The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-29
STAR
Opponent of Vaccination.

To the Editor of the Globe:
1 send this article to you for publica-
ton because the Clio b has always
shown itself fair-minded paper, willing
TO give space to arguments on both sides
OF any question of interest to the people;
and the question, "Shall my child be vac
clnated or be excluded from the public
schools" is certainly a vital one to many
parents in St Paul today
L give all honor to any public official
who is honestly and sincerely trying to
enforce the law as he understands it, and
L believe Dr. Ohage is doing this; but
he is not consistent. If vaccination is to
be of any real benefit as a preventive of
smallpox in the community, it must be
universal. And if Dr. Ohage has the
right to compel US to stand and deliver
our children to the vaccine points of the
health board, he has the right to station
an officer at every street corner forbid
ding the entrance into street car of
any unVaccinated person; to put a no.
tice in the vestibules of our churches
calling on all who have not been sue
cessfully vaccinated' to refrain from on
tering and joining in public worship: to
insist that we hand in our vaccination
certificates with our theater tickets; to
say that no one shall make use of the
public baths without first undergoing an
examination "to find the scar and with
out duly signed certificate from a ply
stefan. He has even-haSn't he?-the
right to send his inspectors from house
to house insisting that all, without re-
gard to Personal preference. shall be vac
cinated. And in order that the com
munity shall be thoroughly immune he
should certainly do all these things Why
make the children scapegoats for the
whole city? The question has been very
Well asked: Why. if vaccination protects
from Infection, there is any danger in a
school from the few unvaceinated pupils
who may be in attendance; there can GER
tainly be no general epidemic IN a school
when the greater number are protected
and If one or two cases should occur, why
Is not isolation as effectual a check in
this disease as in others which are fully
as infectious? These same children who
are not allowed to sit together in the
school room, play together after school
every holiday and through the long vaea-
ton, without let or hindrance. Would
it not seem rather as though DR.. Ohage
would better turn his attention to the
condition of our public school buildings
and demand that they be made so sani-
tary In their heating, ventilating and
plumbing arrangements that the children
may be as safe in sitting and studying to-
gether in the school room, as they are
in playing together in their homes or out
of doors?
Any parent might as Justly demand
from the principal of a school building a
certificate from the board of health, stat
ing that the said building is in as per-
feet sanitary condition as modern
science can make it. and that children
attending school there are reasonably
safe as far as the school is concerned
from scarlet fever, diphther.a and typhoid
fever, real dangers which every mother
eonfrontS in sending her children to
school, and against which they cannot
be inocuieted
Further. I would like to ask. AMI
wish some one could answer truly: Have
the members of the board of education
all been vaccinated during the last FIVE
years? Has DR.. Ohage seen to 1T that
his assistants and inspectors have all
been yaccinSted during the same period.
and can he himself show a scar and
certificate duly attested2
How many of the physicians of st.