The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-03-18
SCHOOL CHILDREN TOOK A HAND
Paraded Up and Down in an OklahO-
ma CITY to Gain the Point.

Guthrie. O. T. March 1.-THE smallpox
history Of any Oklahoma town or city, or
any western city. for that matter, is new
er written. The greatest suppressive in
huence ever known. in this connection, is
the interest of the city It shuts every
mouth. closes every newspaper column
and If it were not for the travelling man,
= town with the smallpox would be as
isolated as a village in interior China,
that is as far as information 20 the out
side world is concerned. And even some
times the travelling mans mouth is clos
cd. For instance last December OlIlaho-
ma City had a number OF big territorial
conventions. After the conventions were
over some little time the local papers an
nounced easily and coolly that the city
had had fourteen cases of smallpox and
all happily had recovered. The an
nouncement astonished the newspaper
men of the territory and others. How
Oklahoma City ever suppressed this fact
has never been known.
There is a good reason for the sup
preston of this sort of sensational news.
1t is best illustrated by a proverb which
runs this way
Il" said Cholera, have killed one
man" And l." said Fear, "have killed
ninety-nine'
The sensational advertisement of the
presence of smallpox in a city stagnates
business in the first place. The more
isolated a farm the greater fear of small
poN on that farm. A man living thirteen
miles from everybody will SILVER more
over the dread Of infection from his next
neighbor down with the disease than a
man in the city will with the disease
next door to him. When a local news
paper makes n fair and true announce
n-ent Of the presence OF smallpox the
people who are afraid declare that the
newspaper is not telling half and the
newspaper regrets that it said anything
at all Publication also sets commune
~ in a panic and really renders II COM
pletely unhappy.
So communities have learned FOR the
good Of all concerned not 70 print news
Of the epidemic The smallpox epidemic
in Oklahoma is practically over. And
now that 1t Is many curious little Incl
dents hitherto unmentioned are coming
out They can no longer do harm and
are amusing The best one reaching here
Is how the school children Of one Ok
lahoma place took a hand in municipal
affairs
The story IS very interesting and comes
a. hand in q private letter. This town
like al ether towns has had a small pox
scare. \ ease appeared about three
fourths Of a mile from town. steps were
taken to quarantine the town from this
case and the people who were With the
case
Cow-iymph was ordered by the local
drug stores and vaccination became the
order of the day among a fair proportion
Of the inhabitants The other portion.
Or Observation-Disclosures. refused 70 he
Naccinated or permit their children % be
operated upon, claiming that there Is
more danger in vaccination than in small
roX. Several weeks ago. shortly after
the appearance Of the first case Of the
disease. case was being tried in the
local land office and a neero witness was
found 70 be infected with the disease
The result was continuance Of the casa
for several weeks due largely 20 the fear
OF contagion entertained By some NJ thu
Parties TO the action The adherents ,n5
non-adherents OF vaccination woke IN
and discussed the subject learnedlv sn5
eNhaustively Crhat is most OF then, ax-
hausted their knowledge OF the sub5ec,
in "a tew sec3uds)
About the last OF February an attrac-
tive and popular lady. teacher in the CITY
schools was taken ilI and confined 70 her
room IL her hotel She was believed -
have some slight silment from which she
would recover IN few days. Children