The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-04-02
NoBLEssR oBLIGE.

position rather than submit to
required vaccination against ty-
phoid fever. He regarded the
requirement as an infringement
on his personal rights.
That's his side of it. There's
another side. The War Depart
ment insists that every man in
the United States Army shall be
thus protected against the dis
ease. The result has been that
in 1913, only few mild cases
occurred in the army, and not a
single death from the disease.
The experience of the Depart
ment in the past has been that
typhoid fever is one of the
worst enemies that an army en-
counters in active warfare. and
this was proved notably in the
Spanish-American war in 1893.
The United States Navy has
adopted the same treatment
making it compulsory.
1t would be unfair to require
acceptance of the treatment by
the private and to except the
commissioned officer in either
service. Every good soldier
recognizes the fact that rank
confers no right to exemption
from discipline.
If this particular requirement
involved personal inconvenience
or even slight suffering, the
principle would remain the
same. On the contrary, it is
practically without inconven-
fence and it brings an immunity
against a disease that has been,
and without it is, one of the
problems most difficult of solu-
ton that army men everywhere
have to meet. 1t is a treatment
that is finding wide adoption in
civil life, wher it is accepted
voluntarily because Of its proved
When, then, an officer Of
either branch of the service. who
/ has received free of cost to him
self, splendid education to fit
himself for special duties, who
has a position assured for life
or during good behavior and is
retired on ample pension at an
lage when men in civil life are
still fghtig for their daily bread,
refuses to receive this treatment
I,tfor the reason that he considers
it an invasion Of personal liber-
lty, and when he regards the wei
fare and discipline of his fellow
soldiers of less importance than
his real or fancied personal lib
erty, there is strong suspicion
that the service is well rid OF a
man untitled to be a good sol.
dier, 49,. .a
In a wider sense and beyond
the limits of military or naval
service, responsibility is imposed
by position, by education, by
superior opportunity. The
grand principle Noblesse Oblige
the idea OF personal responsible
ty conferred by personal advan'
tage, are opposed to persona
sefshness and disregard o.
fothers.
No man can live unto himsel
and escape the consequences
and they are as sure as death
and taxes.
In the matter of health an6
sanitation there is a responsible
lily resting upon the intelligent
people of Florida, which is neg
lected mainly because those up
on whom it rests do not realize
it. With the unmatched condi-
tons that conserve health and
low sick and death rates, Flori.
da is not prominent in these re.
spects. Nature has done every.
thing she could. Man through
his ignorance is depriving the
state Of many of its natural ad.
vantages.
i How! 80, ....
By refusing or neglecting te
; adopt precautions that ward of
preventable diseases. by permit
ting insanitary surroundings, by
neglecting to screen dwellings
earth closets, and foods, by re
Ifusing vaccination agains'
smallpox andtyphoid fever. ii
short by failing or refusing tc
, follow the simple instructions o
; medical science that have beer
Z demonstrated as effective in /;
. Thousand or a million instances.
Ii ever Florida shall erach tn,
J acme of its possible perfection
d it will be because the leadrl