New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-02
"A GOOD BILL TO VETO"
The Merits Of Vaccination Proved by
the Records.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: And now comes the Tallett-Jones bill
exempting towns of less than $4,000 from
compulsory vaccination. Why should the
child of ignorance and prejudice not be pro-
tected because of the size of the place?
Smallpox is smallpox everywhere, loath-
some, disfguring and deadly. How wonder
full that we have vaccination to save ourselves
and our own! The Tallett-Jones bill seems
to presume higher intelligence in the small
towns than the large, and that voluntary vac
cination will be so general that the few not
desiring it will be protected by the immunity
of all the others.
Let us hope that Governor Whitman, with
his power of veto, is familiar with all the
facts The argument of contamination of
the blood of any human being by vaccination
must indeed halt on investigation of the
methods employed in making the virus by the
Board Of Health.
At Otisville the calves are kept and nocu-
lated Before the incubation with the seed"
virus the calf is carefully watched and tested
by capable veterinarians The planting OF
the "seed" is done in an operating room under
antiseptic conditions as thorough as in any
clinic As to this seed inoculated. 1t
comes either from another calf, and is proved
by absolutely reliable bacterial tests to be
surgically clean. Cowpox protects man
against smallpox, as proved by Hoccius.
II human virus was used to inoculate a
calf, think of what would be done to elimi-
nate any possible contamination or contagion.
Outside of the care used in the selection Of
the little child whose virus is taken, these
are the precautions: The human virus is
planted first on calf, then this seed" is
planted on four rabbits, then gathered from
them and replanted on another calf.
When the so-caled pulp" is gathered from
the abdomen of the calf it is placed In a
mixture of gycerine, water and l per cent
carbolic acid and allowed to stand for about
four weeks, so that any germs that might
be present, in spite of absolutely antiseptic
precautions, will be killed. But they don't
stop there. Cultures are made on different
media and animals are inoculated, so that
they know it is clean. After its efficiency is
determined it is sealed in tiny glass tubes.
These retain their activity for only about
three months, provided they are kept in a
cool. dark place One calf furnishes enough
virus to vaccinate fifteen hundred persons, &C
cording to DR.. Park.
One should remember that revaccination is
Just as important as vaccination. vaccina-
ton only protects the individual for from
seven TO ten years. A child should be vacci-
mated before it is eight months old. What
compulsory vaccination does can be realized
By the Swedish statistics taken from Jurgen-
sen. First vaccination done in 1901. By 1910
it was generally employed, and in 1916 it was
made compulsory. These are the results:
1774-1S0l (pre-yaccinal period - Deaths
from smallpox per million inhabitants, 1850.
lSOl-lsl0 transitional period, $50
iSl6-ls55 (enforced vaccination), 1863.
Pre-vaccinal period, death rate per thou
sand, 90
VAGINAL period, death rate per thousand,
OH. MEDICO.
New York, April %, 1918.