Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-02-17
HOW ABOUT YOUR ARM7
Vaccination Is All the Go in Aroostook
County.

Wateryille is beginning to think
some of getting vaccinated. Smallpox
is not dreaded quite so much here as
in other places, as the city has had ex-
perience in handling the disease and
knows that with prompt and proper
treatment it can be controlled. Her
experience, however, has taught the
value of early vaccination as a pre-
ventative. The Board of Health has
been offering free vaccination during
the greater part of the winter and 1t
has been accepted to a certain extent.
The offer still holds good and the
Board urges the advisibility of being
treated early.
y The cases in Canada and In various
parts Of the State have caused little
stir here. But now it seems that a
man has been located in Portland who
has a pronounced case of the disease
and who says that he has been work.
ing in Waterville. If this is the case,
some one here has possibly been ex-
posed The man gave his name as
James c. Pray and said that he had
been working here on the ice.
A man who has been spending the
past week in Aroostook county states
that there is considerable of a scare
in that vicinity. The county did not
get much afraid when Waterville had
a very well developed case of scare, but
now with cases all about it's boundaries
the county is having it's attack.
Very strict regulations are being en-.
forced especially in regard to vaccina-
ton. The man who has just returned
from there says that he was in con-
stant fear while there that he would
hnyy 70 c,,l.v
was vaccinated when a schoolboy and
had such an experience with his arm
that he breads a repetition almost as
much as he does the disease itself.
About the only safe way to travel in
that section at present without inter-
ference from the health officers is with
a fresh certificate Of vaccination in
ones pocket.
He tells a story which is in circula-
lation in the land of potatoes in re-
gard to an officer of the law in one
of the towns of the county. He had
occasion to visit neighboring town
and was asked If he had been recently
vaccinated. Yes, sir, he had, and he
had the doctors certificate in his
pocket. But that wasn't sufficient and
the health officer insisted that he be
Vaccinated again. So he was and
fumigated on top of that He returned
to his own town with the firm con-
viction that he was full-fledged i'm
mune. He was boarding at hotel
and when he appeared there he was
met with the sentence that he must
not infect the place but must be fun1i-
gated again, so out he went and put
the second fumigation on top of the
vaccination and was accepted as being
all right.
The majority of the people of the
county have apparently been vacci-
mated within the past month or 80 and
every one is rather suspicious OF the
man without a fresh scar on his left
arm.
The Canadian officials are also on
the alert and one must pass a clean
bill of health, including a good fresh
scar. before crossing the line. All of
the travelling men whose routes lead
them into the provinces have been
nursing sore arms, as they are a neces-
sary part Of the business, this winter.
The rule works both ways, and
travellers coming into the State from
Canada must submit to examinations
also. @