The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1918-08-05
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
SEATTLE'S BLOOD TEST
AND QUARANTINE
What Quarantine Means
and Its Intended Purpose
by EDWIN J. BROWN

As | have previously stated that
the quarantine of persons who are
affected with a contagious, Infectious
and communicable disease. whether
the disease is g.nito-urinary. small
por. measles. scarlet fever. mumps
or diphtheria. Is highly proper and
necessary to protect the health and
life OF society generally. and the in
dividual suffering particularly. there
fore / am at a loss to understand
why some men serving our govern
ment In AN official capacity as health
officers should continue Go talk about
persons trying to break Up Seattle's
quarantine. when they know, and
the record proves. that IL IL only
persons who have been Guaranteed
by the police. but who are free from
disease and stand ready and willing
TO prove IL by our competent physi-
clans Of the highest standing. who
are seeking to gain their liberty.
II seems 90 me that physicians
who are state and city health com
missioncrs. and surgeons who are
acting for the United States health
service. shosld welcome the advice
and consultation of other eminent
physicians. II they desire TO he hon
est and Just with the public and with
persons who are guaranteed. for.
surely. honest men would not quar-
antine persons to crafty their mere
fancy for pure spite. and mean dis
regard for private rights and consu-
tutional liberty
QUARANTINE
Originally the detention OF persons
from an infected district for forty
days was known as quarantine for
~" II was found that vessels from
foreign ports. or ports infected. were
bringing disease and causing disease
epidemics. | was in Portland. Ore
ron. in 1854. when "A ship arrived
from China loaded and packed like
sardincs with Chinese who had small
pox- The ship was quarantined for
forty days. and not one person was
allowed to come ashore. Now. OF
course. this was highly proper and
surely no person who is suffering
from a contagious disease has a legal
right, nor even should they desire. to
come in contact with others and
endaneer them. and. thru them. soci-
ETY. generally.
Quarantine. then. means the exer-
else OF the legislative power, and that
the public welfare is the supreme
law. when contagious and infectious
disease il found TO exist. and the per.
son so affected may be restrained OF
his freedom by legal process and au-
thority from being In the presence of
others. so as to be within touch or
converse at close quarters C'to be iso-
lated and shut off from others be-
cause OF having contagious or infec.
tons disease.
THE ABUSE OF AUTHORITY
II statistics are reliable and the
contentious of our city and state
health commissioners are correct on
their blood test theory. there are be
tween 10000 and $4,000 people in Sc.
attic whom they ought TO quaran-
tine. because there are ut least that
number OF our citizens who will show
a positive Wassermann test of two
three or four-plus, which may or
may not be syphilis, or which may
be hereditary or acquired. but all re.
liable authorities are agreed that
syphilis in this tertiary stage. and in
this form. is not communicable. and
even the extremists claim IL TO be
only feebly infectious. IL at all.
In their late text book on pathol-
ogy, copyrighted in 1914, Francis
Delafield NJ. D.. LII. -, and r.
Mitchell Prudden, NJ. D., LII. D..
both of whom are professors nc the
College Of Physicians and Surgeons,
Columbia university. New York, set
forth, on page 2T5, as follows;
on Comnunicability infec.
tive agent of syphilis is readily and
most frequently conveyed in many
by direct incubation with the exu-
date from some lesion of a victim
of the disease. This most frequently
occurs during population, but may
take place in many other ways. eli.
Their thru direct or indirect transmits.
sion to ahraded or wounded surfaces
of the infected oxudate,'
syphilis may also be congenitdly
transmitted. apparently. either from
the father or the mother. but the
rans.nission OF the infectiya agent