
whole world we could stamp out small
pox," although, as he admits, persons who
have been vaccinated are sometimes at
tackled again, just as persons who have had
the smallpox are sometimes attacked again.
Vaccination is, however, almost q perfect
protection against smallpox, all arguments
to the contrary. Statistics prove it.
But how is everybody to be vaccinated
The Presidents proposed action seems to
contemplate compulsory vaccination. Pres
ident Chandler, Of the New York board,
does not believe in compulsory vac
cination. He says that it begets
spirit OF opposition at once to the prac-
tice, and makes its opponents more
determined than ever to resist it. And
yet the arguments in favor OF dealing
vigorously with the disease are SO many
and SO strong that it seems like trifing
with the public health to stand on CERT
mony. On this point the following stats.
tics, furnished by Prof Chandler, will be
read with interest:
"Since 1874 we have vaccinated 45l, 42O
persons. We had begun to congratulate
ourselves that We had the disease pretty
well under control about three years ago,
when it almest disappeared, and believe
that had it not been Tor the large immi-
grafton OF Bohemians and Poles, whose
filth is us astonishing as their objection to
vaccination, we would have been free
from the scourgG to-day. From August,
1877, to March, 1879, there was not sin
gle case OF smallpox reported; in 1879
there were but fewulseS, and those among
Bohemians. This is wonderful showing,
when we consider that during the century
previous to Jenner's discovery $4,000, 600
persons died OF smallpox on the CONT
nent of Europe. In 1907 smallpox de-
stroyed one.quarter Of the population OF
Iceland, and in 1888 Greenland was almost
depopulated by it. In the last half Of the
last century nine out OF every hundred
deaths were due to smallpox. Writing OF
this time, Macaulay says:
"'Smallpox was always present, filling
the churchyard with corpSes, leaving on
those whose lives it spared the hideous
traces OF It's power, turning the babe into
changeling at which the mother shud.
dered, and making the eyes and cheeks Of
the betrOthed maiden objects Of disgust to
the lover
"To give you even still better notion
Of how lar the Board OF Health had sue.
ceeded in keeping down smallpox as long
: ago as 1871. the result Of about one hun
dred thousand vaccinations by the Health
Board in 1870 is shown in the following
table giving the deaths from smallpox in
RBnRintu VNlunau II, tho WAR 1921,