The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1918-03-05
WILL WAR ON
SEX DISEASES

SEX DISEASES
In the fighting and those
stricken with these dis
eases.
The wounded man trans
mits no terrible heritage to
his children. The poison of
syphilis goes on and on for
generations.
Look at our own army. In the
12-week period ending Dec. last
there were reported, from the 81
environments. 21,742 new cases of
venereal diseases.
Relapse Likely.
In other words, we had almost
an entire division of our army on
the sick list.
This involves not only loss of
time, but the cost of their hospi-
tai confinement, the medicines,
and the time of the doctors.
That is not all. In many in
stances, the disease will relapse
after the men have been trans
ported to France and presumably
put in condition for service
against the enemy. This training
and transportation costs the gov
eminent about $1,000 per man.
II he is unfit long before he has
faced the Germans, the money is
sheer waste.
But there Is more than that.
There Is a sheer waste not only
of the money spent to make him
soldier, not only of the man
himself, BUT OF GENERATIONS
YET UNBORN. To show how
serious this condition is, let me
cite some figures for the 12-week
period ending Dec. 7.
In the regular army, figured
on the basis Of an annual rate for
purposes of comparison, 8.8 per
cent per year of the men had We
nereal diseases as compared with
1.S4 per cent who had other COM
municable diseases - that is,
pneumonia, dysentery, typhoid,
paratyphoid, malaria, meningitis
and scarlet fever, but not includ-
ing measles.
In the federalized national
guard 1852 per cent per year had
venereal diseases as against 3.9S
who had other communicable dis
eases.
Contracted at Home.
In the national army 1924 per
cent per year had venereal dis
eases as against 2.3S who had
other ailments.
And these men of the selective
draft very largely got these dis
eases either in their home COM
munities or en- route to the can
tonments.
| am not discussing this matter
from the ethical or moral stand
point, but from a health stand
point. When a man is serving
his country in the army, his health
is the country's business. And
when he is back home, if he is a
danger to his community, to- hts
wife when he marries, and to his
children and his grandchildren,
then his ailments become very
much the community's business.
| We used to put the soft
pedal on all talk about tuber.
culosis. People who had it
used to talk Of having had
colds" or tracking coughs"
Finally medical men got
the public aroused to the
dangers of tuberculosis. The
result was that laws were
passed fOrbidding public
drinking cups, and splitting
in public places. This. with
other preventive measures,
has brought down the death
list from the white plague.
The black. plague, which
has come down the ages, is
still taking its terrible toll.
With Anglo-Saxon mock
mOdesty We have refused to
speak of it.
But the war has opened many
eyes. In English newspapers and
magazines you see advertisements
calling for contributions to socie-
ties which are fighting the spread
of syphilis. The name of the dis
ease and its terrible nature IL
openly discussed, and the names
Of bishops of the Established
Church are signed to these adver-
tisements.
If we wish to accomplish any,
thing over here, not only for our
army, but for our citizens in pri-
vate life, we will have to empty a
large. dose of truth and plain
speaking.
The young and the ignorant
must be taught Laws of quaran-
tine must be originated.
We shut up an adult or child
with measles for a period of three
weeks, 30 he may not spread it
among his neighbors. We allow
the syphilitic to go his way undis-
turbed. He drinks out of cups
that may be passed along to U.S.
laden with the most deadly germs.
No 40 not aIlnw a lamar ~ ro