New-York tribune., 1912-04-07
by Dr. Prince Morrow
Evil of SoCaled Social Diseases " "
MATTERS Suppressed Most Iuncul ana

not be left 10 work out their salVdtloi
alone Every moral reform comes from
the exposure OF human suffering. Consio-
erations of humanity demand that womeh'
I'm fulfilling their mission as child bearers
Of the race, should not be exposed to dis-
eases which soil them, whicn Poiso"
them and which kill them. When the pun
lie is fully enlightened as to the signincance
of these dangers to the family, ana their
injury TO the highest interests OF human
society," | believe that public opinion. which
IS the strongest force in the evolution Oh
the conscience OF the race, will no longer
tolerate these evils nor sanction the stand
ard of morals of which they are the out
growth.
The evils that result from divorce have
been fully exposed; 1t Is time to expose
evils that cause divorce; to endeavor TO
prevent divorce by correcting one, at least,
of Its most fruitful causes. While the IN
tcrests of the social welfare demand the
conservation of the integrity OF the fami-
", it Is vain to attempt to preserve intact
this cornerstone of our social FABRIC II we
neglect the destructive forces at work uh-
dermining it's foundation.
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ESSENTIAL.
"John Stuart Mil declared that The
diseases of society can no more De checheu
or healed than those of the body, without
publicly speaking Of them But sociai sen
tiuant has deCreed that the holy silence
upon everything relating to sex or Its DIS
eases must not be broken. And yet all eX-
nerience shows that diseases communi-
Gated I'm the ordinary relations OF family
and social life cannot be prevented without
the cooperation OF the public and that the
first essential in securing this cooperation
is the general dissemination Of knowledge
respecting their existence and dangers, ana
the means by which theyl are spread
He pointed out that this has been slshan'
shown in the present warfare against
tuberculosis in which every civilized coun-
try of the globe is represented. Ana ye''
less than two decades ago. this great white
plague existed In our midst claiming It's
victims by tens and hundreds OF thousands
ignored by the sanitary ofhcials' disre-
garded by the public, or stolcally accepted
as an evil against which it was vain TO
contend.
II is undeniable. authorities agree, that
the brilliant results thus far achieved IN
the campaign against tuberculosis would
have been impossible without the enlight-
oned aid and helpful cooperation Of the
public.
Since that small gathering OF physicians
on the evening OF February S. 1906, there
have been established twenty organizations
with similar aims and purposes throughout
the country. with two branches of the
n ptf
growth OF the movement, which DIR. Nor
row believes to be the most important
in the world to-day has extended beyond
the seas. The New Zealand society was
organized in 1910.
There has been steady growth in the
membership Of the society. Not only Amer
lea. but Europe. Asia and Africa are rep
resented I'm the list Of members. An active
interest has been created In japan
As TO the accomplishment of the specific
purpose for which the society was organ
tied. DR.. Morrow stated that there was
every reason 10 believe that one phase of
this prophyactic work had already yielded
most gratifying results, viz, the Limitation
of infections introduced through ignorance
into marriage.
Moreover" he said. there is every rea-
son TO believe that the amount Of immor-
ality In young men. especially in colleges
and universities, has been materially re-
duced through lectures and the distribution
Of educational literature. Persons qualified
to know have expressed the opinion that
immortality in the student classes in many
colleges and universities has been reduced
within the last three years 20 TO 40 per
cent"
During the last winter the efforts OF the
society I'm New York, according to DIR.
Morrow. were directed TO two specific OBJ
iects: First the repeal OF the obnoxious
Clause 70 Of the Page bill. and, second. Sc
curing Health Department control of such
diseases in this city. Both of these at
tempts have been successful.
The demand for the society's literature
is large and steadily increasing; 5000 cop
les of pamphlet No. 6. Health and the
Hygiene of Sex" written by DR.. Morrow.
have been printed and another 5000 Is
now in the hands of the printer. making
5OOOO altogether. over $500 copies have
gone to the freshmen classes of various
colleges and universities. and We have re-