The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-01-24
The Answer-

TIL me answer must be in the negative
ne peter Judgment of her citizens will
nose OF other states and civilized conn
tIieS They will not deny their defense
/ iess chlidren the protection TO which they
are entllied, IN the presence of "a threat
/ ening enemy. They, as individuals viii
iot 'lefuse 10 protect themselves. but will
ulscnarge duty which they owe 10
themselves and to society. This thew will
Fdo because they will study the question
idtohal!y ana calmly and viii arrive at
the ruth. if tins reasonable nope Is soon
verified, then the days of smallpox in
our midst are numbered.
rev statistics are appended. taken
from the volumes of official records, the
authenticity OF which is unquestioned:
one OF the most vivid pen pictures Of
the devastation wrought by smallpox be-
lore the Introduction of vaccination is
given by Professor Wcrnher in his work
entitled Eur Impffrage. II is as fol-
Before the introduction of vaccination
smallpox had become permanent dis
ease, which never entirely ceased in any
one year, and every three or five years
became great epidemic
In non-epidemic years one-tenth of all
mortality was from variola; in epidemic
Very few men escaped smallpox till
old age; almost every one sickened at
murderOus disease
Countless mortals were MANNED by
loss OF sight; OF newborn children one
third died of smallpox before their first
year, one-hah before their fiftn year Of
life.
There was no family which had not
heavy losses to deplOre-
In the country the mortality was
greater than ii was in the city
physicians and governments possessed
no means against this abOminable evil
Isolation was impracticable, from the
widespread nature Of the disease Men
accepted the pest as an unavoidable fate.
The loss which Europe suffered from
this one disease amounted to many mil
lions. 1t was the principal factor which
. deferred kent hack the T.on11ia tfoT from
progress, and to lead US back to these
. conditions are the efforts OF many lgnor-
ant mOTtals directed
Comparing the present conditions with
those just stated, the author goes on to
say:
I'VE now find no child mortality among
Vaccinated children. Also among adults.
whenever vaccination and revacCinatiOn
are maintained, mortality from smallpox
is at an end.
One Of the best protected countries is
Germany, where a law was passed IN 1911
making vaccination obligatory in the first
year OF life ana also reVacelnauoh OD-
ligatOTy- at the tenth year This law in
Germany resulted from the epidemic IN
1871 with its $4,000 deaths from srnallpoN
among a population in which vaccination
had been allowed to die out Prior to 1874
the YEARLY loss was $1,000 to 5000. The
present rate is less than 116 per year. and
these cases occur on her borders, where
there is constant mingNng with the poor
~ Naccinated OF other countries. D9Iihs
the FrancC-German war the unavOlda bic
mingling OF the two peoples spread small
pcX, which was epidemic The German
had made vaccination optional Tor It's
civil population. but compulsory for its
army the French having made it option
al alike for both army and population
The French lost from smallpox 1890 men,
the Germans rs Occupying the same
hospital tents, with the same surround
ingS. the French wounded lost many
from smallpox the Germans not any
The French prisoners OF war died by
the hundreds. while their German guards
who had been vaccinated and revaccin-
ated, suffered not at all.
In Denmark Sweden and Norway
where as well as in Germany. vaccina-
ton is compulsory, the annual death-rate
is from one to three per million annually,
that before compulsory vaccination hav-
ing been 2.05Q per million
There has been but ole death from
smallpox in the German army where re-
vaccination every five years is Obliga-
tory since 1874.