Norwich bulletin., 1915-10-05
Reply to supt. Graham.


 MT. Editor: Supt. Graham's letter regarding the medical inspection of school children Is really a rehash of the literature emanating from head quarters of the Medical trust in Chi cago, which will hardly bear close an- alysis when we consult scientific med- ical and sanitary authorities. Our own experience flatly contradicts his ut 4erances about the benefits to be de- rived when we consider what has been
 accomplished during the past 13- years
 by firmly refusing to adopt these mod ern methods at the behest of 0 medico political clique on the pretext of pro- tecting the dear people. Many times they have predicted dire disaster | would attend our disregard of their advice, but we can boast. of as healthy and. robust a crowd of youngsters as any town in New England, most of 1 whom discharged the nurse at the end | of the first month of their existence. 1 Now, Mir Editor, since MT. Graham | has so strongly emphasized the need of keeping our children in close touch
 with modern medical advice let us exercise our constitutional right of l employing the doctor of our own choice and consult a true scientist and ask him abo-t tonsfls. adenoids. and other things too numerous to mention. For that purpose. allow me to intro- 1 been engaged Tn public health work since 1884. ig author of two standard works, Municipal Sanitation in the l United States and Sources and Modes
 of Infection. Dr. Chapin tells us 'sthat
 there Is no proof that vaccination pre-
 vents smallpox; Dr. Chapin says fur
 ther: Public health officers are like
 ly to follow any plausible sounding
 measure for sanitation lilSel sheep"
 The way we have been removing ade- 1-sI them is an example Of that. All e5-
 tablished forms of preventive rnedi-
 cines should be questioned. The more | established and older they are the more they should be questioned. In
 fact. when the consensus of public
 opinion is strong in support of any
 one method of treatment, that method
 should be immediately investigated We have advocated medical inspection !, Of schools though it proves to have
 no appreciable effect on the severity
 of infectious diseases in the commu- ! nifty" These were the assertions o1 < Dr. Chapin in a lecture on preventive ! hygiene and medicine at the Harvard
 Medical college a few weeks ago.
 Again we have it from the pen oi
 pr. Hatfield of Cincinnati, who says;
 Mature has prepared an adequat' 3 covering to insure the safety of thu ) purity of the blood, and likewise -th'
 upbuilding of the elemental tissue.
 necessary for the maintenance of { . perfect symmetrical, enduring body. k "The medical world, instead of aid | ing nature to maintain a perfect body
 seeks to instill within the body a dis
 eased condition, which is supposed u act as a prophylactic against the tim when, through the want of cleanlines and care on the part of some mem n Der or members of the human family = there would occur the propagation o Io hYo hrr H1frccg
 Next let us consult Dr. J. B. s. King Hate professor of chemistry in Herinl Medical college, and editor of the Med $ fcalS Advance, on the mental result : incident to medical inspection. D1 y King says: Sanitarians are instillin - into the minds of children-almos s with the mothers millx-that they ar
 surrounded by billions of invisible
 malignant germs, bearing in thei bosom the seeds of disease and deati They turk in the air they breathe. tn h food they eat, in the water they drinl ,- Fear. dread and suspicion are intro Ie duced into their tender minds, The l.. are taught never to trust nature; tn
 delicate bloom of the plum and peac
 must he scraped of; the delicious wa
 ter of spriugs-the water of the oi y oaken bucket-must be boiled befor o. it is safe! This is- strictly uneduca l- tional. The Romans made a -desoia m ton and called 1t a peace; the sani n tarians make panic and call 1t
 precaution. The effects Of fear upo
 the body are more rapid and deadl
 than any known poison. In few sec h onds. fear. can drive vast volumes ( IS blood from the periphery to the 1T r. ternal organs, blanching the surfa< .y and drenching it in a cold sweat
 - penalty will come from this falf
 teaching as sure as the rising of ti E. next tide. A crop of neurotic, wee
 LnArEad- hxnochondriac insane peop