The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-01-09
DISCUSSED vENEREAL DISEASES.
DR.. Grace Sherwood Chief Speaker Be-
fore Legislative Committee.

|
The Joint committee on public healtl
last evening gave public hearing on
House bill 400, an act to prevent tn
spread of certain infectious diseases, in
troduced into the legislature by Mr.
Watson OF st. Adams. The principa
advocate of the measure at the hearing
was DR.. Grace Sherwood of st. Adams
leading member of the Federation OF
Women of Vermont. Miss Sherwood
treated the subject OF yenereal infection
with special reference to women and
children, speaking to an audience OF
men as she would had they all been ply
slcans.
The question is daily asked: Why are
the women and children of to-day weak
er than the past generationY Her usual
answer is the way we live, overheated
houses, lack of nutritious food, nerve
strain, etc, but to one who desired to
know the whole truth would be added
venereal infection. Within recent years
a new phase of medicine has come into
evidence, and that is preventive medicine.
No study of contagious disease can be
complete without including venereal in
lection, and so the social evil, with its
tldHi VI Consequences, - as never JIG
fore the subject OF conversation.
We are now facing moral, social and
economic problems growing out of the
social evil and the traditional prejudice
against discussing matters of sex. The
asylums are filled with Inconsistencies,
insane, blind, degenerates and weaklings
MS result of false teaching, ideas and
conduct relative to sexual phenomena.
| DIR. Sherwood reviewed at length the
venereal infections, giving their defini-
ton, etc, adding that mo tissue of the
body is exempt from their final invasion
at some period"
The revelations of science have caused
the social workers to seek means for
graduating social diseases, one means
to that end being the reporting of
venereal diseases to boards OF health.
There is no more forcible way of be-
ginning an educational campaign than
this. As soon as they are legally reeog.
nized, they become. the subject of statis-
ties, are talked about, written about,
read about, and preached about.
Before great advancement can be made
in the control of them. the public must
be taught the nature of the disease, the
means of dissemination, the havoc they
cause, their economic cost to the state
and nation. and be given suggestions for
right living and public sanitation.
We know that the man who sows wild |
oats may be menace to society, and |
that it IL more important for a father |
to learn that his future son-in-law is t
free from disease than it is to know the /
fullness OF his purse.
Won nannnf ipuislata auain ~ yipipt.-
ness, but the ones you can help will be
the ignorant. The truth about matters
of sex must be taught early enough to
inhibit the reception of false and per-
verted ideas. The home is the greatest
institution on earth; all interests are
subsidiary to it. The world is working
for the benefit of its children. Have
men the courage to grapple with this
hidden foe, eating secretly at the heart
Of their homes Have men the moral
courage to square their shoulders and
take stand against this invisible
enemy?
Other speakers were DR.. Henry d. Hol-
ton of the state board OF health; Charles
D. Watson, the author Of the bin under
discussion; DIR. G. NJ. Dalton of Burling-
.on, and Rev. FIR. Griffith of Barre.
The Peru Turnpike Measure.
At the public hearing last night on
he Peru turnpike bill before the House
on highways and bridges Mr.
lynn of Dorset opposed the proposition
Il the state taking over the road and
ilso opposed parallelling the road. H e !
cad draft of bill embodying prinei-
al features of the bill prepared by
senator Batchelder.
Mr. Hapgood said the 0rris bill, Fl. 81
ras drawn with view of leaving the
natter OF purchase by the state to the
overnor and state highway commits
ioner.
Mr.. Flynn said it would probably cost
bout 100000 to parallel the turnpike.
lie said that users of the turnpike, es-
ecially tourists, paid a high compliment
D the road as an ideal of the mountain
ype. The present owners do not ex-
rcise the right given by charter TO
xact charge of fifty cents for tourist .
cams. The company does charge auto
lobiles 80 cents for travelling over the
1tire road
ID. Tomasi of Montpelier spoke in
lvor OF the state ewning its own roads
Mr. Clayton Of Londonderry thought
le state could afford to buy the turn q
Ike property if the owners are willing p
sell and he thought the owners would
, fair as regards the matter of price.
Mr.. Martin of Bennington said his
untv feels it is somewhat backward q
continuing toll road and he advo-
ted the purchase of the Peru road by Z
Re state.
Mr.. Hapgood said he was probably as =
uch interested as anyone in the free
g of this road
The committee took no action.
Bills Signed by the Governor.
An act to amend the charter of the
llage of Orleans.
An act to amend Section 5l46 of the