Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-12-04
LAUNCH DRIVE
Of EDUCATION
State and Local Boards Of
Health Now Conducting Cam
paign Of Publicity Against
VeneTeaI Diseases

We are fighting BolsheVism with
an educational campaign of Ameri-
| canism. If all the economic causes
of social unrest were righted the
foreigner would still be prey to the
! professional agitator unless he be
made to appreciate the ideals of
America. Any social improvement
must be based fundamentally upon
education, in a democracy such as
ours, for without the consent and ap-
proval of the majority of the gov
erned, effective ordinances or laws,
when enacted, can neither be passed
or enforced, and in no department is
this more important than In the pub
lie health work.
Had it not been for effective public
education the campaign against yell
low fever in our own country, IN
Havana and the Canal Zone could
not have been successfully accom-
plishcd.
In n similar way we are fighting
malaria, educating the people that
this disease too can only be transmit
ted by a specific mosquito, and that
the control of the disease must be
based upon the determination of the
mosquito.
Most of our communicable diseases.
such as smallpox and typhoid fever.
have been reduced to their present
stage of control through the mean
OF public education as to their a
ger, for without such popular knowl-
edge We could never enforce our laws
of quarantine and isolation. But the
repulsion which the average person
feels toward syphilis and gonorrhea,
the so-called venereal diseases, due
to a misconceptlon of their true ma
tnFn hoG nrnNyn1fna 9, nJ,a;Ia. n 49,
paign of education in regard to these
diseases on which any control meas-
ures must be based. While it is true
that these diseases are associated
with the sin of prostitution, never
theless, the ease with which they are
communicated to the innocent and
the numbers of such innocent people
infected or in danger of infection
makes the control of these diseases
a public health measure of the great
est Importance. AS such, 1t deserves
the consideration and cooperation of
every public spirited person.
The Perth Amboy Board OF Health.
cooperating with the State Depart
ment of Health, are convinced that
gonorrhea and syphilis, the twin evils
VIII succumb to this new strategic
method, the liberalizing of medical
science, more readily than the other
plaques. Health officers are agreed
that the venereal diseases, clothed in
mystery and protected by a false
modesty and secrecy, have grown
strong because of ignorance, and that
they will succumb when brought into
the strong light of publicity and are
attacked openly and frankly like any
other epidemic.
The experience of the army proved
that education in regard to venereal
diseases and sex matters in general
was essential If these diseases were
to be controlled. They result largely
from ignorance of their prevalence.
lack of knowledge as to their infec-
tious nature, lack of knowledge as
to their serious effects, where and
how to obtain proper treatment, and
finally, that confluence is compatible
with good health.
) 1t is essential that the average in
dividual shall be made to understand
that prevention is far better than
cure; and that the surest prevention