Connecticut western news., 1894-02-01
SMALL POY rs PANIC.

If an army was in the field and the Colonels discovered that a score of the enemy had come within the lines it would be the duty of the Colonels to immediately put the invaders under guard. It would not be the duty of the Colonels to cause a panic in the army by taking poisoned swords and smiting (vaccinatiugl every soldier in the army to prevent the handful of the enemy from doing harm.
 Now the foregoing little allegory is introduced to illustrate the small pox situation in Litchfeld county. Small pox gained foothold in Winsted be- fore its presence was even suspected. Soon as the presence of small pox was known the local authorities immediate ly quarantined all suspected cases. There have been seventeen cases, all told, of small pox or vsrioloid in Win sted and the cause of each case can be traced or determined. Four cases proved fatal, owing in part to the na- ture of the disease not being suspected at first and the proper remedies not be- ing used in time. The other Is pa- tients have all nearly or quite recover ed, and on Tuesday afternoon Jan. 30th bulletin was issued stating there were no new cases neither had there been within seventeen days past. There have been three cases of varioloid in a mild form in one family at Norfolk. The first of these three cases was con- tracted at Winsted before it was known that small pox existed in Winsted. There has been one, and only one, case of small pox in East Canaan near the town line of Norfolk. The case was a mild one and was contracted from the first case in Norfolk, before the nature of said Norfolk case was known. The family in Norfolk, also the one in East Canaan, was promptly quarantined.
 Some, if not all, of the local health officers of towns in Litchfield county issued notices ordering all persons in their respective towns to be vaccinated at once. The health officers of Tor rington and Barkhamsted issued quar- antine against Winsted although Win sted had already put in force a local quarantine. Business in Winsted was paralized, and outsiders put the wild est rumors in circulation. People in neighboring towns were also panic stricken and their fears were not allayed by the order of local health officers re- quiring everyone to be vaccinated. A | good share of this small pox panic and consequent paralysis of business might have been avoided, had some of the To- cal health officers of Litchfeld county been less anxious to obtain vaccination fees. It Is a dangerous thing to give some men too much authority, and it i, fortunate that an appeal can be taken from a local health officers whim or de cision. Winsted has found it so, and Winsted took an appeal from the guar antine established by Torrington. The appeal resulted in an order from Coun ty Health Officer Walter s. Judd dated Jan. 23d and vacating forthwith the or der issued Jan. 20th by the healtf officer for the town of Torrington.
 In the allegory the commanding Gen eral would doubtless have "callei down" the Colonels for their conduct and in Litchfield county the local healtl officer of Torrington was "called down by the County Health Officer.
 The NEWS is not attacking or discuss ing the question of vaccination; neithe does it envy the doctors their vaccina tion fees, but the NEWS is opposed t, creating small pox panic in Litchfielt county. It ought not to be in the pow CT of any one man in town to creat. such panic, no matter what his motiv, is. We hear it stated that the nex legislature of Connecticut will revis. the present vaccination law. At al events great care should be exercised in appointing local health officers; mel of sound judgment; men who will no wrongly use the authority invested il them; men who will consider not onl, the health. but the peace of mind ant every interest of the community withou regard to personal fees.