The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-10-26
FATHER GORMAN, OF
CAMBRIDGE, EXPLAINS
HIS Recent ACTION

4&-f s
Father NJ. j. German, of Cambridge
City, submitted the following today:
Fearing that a false impression
might arise from an article in the is
sue of your paper Of Oct. 26, or that
it might be interpreted as desire
On my part to violate the law and
endanger the health Of the commun-
ity, l wish to offer the following ex-
PLANTATION:
Saturday afternoon the local health
officer, accompanied by the marshal,
notified me than an order had been
issued for the closing OF schools, pic
ture shows and churches on account
Of the prevalence of smallpox.
While the order came at such an hour
as to render it impossible to notify
all my congregation, l stated that
would close the church providing
they would close all the stores and
keep the people off the street. If
there was need of such extreme meas
ures, why not keep the people from
all exposure?
There are Cnly seven cases in the
whole town and such small number
does not prove the prevalence" of a
disease in a community of over 5000
people. There is hardly city in the
United States of any size that hasn't
that many cases most of the year and
no attention is paid to them.
Saturday night our stores were
crowded, people mingled and congre-
gated on our streets and today our
factories, some employing about 100
people, are running without any re-
striction whatever. If there is any
danger of an epidemic why shouldn't
all be closed?
We are drifting towards Indifferent
tism and paganism, placing our church
es on a par with our picture shows.
The moment any danger arises, our
churches are closed, when We ought to
keep them open and hurry there to
ask Gods protection. This was the
case in the ages of Faith. Public
prayer professions, etc, were made
use of in time of danger
Moreover a strict quarantine has
never been enforced even upon those
who have the disease. Why then try
to force a doubtful remedy on others.
I use the word "doubtful' advisedly,
for the authorities in such matters
are not agreed.
In the Medical Journal Of Oct. %,
1920, page 1852 there is a quotation
from the Public Health Rec. Of Nov.
81. 1919 as follows:
"Closing schools as a means Of con-
trolling epidemics of measles, whoop-
ing cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria,
smallpox and poliomyelitis should be
considered as last resort to be used
only when a thorough and systematic
application of other measures fail to
effect control. AS a method it Is
clumsy, unscientific and unsatisfac-
tory, for it fails to control and re-
suits in the loss of school time and
money. The modern method Of care
ful daily inspection of infected
schools, isolation Of sick children and
quarantine of contacts is both more
effective and economical"
I regret the notoriety of this case
and l wish to state most imphatically
that l would be the first to close my
church if there was a prevalence"
of the disease. But at present l see
no reason to grow hysterical in the
matter and when the doctors disagree
we are privileged to follow the saner
opinion, especially when Gods honor
is at stake. Yours respect,
M. J. GORMAN,
Cambridge City.