The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-01-26

special pains to study its protection
in Germany and "has ascertained to
entire satisfaction" that of over a
thousand smallpox patients mot a
single one met the strict requirements
of an effective vaccination" The re-
port of the London smallpox hospital
says, "few people have been admitted
who show good mark, and If a mark
death has been extremely rare" Sir
Thomas Watson says, in the Pail
Mall Gazette, vaccination. properly
and universally effected, will extirpate
from the country-I might say
from the world the hidious, disfgur-
ing. dangerous, and in the great ma
jority of cases fatal disteipper, small
pox." During the first decade of
vaccination of the Prussian army
there were only 498 deaths from small
pox, during the second only 99, dur
Ing the third only 1S, during the
fourth only II, and the fifth during
the great war between Prussia and
Austria) only s. and, according to the
statistics of the war office, these s, on
account of the turmoil of conflict, had
escaped the requirements of re- vaccin-
alton. During the campaign of '7O-7l
against France the army was except
ionally large, but the citizen soldiery
were thoroughly vaccinated before
being marched TO the front, and al
though there was a widespread epi-
demic amongst the negligent peas
antry of France through which they
marched, and Notwithstanding the
fact that many of the French pris-
oners were sick and dying from small
pox, the cases among the German
army only amounted to less than a
single man to 1000. On the contrary,
of the civil German population, who
had not been as carefully vaccinated
as the soldiery. there was mortality
of "a per 1000, altho ugh not brought
into nearly SO close contact with the
prisoners. In 1s4S, when the death
rate among the civil population of
Prussia was 4,60l from smallpox,
there was not a single case In the
whole army. There is at present, in
the combined armies of Europe, a
mortality Of less than one per cent,
while in those of the German-speak-
ing people disease Is almost unknown.
He who would controvert these facts
must be either a fool or knave.
There has only been a single objec-
tion to vaccination at all worthy of
consideration, viz: the in oculatiou of
syphilis at the same time, and when
we reflect that one out of twenty per-
sons in our large cities have syphilis
it becomes no trivial question. But
happily, this argument now falls to
the earth, for at present the cow-pox
is propagated on the udders of heifers,
can at any time be had, and it pro-
duces better vaccination than the
scab from the arm. The physician
who uses "humanized" lymph when
cow-lymph is obtainable, is guilty of
crime aud should be held accountable
by law. Moreover, the planting of
syphilis (even with humanized lymph
is no argument against vaccination it
self, but rather against it's improper
performance.
That vaccination shall protect it
must be properly performed, for not
every sore arm is a good vaccination
on the contrary, of.eK the reverse ;
neither is everybody competent to
vaccinate, nor any penknife or rusty
needle the proper instrument for its
performance. 1t should be done by
those properly educated, and they
should be held to a strict legal &C.
countability - under oath - for its
proper performance. Then, again,
the law should require every one to
appear at stated periods for the opera
ton, under penalty.
Not only should children be -vacci-
mated, but every one on attaining pu-
berty, at least, but preferably say about
every ten years. and oftener should
an outbreak occur. l have often
found "animal vaccine" would take
Oh those who but few years before
had been vacainated by "Scab." Dr.
Pissin, of Berlin, in an experience oI
fourteen years at the Institute for
Animal Vaccination, has found that
ninetyseven per cent. of primary and
seVeuty-four per cent. of secondary
! vaccinations were successful
OF late years it has either not been
done at all in America, or has fire.
quently been imperfect in quality
quantity, or both, and our people are
gradually ripeniHg for the harvest o
death that surely will come unless
vaccination is more regularly aud bet
ter performed.