The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-03-02
1874 BIRTHS, 1853 DEATHS
Vital Statistics of the Town Of Ben
nington for Past Year

The report of Health Officer II. l..
Stillson as printed in the town report
contains some interesting matter. The
following extracts are taken from the
report:
The vital statistics include only
those occurring in town: and, as to
deaths, are exclusive of our people
who may have deceased out of town
at hospitals and other public institu-
tons, but inclusive of the Vermont
I Soldiers Home, as follows: Total
number of deaths, 1873; births. 1874.
/ The contagious record for the year,
! 1911, was as follows: scarlet fever, 20
cases. no deaths. Diphtheria 20
cases, no deaths. Pneumonia, 4 cas-
es reported. deaths. Measles, "a
cases reported deaths. Typhoid fe-
yer, 8 cases reported, l death. Chick
en- pox, 81 cases reported, no deaths.
Whooping cough. 16 cases reported, 2
deaths Mumps, 10 cases reported,
no deaths. German measles, Z cases
reported. no deaths. Infantile paraly-
I sis (Poliomyelitis), one case reported,
recovered Pulmonary tuberculosis,
cases unknown, because reported to
State Board; deaths OF the 1873
deaths (above.) deducting II for con-
tagious causes, of the 14l remaining
were afflicted with diseases of the kid
neys, the heart, the lungs, with la
Grippe and diseases incident to child
hood and childbirth The mortality
of 1853 to a population Of S69S is II
plus.
At the Vermont school for health
officers, held at Montpelier in August,
1910 the question of the medical in
spection of schools and a disease the
technical name of which is ophthal-
mia neonatorum the last named of
which is the major cause Of blindness
among our people were freely discuss
ed. Acts were passed by the legisla-
ture Of 1910. in both instances. these
being two of the most important mea-
sures provided by that session, and
the use of some prophylactic is now
compulsory; and is TO be furnished
free to physicians, under regulations
framed by the State Board of Health
tender ages. The act to provide for
medical inspection of schools is also
imperative, but its enforcement is left
TO the option Of local voters both 10
adopt and enforce Both these Acts
should receive the attention of the
town at its approaching March meet
/ ing" There is one thing certain. the
spread of children's diseases, so-called
will never be held in check until there
/ is a medical inspection Of schools and
parents are made to believe that,
while one attack Of whooping cough,
scarlet fever, measles and the like,
are usually preventive Of another al
tack vet the records of this Office
show that one attack is often succeed
cd by a second. and at times a third
attack of the above diseases. The
idea that children should catch dis
eases like those named so as to
have it over" while they are young
is a fallacy often fatal cannot be inn
pressed on the parental mind with too
much emphasis There are families
that have been infected three times
with measles since 1901; others twice
with scarlet fever since 1906. and
these instances could be multiplied
several times more. This is the fact
that the same patient had these dis
eases the second and third time. at
tended by the same family physician,
so there can be no doubt as to the
diagnosis or TO the result
The menace town OF the size of
! a. to
ing towns where little or no atten-
ton is paid to the prevention and
spread. as we stated last year and
repeat is conducive to quite a large
special tax on our people who are
rearing children. Let an epidemic
break out in any locality,-say with
in reach of our trolley roads,-and
| some parent is sure to take his or
her children visiting in that locality
This practice or custom should be re-
pressed by heavy penalties.-heavy
enough to squelch the custom.
We wish to repeat our remarks on
these sales of secondhand clothing;
especially that donated by well to do
people. There Is no positive proofs
that disease is spread by these sales
but an experience of over twenty
years as health officer fixes the prob.
ability in our mind TO a certainty that
the families least able to bear the
costs are often infected in the man
ner of rummage sales. Tho sale Of
second hand goods should all be sub
jected to compulsory fumigation by
whomsoever offered for sale to the
public.
In closing this report, the thanks OF
the local board are due and are here
by rendered to the physicians practis-
ing in town. And this is enlarged to
include the school teachers OF Ben
nington.- But for the vigilance eXer-
cised by both these classes, the i'll
ness attending the people and chill
dren In town would have developed to
much larger proportions. viii the vo-
ters of this town aid both the physic-
ians and teachers to minimize the
danger ever lurking around, by voting
a reasonable measure of support in
herent on an inspection OF schools?