The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-13
MAJOR BOUDREN LAYSPUBLICITY
 COMMITTEE
Gives Actual Facts In Two Bridgeport Cases Where
 Evil Results Followed
Vaccination.

-ro the Editor of the Farmer:
 { Sir: In a. recent issue of the Farmer appeared a communication from the Publicity Committee of the Bridgeport Medical Association, describing an "en- ttertainment'' at one of their meetings, the "entertainment" being furnished by one of their members who describ- ed "an intensely interesting case in his practice" The case was that of girl nine years old who had developed an abscesS and disease of the bone in her arm as the result of an injury. The child, they declare, had fallen down stairs, and the diseased condition had developed; and, it seems, the injury was serious that it resulted in Hong siege of fever and of failing strength, so that her life was despaired care "and treatment before a complete recovery was made'' It seems that this is not an uncommon result from injuries of this kind, for our medical friends say that abscesses and even cancers are found to have their origin in some injury like this. If this is true the hunt for the germ that causes cancer had better be abandon ed. But the thing in connection with this case which interested me most been used by the "anti-vaccination- { ists'' (so-calleO ito prove their alleged sterrible results of vaccination" and that one of the most rabid of these around for game learned of this i condition in the left arm of this child, !" and had taken it upon himself to di- agnose the case and to claim it as glaring exhibition of the terrible re- tsults of vaccination. This person is also charged with having visited the family unbidden, and that he "did ! browbeat the mother and tried. but I unsuccessfully, to convince her and kmake her say that all this trouble was 1.-the result of the vaccination"
 ] These statements compel me to take lnotice of the communication: because l the person, 'the anti-vaccinationist, l so-called," can be none other than my self, and have not yet arrived at that Fpoint where I will silently submit to ] such charges as that I indulge in "such distortion of facts, such perver- l sion of argument the members of the Bridgeport Medical Association charge me with in this case, through lam I so constituted that I can calmly and gracefully submit to being called a liar in even the most polite terms, twhen the other fellow is the liar.
 l I therefore take this opportunity to make public the actual facts in this case, which I take it for granted is tthat of the DeLally girl, because it is Ethe only case of this particular kind I i1ave personally investigated, and fs.feel this to be my duty" if I may be allowed to borrow a phrase used by Emy medical friends.
 : My attention was first called to this case about three years ago by an in- Ftimate friend of the family, who told me that the child had been vaccinated a short time previously in order to be admitted to the public school in her district, and that an ugly phagedemic sore had developed, eating into the flesh clear down to the bone, and that the doctor who committed the crime, realizing that he had severe case on
 his hands, had called in a brother phy- sician who remarked You have a bad case here; I would not want it." The parents were advised to consult a mo- ted specialist in New Haven who ad- vised the amputation of the arm as the only means of saving the ch1lds life. The child was then taken to the Bridgeport hospital for inspection by the doctors and they all said that the only way to save the life of the child
 would be to amputate the arm. The father, after some consideration, con-
 cluded he would not allow the arm to be taken off, but would take a chance with other treatment.
 The intimate friend of the family who gave me the above facts invited me to visit the family and see the case
 for myself. I was unable to do<So at
 that time, but about six months later I called on the family, then residing at 46 Elizabeth street, and found the
 girl suffering with a fearfully devel-
 oped sore on the vaccinated arm, at the seat of the vaccination, which had
 eaten down to the bone, and from
 which a. piece of bone was then pro-
 t9uding.
 Three ugly ulcers had also developed
 on the under part of the arm. The
 family fully confirmed the account of
 the case as told me by their friend,