The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-01-17
STATE SUPERINTENDENT or SCHOOLS
Wants Vaccination Law Amended. Il Is
an Injustice TO Children.


State Superintendent Schaef
fer has taken vigorous stand as
against the Vaccination Law. HI
points out its glaring defects aut
demands prom pt amendments
In his annual report he says:
The law should be amended Sc
as to impose the enforcement O.
the vaccination law on the schoo
directors, the physicians and the
health officers.
DR.. Schaeffer calls attention to
the opinion of Attorney Genera
Carson to the effect that no tiue
can be imposed on a parent Oh
guardian for the non attendance
OF a child that has been excluded
from school because that child
does not present a certificate oil
successful vaccination.
"In other Words" says he, ii
the children are to attend school
they must be vaccinated, or have
smallpox, but the statute does
not say that they must be vaccin.
ated. An unvaccinated child has
it's school rights suspended un.
til there is compliance with the
law" Continuing, DR. Schaeffer
says;
81 am IN hearty accord with
the suggestion of the Attorney
General that at this point addi-
tional Legislation is needed. AS
the law now stands, the unvaccin.
ated child has no school privileg.
es and must grow up illiterate
and uuprepared for the duties of
citizenship and civilized life. For,
under the existing statute, the
unvaccinated child Is excluded.
not only from the public schools,
but also from the private schools
and Sunday schools. Unless a
private tutor can be provided, ig.
norance and llliteracy must be
the doom of the child whose par.
ent or guardian neglects or op-
poses vaccinatio
''The law is further detective
because 1T Furnishes the innocent
for the guilty. The guilt for neg
lect of vaccination belongs to the
parents and perhaps to the ply
s,cian, whilst the child is made to
suffer The double penalty of loss
of schooling and loss of protec-
tion against a loathsome disease.
'Either vaccination should be
made compulsory, as in England
and Germany, or some provision
should be made by which educa-
tion becomes possible in the case
OF children whose parents will
not permit them to be vacclnated.
,'Those who framed the pres
ent law supposed that the desire
for schooling would cause all par
ents to have their children vaccin.
ated. In this respect the act of
June 18, 1895, has been source
of disappointment.
WHERE IT FAILS.
'ln any future legislation all
power over the ad mission and ex-
clusion of children should be re-
stored to the school board, as was
the case before the act of 1905
was passed. Without doubt the
act was designed not as penalty
but as preventive. But in
this respect, 1t has tailed because
mere exclusion from the schools
does not prevent the unvaccinat-
ed child from associating with
others upon the streets. Nor
toes 1t compel teachers to be vac.
,inated, who are just as likely IT,
oring the epidemic to school as
,he children themselves"
Superintendent Schaeffer sum-
narizes the defects in the pres
snt law as follows
"lt has failed to make vaccina-
ion universal.
"lt has d sorganized the schools |
n communities where there was |
40 apparent danger from small. |
)Ox.
ut does not exclude unvaccin.
tied children from public places,
md yet assumes that they must
20 kept away from other children.