Evening journal., 1912-12-21
EVERY rvrNINe AND SMALLPOX

vAr H.MlNGTON II merchants and other business men
Wv condemn roundy the Every Evening for having
made editorial attempt to raise smallpox scare
in this city and the country tributary thereto during
the rush Of the holiday buying season They say that
such an would have been reprehensble at any me
but particularly the Christmas shopping season,
Wilmington merchants have in their stores holi-
day goods valued at hundreds Of thousands OF dollars
which be disposed Of before next Wednesday to
make the season business feature Of the
situation that makes the merchants and business
specially indignant is that there is not and has not
been case OF smallpox in city and that no sus-
picon exists that anyone in Wilmington or its immedi-
ate neighborhood has the dreaded disease. The
Every Evenings nightmare arose from the fact
that of smallpox had developed in Chester
We replied by assuring the people that there was no
danger and that the Chester Board Of Health had the
situation well in hand for the protection of everybody
That our words of reinsurance well founded is
shown by the following editorial in the Chester Morning
Republican:
The Morning Republican deems Il timely 10 give as
surance to the general public that there is no more
danger smallpox any other contagious disease
I'm Chester than there is i'm any other city The unduly
frightened folk therefore, those who are easily led
into being afraid Of their shadow should not permit
themselves to be deuded by scarestores of disease in
Chester.
The fact is this city is today almost free Of
tagious disease it has ever been, for at all times
and in almost every city there isolated cases Of
disease that at quarantined by watchful
physicians and Boards of Health nsuring the general
Two cases Of smallpox developed in Chester one
week ago At ,e the most absolute precautions were
taken against the disease and its spread checked.
Only exists. In oden times little or no
attention given more of smallpox in
towns and in fact neighbors did not keep aoof from
premises where there such Illness. For
while smallpox is somewhat loathsome in its character
the ratio OF deaths from II is not large from other
diseases. some o. which are Quarantined
Speaking OF the isolated OF smallpox in Ches-
ter the Wilmington EVENING JOURNAL properly crit
icized The Every Evening of that city for totally
unwarranted editorial that was calculated to iniure
Chester The EVENING JOURNAL says:
"No one in Wilmington should become alarmed be-
cause two cases of smallpox have been discovered in
Chester The Board OF Health in that city has the
situation we'll in hand. strict quarantine has been
established over the section Of Chester in which
the two have developed and all the living
In the immediate territory have been vaccnated We
think it is exceedingly improper for The Every Even
ing to niure the interests OF Wilmington merchants in
the height of the holiday by referring editor
tally to the two Of smallpox in Chester"
The Morning Republican repeats the assurance to
people in or OF Chester that this city is today fairly
healthy and that there is more risk here than any
where else to those who a-shoppng.
The Republican is wrong in one material respect
We did not rebuke the Every Evening because its un-
warranted smallpox scare editorial calculated to
iniure Chester but because calculated to iniure
Wilmington in the trade of which all Wimingtonians
have an acute interest