The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-08-06
Hrs. Loat, Woman Secretary of National Anti Vaccina- tion League Furnishes
 Information to Farmer. Nearly Everybody Vaccina- ted in, India, But the Death Rate From Small Pox is Tremendous,
 Even Among
 Soldiers.


 Soldiers.
 To the Editor of Bridgeport Evening
 Farmer, Sir:
 have seen a letter in an issue Of your paper written by the wife or a Missionery in India in which vacci- nation is advocated. May be allowed to inform your readers that IL IS 'spractical experience with smallpox and vaccination which has been the means of converting large numbers Of people to the Anti-V Vaccination side. For instance, it was the big epidemic of 1S71-2 that gave the chief impetus to the fight against Vaccination in Leicester and other English towns. En gland was vaccinated up to 95 per cent of the population and yet she lad the most terrible epidemic of the century in 1S71-2. pr. Radwen or Gloucester was closely identified with the smallpox epidemic in that town and his experience made him a strong CT Anti-VacCinator than before. Alder man Beurle who has been for many years a member of the Metropolitan Asylums Board has visited large num- bers of eases of smallpox on the Hos pital ships. has talked to the patients, examined the cards and in every way has come in close contact with the dl- sease In this case also practical eX- perience" has strengthened his Anti Vaccination views.
 Going from England to India I might say that I have several cores pondents in India. both natives and Europeans. Some Of ts,ese men have lived in the country Sil their lives and others for a much longer period than your lady correspondent. Our Presi- dent Oieut-G General Phelps) and our Treasurer General J. NJ. Earle) also both spent over 30 years in that country so that their testimony is as valuable as that of individuals who advocate vaccination from their own personal experience. All these friends tell us that the filthy conditions of life in India are responsible for the smallpox and other terrible diseases so prevalent in that country. If your readers will examine a return giving the statistics of smallpox plague and choleraa in India for the last 90 years obtained by Sir William Collins from the Tnglish Government a year or two ago they will find that in the last year of the return smallpox was as bad in India as it was during the much earlier years in spite of the fact that the number of vaccinations performed had more than doubled during the period. It may be news to your readers to know that millions of Vaccinations are performed in India every year and in Bombay as many as SO per cent. 
 In England the percentage is less than 70 and yet more than half the small poX deaths in Bombay are in children under 10 years of age. I have worked out the smallpox death-rate for Eng land and Wales for the years 1SS0-1906 and I find that this amounted to 26 per million of the population. For the same period the smallpox death-rate of the British Army in India amounted to 62 per million. These troops are the most vaccinated and re-vaccinated body of men that could be found any, where whilst the English population contains some millions of vaccinated young persons and infants as well as large numbers of other persons who would compare unfavorabIy as regards health with the soldiers. If vacci- nation protects from smallpox how is it that the British troops in India suf- fer more than twice as much from the disease as the population of Eng land?
 One can hardly realize the tremend- ous amount of vaccination done every year in India. In the wear 19Oe-7 the 3 millions of vaccinations represented 8 per thousand of the population. If the English population was vaccinated to the same extent we should have 1,225.000 vaccinations every year instead of about 100000 When it is realized that the population of England is about of India is about 2SO GOO, 600 some idea of the extent to which Vaccination is carried out in India may be realised As this is so 1t is staggering to find that the small poX death-rate for 1906 was AS46 per million. Last week Sir Maurice Levy asked a question in Parliament regard ing smallpox in Bombay Gone of the best vaccinated towns in India) and the following answer Was returned:-
 Smallpox in an epidemic form was prevalent in Bombay City from the middle of February last to the middle of May. The Secretary of State under stands that the practice in Indian hos pita1s is to keep a record of the vac- cfna1 condition of every patient suffer ing from smallpox, but he has no in formation as to the data thus obtained in the recent epidemic in Bombay. or as to the light thereby thrown on the causes Of the outbreak According to statements in the Bombay newspapers the severity of the epidemic was large ly 6de to cases imported by pilgrim ships returning from Jeddah and other ports in the Red Sea"
 Our knowledge of pro-vaccinists methods tells us that had the vaccinal records of the smallpox cases been favorable to the uDholders of vaccf- ration the information would have been available. May I conclude with an example of the Uselessness of vacci- nation to prevent or mitigate small pOx? Two or three years ago a Mis- sionary going to China under the aus pices of the China Inland Mission was vaccinated together with his wife and two boys before she sailed He suf- fered severely and was obliged to put himself in a Doctors hands before sufficiently recovered to start his jour ney. Soon after reaching China all four took smallpox and only the wife recovered.
 l beg to remain
 Yours obedientIy.
 L. LOAF. Secretary. National Anti-Vaccination League, 27, Southhampton street. Strand Loud