The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-08-04

| 1000 enlisted men of mean strength
tells its own story:
L. s. Army .................. 1874
| U. S. Navy .,,...........,.... 159
| BrltlSn Army .....,.....,..... 70
Russian Army ................. so
Austrian Army ................. 81
| Japanese Army ................. 81
| Bavarian Army ................. Is
! 1T is lamentable fact that the
| United States and Great Britain, typi-
cal Anglo-Saxon nations should lead
all other armies in the prevalence of
venereal diseases. Our population is
! not less virtuous than foreign coun-
tries but prevalence is largely due to
the fact that the sentiment in these
two countries is against recognizing
the evil and therefore it has not been
made a subject of popular education.
| The surgeon generals report says:
| Taking all venereal diseases together
with their results, this class of infec-
tions continues to increase as might
be expected of any contagious disease
against which no measures of preven-
| ton or isolation are taken 1t may
be contended that enlisted men are
not representative of our civil popu-
/ lation and the general morale of the
personnel of these sailors has stead
| lily improved in the last ten years and
that the source of supply is the civil
population, some far above the aver
10 in Of ri irtt tvo o1t
these diseases, not in their own quar-
ters, but in surrounding civil commu-
mites as they would contract typhoid
fever if it happened to be prevalent.
| In fact the diseases are more preva-
| lent in the undisciplined forces of
civil life than in enlisted circles.
Other Statistics.
statistics collected in 1903 show
that out of 274,611 patients treated in
| Washington hospitals, there were 81
947 cases of sexual diseases, the ma
| jority of cases belonging to the de-
pendent classes although it is said to
be question whether a large number
of young men of upper and middle
classes do not suffer in youth from
some form of venereal disease
THE morbidity from venereal dis
eases has been found to be six times
greater than that from any other
named infectious diseases combined in
certain district studied. Between
! three and four million cases are an
lnually treated in this country
| profaccOr EOhar pamod tha
al characteristics of venereal diseas-
es in detail, treating syphilis, gonor-
rhoea, etc. Every physician is famil-
lar with cases contracted among chill
dren in some instances under most re-
voting circumstances. The disease
may be carried from child to child by
nurses who care for infected and un-
infected children.
Preventive Measures.
very competent judges" he said
hold that the social diseases are the
most powerful of all factors in the de-
generation and depopulation of the
world. The sanitarian suggests that
a person thus inflicted is as much a
menace to public health as case oi
smallpox and POI ats to the periodical
inspection and detection and cures
wrought in Europe in the way of Of
fetal control of prostitution The
medical profession is not agreed or
the propriety of this method as pro-
ducing false sense of security. Ii
the crusade, thus far spasmodically
made, every effort has been made tC
lapprehend the woman offender. Ey'
cry attempt to make laws upon the
subject which apply to women ant
not to men is most unjust and estab
fishes a different standard Of morality
for the two sexes.
The Remedy.
"Your committee believes that thu
remedy lies in public education which
should be carried on along the same
lines which is making the tuberculo
sis campaign so effective. The grea
majority Of the people have no knowl
edge of the subject. simply because
of the erroneous assumption that |
!, is not one which lends itself to gen
eral discussion 1t Is indeed crafty
ing that such respectable magazin
as The. Ladies Home journal m
given attention to topics of this char
acter and insisted for several year
J upon a greater parental franNnes
} with children about their p,'ysica
7 selves. 1T is conservative to say
, said that magazine in 1908, that a
l least 60 out of every 100 young me-
, are sowing their wild oats and C
! these 60 a startling number are eithe
= already making or will make a trag
= edy of marriage. This frightful con
A dition has been brought about largel
bby parental policy of mock modest
! and silence vita sons and daughter
Y and the condoning in men what
! condemned in women. Fathers an
{ mothers and in consequence, girls
e have condoned in a young man thi
= sowing of his wild oats because 1t wa
: considered it would do him good
!, show him the world etc.-argument