The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1908-12-11
WASN'T 1T ILL-TIMED?
st. Johnsbury Physician Opinion OF
Editorial in His Home Paper.


The following letter. which appeared
in this week s issue of st. JOhnsburI
Caledonian, will be OF interest to local
| neople for two reasons; 1t relates TO tnt
local smallpox situation and Is written by
a physician who is well known i'll Brattle'
borO:
Editor Caledonian:-
At the head. of your editorial page OF
Yesterdays issue appeared some tnougnt'
lets concerning the smallpox in Brattle-
| boro. which seems to me worthy OF an
swer and | cheerfully take up the burden.
II seems to me of very little consequence
| what eight out of ten residents may
think or not think regarding the genuine
ness of the smallpox in question. me
facts are that two experts from New
York came tc "rattleboro and mVes.l.
gated some of e early cases, spending
many hours in this work, and pro-
nounced it smallpox. On their. judgment
II would seem wise to rely. You prob
ably remember that only few years ago
a similar epidemic was raging IN this
county and the same measures were
taken land wisely sol to find out its ma
ture and quell the disease: Probably
EIGHT out OF ten" residents OF Hardwick
as that time felt the same, as many resi-
dents of Brattleboro do today. The mere
fact that the disease does not presen,t,
the old so-called cardinal symptoms
and does not conform to the notions OF
lavmen proves nothing 1t seems to me
fair to believe that one hundred years OF
vaccination may have modified the dis
ease somewhat, as has mercury and potas'
sium modified another specific disease,
which today has not the terrors which IT
had a century ago. 1t is only a. few years
AGO that eight out of ten persons
would not believe that anyone could have
diphtheria unless one died and had
strictly private interment. Then every,
one was satisfied as to the correctness OF
the diagnosis in given case. To-Day we
all recognize the fact that a great MAJOR
ity of sore threats, etc, are OF dlphtner-
efic origin but the disease ia robbed OF Its
terrors to great extent. l venture to
assert that "eight out of ten" OF these
blatant doubters would hesitate to expose
themselves knowingly to this disease even
though they do consider it itch or some
other simple malady. ;.
The members of the medical profession
Of Rrattleboro need no defense at my
hands. A good many years ,acqualn-
tance with majority of them has con
WINGED me that they are an honest, hard
working set Of men who are laborlng to
do their full duty by, the people IN Their
community, ana IN Tins Sprusco az
to the best Of their ability. The medical
man Gets but little in this world except
a lot Of unpaid accounts but have, al
wavs had notion that when the last
great clinic is held and the poor doctor
Gets his rewards that the other fellow
will be wearing an expression OF envy
when he sees what the doctor gets.
Finally, is,it not bit i!l-timed to print
such an article as that Of yesterday at
time when local feeling is stirred up, es-
Ip esay TRea sns oes and to to whom
the decision was left, announced that it
was smallpox and not chickenpox nor
itch.
Please pass the vaccine.
Very truly,
j. M. Allen.
st. Johnsbury, Dec. 8. 1908.