The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-03-16
IS STILL OPPOSED !
Question Raised on the Vac
cination of Poor Children.
SECURITY FOR PAYMENT,
Az Argument by Ons who Opposes the
Vaccination Theory and a Case Cited In
Which = Board Of Health was Defeated.
English Medical Authority.

Questions Of all kinds have arisen since
the School Boards declaration that all
children attending the public schools
must produce a certificate Of vaccination
on or before April 10th, next, and it is
feared that many children may be shut
out of the schools after that date.
The latest question has been raised by
a member OF the medical profession. He
wants to know what security have the
doctors who vaccinate children of the
poor people that they will be paid for
their services and raises the point that
the question of circumstances should not
be left to the profession. A child may be
brought to physician and vaccinated as
a poor child, but when the bill for the
service is rendered the Borough Council
may discover that the child's family was
able to pay and thereupOn order the phy-
sician to look to the family. 1t may then
happen that the family, although able,
will not pay and cannot be compelled to
do so. The physician raising the question
suggests that all children whose parents
are too poor to stand the expense should
be given orders for free vaccination by
either the School Board, Board of Health,
or Borough Council, and such orders
would not only serve as security to the
physicians, but also as vouchers for each
case OF vaccination chargeable to the
borough
Probably the most interesting argu-
ment which has been made on the subject
of vaccination is that contained in a
paper just received by the HERALD 1t is
an exhaustive paper on anUi-vaccination
movements and is as follows:
AS our School Board and some of the
doctors imagine that the anti-vaccination
movement is local affair, and the mass
of people are in favor OF compulsory vac
cination, | would suggest that they read
up on this subject and they will find that
all over the civilized world there Is an or
ganiZed movement against vaccination.
In Indiana, Ohio, New York, and nearly
every state in the Union, there are strong
characterization societies. In Terre Haute
Ind, they have been lighting the Board of
Health, and in the case of Hess VS.. Board
of Health of Terre Haute, Ind, in which
the health board tried to enforce yacci-
nation on the school children under pen
atty of being refused admission to the
public schools, the case was won by the
plalntitt on constitutional grounds, that
the health board could not interfere with
children attending public schools In
England for years there has been strong
opposition to vaccination led by eminent
medical men. The inclosed article from
the Literary Digest of March lst shows
how it is now viewed in England
The work of the London society for
the abolition of compulsory vaccination is
outlined in pamphlet by William Tebb,
f. X. q. s., in which he gives the story
of fourteen years struggle for emancipa-
tion from the vaccination tyranny. Vac
clnation was made compulsory in Eng
land and elsewhere and the apparently
well founded assumption that Jenners
discovery is an absolute protection against
smallpox, and one of the most beneficent
discoveries of science.
THE agitation against its compulsory
enforcement was widespread and strong
frCm the outset Much of this NAV have
been due to prejudice, but it was not long
before intelligent observers saw reason to
believe that painful and loathsome dis
eases were communicated to previously
healthy children by means OF vaccine
lymph drawn from tainted children. The
medical profession was, however, unani-
nous in support of the new practice the
law was enforced vigorously and hun
dreds of patients underwent the martyr
! dom OF fine and imprisonment rather
than subject their children to the ordeal
AT the beginning of 1850 a society was
formed to expose the miserable Jennera-
rian delusion.' This task was an uphill
one. Vaccination had the almost unani-
! nous support of the medical profession,
and of the ablest scientific and statistical
authorities throughout the kingdom.
Moreover, with the single exception of the
| Echo, all the London papers regarded
| the anti-vaccinatOrs as coutemptible
cranks. But the organization gained i'm
strength and influence, and in 1885 the
men of Leicester turned out in a bodya
made such formidable demonstration
| against the compulsory laws that it was
| Thought prudent to suspend them. Three
years later Dr. Charles Creighton, an
eminent pathologist was selected by the
/ editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica
(nlnth EDITOR TO undertake an exhaustive
inv tffrFat ion Of O
| Though starting with a strong bias in
| favor of the popular medical dogma, the
| result was to convince him that vaccina-
| tiOn is devoid of scientific foundation, and
| was in fact, popular medical delusiOn.
| This was followed by Dr. Crookshanks
! History and Pathology of vaccination
| in which vaccination was characterized
| as an idol of the market place
with the accession of medical experts
| to its ranks, the society renewed its labors
| with determined energy, but popular falla-
| cies die hard, and anti-vaccinators look
| forward to some fighting yet before they
| may hope to see the compulsory YacCna-
| tiOn law repealed and the medical pro
fessiOn ready to relegate the practice to
| the limbo of exploded delusiOn. Mean
| time the society has abundant fight In it,
and our author reminds his readers of the
| Indefeasible right Of a parent to protect
| his defenseless offspring from danger
"A royal commission OF inquiry on vac
cination has been in session since April,
1889 1t was appointed to expose the dis
| tortions and Misrepresentation OF the
enemies of vaccination. These enemies,
] however, see reason to hope that the com.
mission will recommend the modification
| ifnot the abolition of the laws Of compul-
sorry vaccination"
A new laundry was opened by Sing
| / L. I1r.N.s, 81