The Independent., 1901-04-16
Favor Vaccination.

At the meeting Of the Medical AS
sociation of the Territory of Hawaii,
held at the Office of DR.. w. e. Taylor
last night, the following communica-
tion, embodying resolution against
the characterization bill now in the
hands of the Governor, was read. The
resolution was adopted unanimously,
and will be presented to the Governor
this morning by the president, DR.. w.
E. Taylor, and the secretary, DR..
Hodgins. The communication and res
olution are as follows:
To the President and Members of the
Medical Association of the Terri
tory:
Dear Sirs Your committee to
whom was entrusted the duty Of draf-
ting resolution to be presented to
the Governor of this Territory, ask
ing that he veto the new amendment
to the Penal Laws concerning COM
pulsory vaccination respectfully sub
NIT to the association the accompa-
nying resolutions and recommend
that they be adopted as the unani-
nous sense of this association:
Whereas, bill has now passed
both houses of the Legislature, hav-
ing for it's purpose the amendment Of
the Penal Laws, by striking out the
provision relative to compulsory vac
cination, and
Whereas, it is the unanimous opin-
ion of the association that II such
amendment be carried into effect it
would be a grave menace to the pub
lie health for the following reasons:
The position of these Islands rend-
er them extremely amenable to con-
tagious diseases, fact especially ap-
parent at the present time when
smallpox is prevalent in San Francis
CO, and among States of the United
States; the time elapsing between
the departure of steamers from San
Francisco and arrival at this port is
less than the incubation period of
smallpox, and further, the number of
| cases is increasing on transports, and
smallpox is especially prevalent
among the class of persons thereon,
| and
Whereas, there is an apparent mis-
conception in regard to the efficacy
| and in regard to certain danger said
to attend the operation of vaccination,
more especially the transmission of
certain diseases from one person to
another, and,
Whereas, the efficacy of vaccination
Is now accepted by the whole medical
profession all over the world, and has
been thoroughly accepted as unassail-
| able, the mass of evidence as reported
| by statistics going to prove this fact,
being enormous, the following being a
few of them:
In the German empire, according to
authentic statistics, in the year 1896,
there were, out of population of co.
100000 only ten cases of smallpox,
and Germany is the most thoroughly
vaccinated country in the world. The
law is enforced, not only in regard to
infants, but also in regard to re-vac-
cination. There has not been a case
of smallpox in the German empire
since 1874. In Hindostant, in four
years, 1S73-1S76 inclusive, there died
100000 from smallpox. On the other
hand, among British soldiers in the
same country, only two deaths oc-
cured from smallpox in the same
period. In Sweden for twenty-four
years before the introduction of vac
| cination the annual death rate from
smallpox was about 1850 per million
of the population; after the introduc-
tion of vaccination the annual death
rate from smallpox dropped to 1853
per million, and
Whereas, the danger of transmit
ting disease has been reduced to alb
solutely nil for the following reasons,
All vaccine used in these Islands is
obtained from New Zealand, and