Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-12-28
LOOKER-0N IN IOWA.
For the Times-Republican.

For the Times Republican.
Early, Dec. 27.-Dr. Farquar, an old
established physician of this place,
called down walls of wrath on his head,
figurativel speaking, by boldly ass
sorting the present epidemic skin dis
ease, SO prevalent about here. is not
smallpox, but something else at pres
ent unnamed. The doctor is nothing If
not positive. He was mayor here two
years ago, during that time Storm Lake
had a smallpox epidemic and he quar-
antined against that town, and enforced
| it too much to the disgust Of several
citizens here and many outsiders. He
believes in vaccination, vaccinates
himself frequently while attending
smallpox 60 cases, was in the army
during the war of the rebellion, nursed
men who had smallpox, and says he
has seen hundreds of cases since, and,
as doctor, frequently attended pa
tients with smallpox, continent and
otherwise. Tells of cases where vario-
loid has given smallpox and patients
died. So he can be classed as Ortho-
dox, yet he knows positively these So
called cases around here are not small
pox.
| To begin with, not case Of the
present smallpox (?) has pitted the
patient. In the same family, vaccin-
ated and unvaccinated members Of the
home circle have this presen dis
ease equally light in form, vaccination
affording no protection in lessening
the virulence OF the attack. The
formed pustules have no pit, and leave
no scar. Nevertheless the doctor con-
tinues to quarantine, living up to the 4
rules Of the state board OF health, for
he says 1t certainly is an infectious
disease, while apparently there Is but
little danger from 1t. Another thing
about this disease around here. Is that
children and puny people are the ones
to take 1t" no one over As or so hav-
| ing an attack SO far as he knows. The
disease Is not German measles; Il it's
lchickenpox. it's different from the or
binary form, and to give It name is
beyond HIS medical ken.
80 81.
The Looker-on sprung his laymanso I
notion. The idea was, generation after
generation for the past 100 years have
been inoculated with vaccine virus.
This has rendered the present crowd Of.
young people immune" 30 that vayfo-
loid or smallpox, one and the same.
only in a less or more degree, has be-
come an impossible disease and this
new disease is one which comes to the
patient from exposure to smallpox,
and the result in these immune" per-
sons. is, another form OF the same
thing. To put It In the slang OF the
day. say 10 generations OF vaccinAted
persons, has knocked the spots e. e.s
pits) out of it. The doctor knocked :
this theory completely out OF time. by
saying that In the same family an uil-
vaccinated member had the idsntical3
symptoms and irruptions OF the skin
las another one OF the family vaccfnnted8
this year, and one where the vaccine
took" and left scar. Neither tina
doctor nor the scribe Of course knew
whether the preceding 10 generations
had been vaccinated, and thus the pres
ent unvaccinated person was immune"
from the blood OF 10 vaccinated gener-
atoms being in his veins. So that the
LOCKER on had one leg to stand on
after all. Memo. This public express
sion Of layman opinion is dangerous
business. Some doctor will proceed to
annihilate the allegations Of the allt9a-
tor. SsSs
| One thing is sure, there ID N cpl
demic OF some kind or name, that when
known to be In a community, kills trade
liz not people. Dr.. Farquar makes III
good point In saying he regrets that
this disease Is new, unknown and un-
named, for the tendency on the part
| of the public Is to underestimate the
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