The Press., 1913-12-24

Harry Day will spend Christmas in Worcester, Mass.
 MT. and Mrs. Wm. T. Lockett will spend Christmas in Hartford.
 H. J. Bolieau and family are spend | ing the holidays in Cohoes, N. Y.
 In reply to many enquiries regard ing general vaccination of school ohil- dren, will say that find it necessary to issue an order that all children at- tending the schools in the borough must be yaccinated before entering school again. My grounds for issuing this order is based on the following instrument made by Dr. J. H. Town send, secretary of the State Board of Health :-
 SMALL POX AND vAOCINA-
 TON.
 The continued presence of small pox in the state makes it again neces- sary to call attention to the impor- tance of a more general vaccination against small pox. During the past fall the disease has prevailed exten- sively in the eastern part of the state, the extreme mildness of many of the cases, which did not come under the care of a physician, contributing to it's spread. The experience of hun dred years throughout the civilized world has proved the absolute pro- tection against small pox afforded by successful vaccination with reliable lymph, and repeated with sufficient frequency. The protection secured by a single vaccination is not perpetual in all persons. Therefore re-vaccina- tion should be had after a few years, if the disease is prevalent. All men of experience are agreed that no quarantine, however rigid and we'll carried out, will always prevent the spread of small pox. There are always mild, unrecognized cases, which never see a physician and which go on spreading the disease after the severe cases are quarantined. How easy the disease may be contracted is shown by an incident in New London recent Iy, where homeless woman with two suffering with small pox spent the night in the railroad station, exposing many travellers to infection. | Quarantine has not stamped out scar let fever or diphtheria and it will not | stamp out small pox. The expense 10 a community maintaining a strict quarantine is often enormous. The outbreaks of small pox in Naugatuck md Willimantic last year cost the public treasuries of those towns over fifty thousand dollars, in addition to he loss to individuals. The protec- ion afforded by a successful vaccina- ion is so certain, while quarantine is 70 intellectual and expensive, that in ome states the quarantining of small ,ox has been discontinued and the burden of protecting himself put on he individual and not upon the pub ic Houses are placarded and the ,ublic warned to get vaccinated. In his way the money expended and for hospitals, special guards, pecial fees, etc., is saved for a much etter public use. Vaccination and accination alone will prevent small OK. Respectfully submitted,
 Joseph H. Townsend, M. D.. "
 Dr. Townsend is good authority in latters of this kind, and I trust that ]; will not seem burden but pleas re, as it is for the protection of your wn as we'll as that of your neighbor. s the borough has been thoroughly . xposed to small pox during the past sw weeks, it is thought advisable not ) hold social gatherings of a public 7, ature for the present. That means hat dances must not be held during he holidays. am pleased with the pirit of cooperation that the public D general have shown in working 7ith your health officer. Most of the ocieties have voluntarily postponed heir holiday dances, which in many ases must be a great disappointment 0 many; but just think how hard it s for you to see me coming to your ome with some of those little yellow ards which means that your home nust be closed and you either in or ut for perhaps a matter of six weeks, nd it will be easier for you to see he real worth of giving up a few ours of entertainment for your good nd the good of the public.
 J. R. Parkhurst,
 Borough Health Officer.