The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1918-12-04

the 3 Gl0l n ! l! [ | ACTS
Against Vice ] Di / ass l
!, The cleanest body of young men
ever assemble such is Uncle Sans
aim, and the army and navy are back
Ing him up ia what is the biggest cam
paign against sex immortality, and the
tconsequ ences Of sex immortality. that
the world has ever seen. 5..z $ @5E i ;15
1 To carry out the attack meant the
setting aside of our ages.old prudery
and evasion Of facts. It meant public
discussion Of diseases heretofore faced
only by doctors, and small groups Of
reformers. But prudery when weighed
IN the balance against the health Of q
few million American boys had small
chance OF survival, and none at all
when we once realized the part it
played in reducing the fighting efflcien.
~ OF our forces. American mothers
and fathers want their boys to come
home to them as healthy morally and
physically as they left. American wo-
men are awakening to the truth that
his problem has the greatest sign1f-,
scance for them and for their chill
1ren. The American Army and Navy
Are fully alive to the fact that more
efficient force could, be obtained
through the eradication of venereal
diseases, then by eliminating wounds.
This last statement may sound in
credible, but the experience of our
Allies proved it in the first years of
The war. Read what Surgeon-G General
aorgas has to say on the subject:
TO the Commanding General the
oss is greater for a man who contracts
sonorrhoea, than for a man who is
shot through the thigh, and even If
The Commanding General could lay
aside all question of morality, he would
probably choose the eradication of We.
aereal diseases, rather than the pre-
vention of wounds"
Suffered From Scourge.
Before the draft we knew little or
nothing of the extent of our own dan
ger. But with the draft came physical
examinations and we could not longer
evade the appalling facts. Our coun-
Try, like the countries of Europe, was
suffering from scourge which costs
more in life, happiness and money
han all other diseases combined. 1t
vas shown, moreover, that these dis
Eases are not confined to any one class
IT men, but that they exist in families
II every class; that they are not dis
cases of large cities alone; the small
own and the country district produce
oroportionately quite as large a num-
Der OF cases. Obviously the situation
called for the open-minded attention of
every intelligent man and woman in
he United States.
The Federal Government went into
The campaign against these diseases
irst and foremost because they put
thousands upon thousands of fl ghting
men on the sick list, with loss of
Millions of dollars and invaluable train
ng time. TO let them alone as has
)een the policy of the past was to play
straight into the hands of the Kaiser.
First of all then the Government set
Tut to protect our military forces from
carriers of venereal disease to keep
hem fit to fight" Practically all
prostitutes are known to be such car
iers. Therefore prostitution had to
80. Today there is not a single red
light district within many miles of any
military camp or naval station.
Up to the Individual.
Some men, In spite of all efforts,
nevertheless expose themselves to dis
ease. Therefore in every camp is es-
ablished expert medical care for in
:ected men. The regulations also pro-
Tide for the fixing of the responsible
ty of exposure upon the soldier him.
self, and he knows we'll the price he
must pay in terms of advancement and
coveted privileges.
Preventive measures are not by anv
means all medical and legal. The boy
himself must understand as boys have
never understood in the past, the ma
.ure and consequences of sex immoral
ty. To this end are provided lectures,
notion pictures, exhibits and pamph.
cts. This education is in no sense
'preachy." Neither is it morbid. The
.acts are stated frankly, but the appeal
is most of all to his patriotism and
sense of fair play in the avoidance of
:isks which will diminish his fighting
powers.
Removing Temptation.
Again, since experience has shown
hat the greatest number of infections
nave occurred through a lack of nor
nal interests, every effort is made to
bring to the boys athletic sports, con.
:erts, movies, books, etc.
The fighting soldier thus provided
Tor, there remained his comrade, the
soldier of the munition factory, the
war-workers all over the country. To-
lay he is being informed and helped
along similar lines, and the mightiest
campaign of education ever known in
he world is under way.
It would be mistake to suppose this
work confined to men alone, It soon