The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1885-11-06
VACCINATION.

4 Subject which Has Been Sadly Neg.
looted In the United states.
Opposition TO vaccination has various
foundations. but none at once so mis-.
chievous in its effects and so reprehen.
sible in its origin as that set forth in the
following extracts from acknowledged
authorities on the subject what ID
called vaccination is. in vast number
Of persons in the United States and the
rest OF the world. only so in name and
not ia reality" says Elisha Harris IAN
persons amateurs, druggists, old wom-
en-, midwives etc.-are allowed to vac.
cinate in any way they thing proper.
and the persons operated on are consid-
cred vaccinated. says MIR. Marson,
speaking of vaccination in England.
Medical men are found TO vary ex-
cecdingly in their estimate OF salts
factory vaccine vesicle and cicatrix, OF
the reverse. for their standard is COM
parative. rather than absolute" This
is exactly what might have been ex-
pected." says Aitkin. seeing that med
ical students are left to pick up their
knowledge of vaccination where they
can. In tact, practical medical educa-
ton ct our schools Of medicine has
hitherto. or until very recently. been
entirely nil in regard to this most i'm.
portant subject and no test of knowl-
edge has ever been applied" DIR. Hen
~ A. Martin, who has devoted . life
time to the subject, says: my
belief has very long been that in no
country has vaccination been carried on
less satisfactorily than in the United
States Not so far as the percentage
vaccinnatec, for in the older States
that Is undoubtedly large. but in the
character Of the vaccination done.
When we reflect that even in our
most prctcntious medical colleges vac
cination was not till lately thought
worth teaching. and the protection OF
the people had to be done by mon who
had never learned what q perfect vac
cine vesicle was. il is hardly to be won
dered at that vaccination in America
has been done very badly" And one
of the latest writers on that subject,
w. A. Hardaway, N. D.. in The Is.
sentials Of Vaccination, says: ~
doubt IL there is civilized land where
less is known Of the theory and practice
Of vaccination than in America" In
foot-note he adds: = The subject is
criminally neglected in our medical
schools" and, being himself profess
sor in leading medical college. Il
must be admitted that he speaks ex
cdfhedrd. During the late epidemic the
State Board Of Health reported that il
was notorious that many otherwise
competent and successful physicians
were practically ignorant Of many OF
the most important details Of the vac
cinal process +" Much OF the alleged
worthlessness Of virus was due to this
ignorance, and many cases Of compli-
cations would doubtless have been sue
ccssfully avoided had the operator pos
sessed the necessary knowledge and
practical experience"
From the foregoing the deduction u
obvious that the charges Of failure Of
vaccination a. protection against
smallpox, and so much OF the hostility
to this measure As Is due to ignorance
and unrcasoning prejudice. have grown
out OF . culpahlc neglect Of the essen
tials OF vaccination, for which the med
ical profession and medical teachers are
primarily, and still very largely. 70
sponsiblc. Wherever vaccination il
now as skillfully and intelligently per-
Termed and supervised Is Il was by
Jcnncr and his Immediate co-workers,
IL secures as great degree Of protcc-
ton with as few drawbacks and objcc-
tions as did their operations. Ii Is
therefore the duty OF medical prcccptors
and teachers to give the proper amount
OF practical instruction concerning vac