Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-07-20
A Reply From Mr. Stuart

lind malignant, yet ulfprOVOkeo
attack upon me by DIR T S Sud
darth, for an article written by me
and published in your issue ofJune
Goth, which | must beg of you
space to reply.
| did not assert dogmatically.bu
simply gave it as my opinion, thai
the prevailing epidemic was no.
smallpox; holding myself open tc
conviction, since, in the nature ane
course of things, we may meet
with such solid and substan tial OBJ
iections as may give us quite a diff
ferent view Of things from what
we once imagine, and may lay be-
fore us sufficient evidence to the
contrary as to cause us to change
our opinion. But, until such cyl
dence is produced, cannot can
sent to allow DR. Suddarth to su.
perciiously impose his belief upon
me in a matter not absolutely nee
essary and not absolutely certain
look upon it as egotistic, if not
a criminal resurpation of tyranny
over faith and conscience, which
none has the right to assert but an
lnfallible dictator.
DIR Suddarth dogmatically asserts
that | never saw case Of the "trlf-
ling skin disease" of some years
ago, of which spoke.
In this declaration of his he eth
er willfully and maliciously mis-,
represents me, or he reckons with
out his host.
At the time he was treating the
$50 called" small pox in this coun
tv one or two boys of this neigh
borhood lodged inside the quaran'
tine, caught the disease, broke out,
and spread it through three and
possibly four families. The boys
never told until after the thing
had all been stamped out, that they
had been inside the quarantine or
that they had any chance to take
smallpox, and no one, from the APP
pearance of the breaking out, sus-
pected anything of the sort. Some
that had it were frequently at my
house, and / saw others that had it
every few days for a month or
more and was applied to by some
of them to know what to do for it,
and seeing, as | thought, it was
only an ordinary skin disease, | re-
commended the taking OF sulphur
and cream of tartar. or frequent
additions in running water. Wheth-
er they did that or not | don't
know, but thev all got well, and
there was but one case of it that
was bad enough to stop the boy
from work a few days, and this is
why | depominated it a "trifling
skin disease"
And now, as | said before, it this
is small pox, fail to see the nee
essity of making any ado about it.
1t is not as bad, and is less danger
Gus than measles, chickenpox,
mumps, whooping cough, or many
other diseases to which there is but
little attention given. In fact, it
IS not near as bad as vaccination,
and would be a safe and easy mode
of vaccination,
But if it is Itch" or something
else and is not to render us immune
to smallpox, then | say, quaran-
tine against it. And this is where
DIR Suddarth so oft repeated quota.
of "be sure that you are right and
then 90 ahead" comes in.
Now | make no pretentions to a
knowledge Of the practice of medl-
cine, nor do l set myself up in oppo-
sition to those who do,but if DlSud-
darth desires it, ! can point him to
quite a number of men who make
no such pretentions. yet they have
gone far enough in the study OF
that science to find out that they
know but little about it. And as |
heard an old professor once tell a
bow ST would much rather risk the
man who thinks he don't know
much about thing than the man
who has gone just far enough to
think that he knows it all; takes
big head and displays a great deal
of pedantry in the use of words
and phrases that, he, himself can't
explain to his listeners.
/ can point him, at least, to men
who haye learned that some effects
are found out by their causes, and
some causes by their effects.
They know something, at least,
by inquiring into the causes of any
particular effect or appearances.
They can consider what effects or
appearances they have known of a
kindred nature, and what have
been the certain and real causes OF
them. For like effects haye gen.
orally like causes. especially, when
they are found in the same sort OF
subjects. These men consider
what are the several possible caus-
es which may produce such an eff
feet, and find out by some clrcum-
stances how many of those possible
causes are excluded in this partlcu-
lar cause. Thence. they proceed by
degrees. to the probable cause, till
olooo otiention and inSpec-