The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-10
Fergus. Falls, Feb. 8.
The Function of Vaccination

Ine Function OF Vaccinations.
To the Editor of The Journal.
The function Of vaccination is similar to
that of lightning rods and amulets. It allays
the fears Of timid people at the time when
that dreaded disease, smallpox, is prevalent.
There are condolences attending vaccination
just the same as they happen with lightning
rods and amulets and this is what gives some
people SO much confidence in it. But vacci-
nation Is no more eficacious to prevent small
pox than an amulet is to prevent shipwreck
or a lightning rod Is to keep the lightning
from striking building.
| The opinion Of eminent men widely differs
as to the efficacy Of vaccination, so much so
| in Great Britain, where the fallacy was born,
that the law which demanded compulsory
vaccination was recently appealed, upon the
ground that its use for the prevention of
| smallpox was only based upon opinion and
| upon the grand American principle, which is
! ignored here, that the rights of individuals
are more sacred than the opinions of men
| who cannot prove their theories.
| No man in the United States Of America
| should be forced by law to submit to unveri-
! fed opinions either. 1t is a great injustice
| to the rights of man. Such taw takes away
his rights to 'life, liberty and pursuit of hap
plness. There are thousands of men and
women to-day, who are well read up in re-
| gard to the subject, and who are satisfied
i that vaccination does great deal of harm.
! They abhor and detest it and yet they are
| forced to submit to the terrorizing process
| of having the mischievous virus put into
| their healthy systems, because some one
thinks that they ought to have it. AS no
physician can tell, positively, what will be
| the result of vaccination in the human sys-
| tenn, owing to different conditions of the
| blood, it seems folly to allow health officer
the power which he has. If the way people
have striven to escape vaccination of late,
| by getting certificates and by evading the
| health officers, is any argument, then large
number of people here are averse to it. Par
ents who do not want their children innocu-
lated with what they think is deadly, stuff
are forced to submit to it and suffer.
Compulsory vaccination is barbarism which
| should be stamped under foot by every lib
! erty-loying American and the legislatures now
in session should be urged by their en-
! lightened constituents to abolish the law
which supports fallacy which Great Britain
has wiped out. There are intelligent men and
women who are just as well read and who
! have studied the subject as we'll as our
| health officer, who confesses he is afraid Of
smallpox, and they are entitled to little
consideration as subjects of the great Ameri-
can democracy. 1t is unconstitutional to per-
nit the opinions of any clique to be forced
| upon others. If timid men and women want
vaccination let them have it. This is Ameri-
can liberty. If the brave and intelligent do
not want it, do not force 1t upon them This
also is American liberty
/ Here is nut to crack for the health Of
! fcer: If vaccination is preventative then
! those who are vaccinated will not take
| smallpox, matter how exposed, therefore
| none need to be frightened about an epidemic
! If they are so surely protected, and one who
| is not so protected will surely get the small
pox, but this seems liberty to any one who
prefers smallpox to vaccination. Smallpox
has killed about one-third as many people
! as vaccination during the past five months.
| Why cannot the medical men Of our city
debate and settle this question, as there are
! many well known doctors both for and
against this miserable practice of vaccination
Respectfully, Frederick White.