The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-20
Undue Alarm By Doctors
To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 Shall Birmingham and Alabama

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 Shall Birmingham and Alabama be damned by our doctors?
 The above query is propounded by me in ali seriousness, and deserves due consideration. Never to be forgotten Is the fact that Birmingham was the only city in the United States which was boycotted and quarantined against visitors by soldier boys in camps and cantonments during the late World war.
 Iris great injustice was heaped upon Birmingham through efforts of an erstwhiie health officer of this city, the slanderous lying charge being ms0c that Birmingham was so infes. ed by icwd characters, and so infected by so-called social diseases as to be menace of such horrible character as to warrant an inhibition against our soldier boys visiting this city, and though our medicos here must have known that the charge was an. infam ous and unjust assumption, and unwar- Tanted by facts; nevertheless, the mem- bership of the medical profession here, by silence and failure to protest gave acquiescence to the charge and per mitsed the outrageous inhibition to continue unto the end of the war, the effects of which were that Birming- ham was not only held up before all
  tion so filthy as to be thus discriin- mated against by the health officials in charge of the governments training camps; not only that, but we were de- nied the pleasure of seeing and enter taining our boys in khaki, and our hotels and merchants were financially hurt by the loss of thousands of dol lars which those soldier boys might have spent here.
 And do we not remember. that even after the war was ended. how some of cur seif-exploiting, spotlight-seeking mcdico jumping jacks proceeded to organize their pin headed puppets and burlesque popycock followers and set up headquarters in our most promi- rent hotel and, drafting upon New York and other cities for help, brought here all manner of bantam brained female four-flushers. hemale crooks, expert scandal stirrers and slang whangers to discuss and en- tighten them as regards the great duty and task of cleaning out of the Aegean Stables" in our midst? We remember well how they held. their daily meetings in that great pubic hotel and how they organized and appointed captains, colonels and giga- dere brindles to command and direct their various units of the great smell ing army of hiped night -prowling fer rets which were to direct their, august drives into our dark alleys, slum dis tricts and slag pile shaded resorts. Ito drive out, reform and otherwise deal with those poor little soiled doves of the red light districts. Yes, we re- member all of that and how, after their daily bath of emblazoned glory of getting their names in the columns of the public press. and how, after ex- hausting all the money appropriated. and surfeiting with disgust all decent m grew weak from overexertion of their Lilliputian brains and quietly sub sided, leaving naught but the memory of their brazen lust for notoriety, and the slimy trail of odium which they left upon our fair city, for, after all of their mountainous labors, they brought forth not even mouse.
 These foregoing comments are in- spired by an article printed in The Birmingham Post of February IF re- garding the terrible menace of rabies in Birmingham and s,Alabamas the article claiming to be based upon facts given out by the present officiating health officer of Jefferson county.
 do not dispute the statements made. but conscious of the untruthful- ness and injurious reports of the health officials in the past, 1t makes to doubt the wisdom of publishing the scare-headed, sensational article mentioned. Here are some of the head lines:
 Rabies Situation Alarming.
 Seven New Cases Today.
 Alabama Has as Much Hydrophobia as Rest of Nation Combined.
 The Increase Is Alarming
 It Can Be Prevented
 Nothing Is Being Done About 1t.
 The Health Department Laboratory Is So Swamped with These Cases That Additional Assistants Win Be Asked For.
 There Is More Hydrophobia in Ala bama Than All Other States Com bined.
 These are truly alarming statements, whether true or not, and are not call culated to rebound to the attractive E ness of Birmingham and Alabama, in 50 far as the article may influence the minds of those abroad, who might be contemplating the advantages which cur city and state hasNto offer as in lucemente for people to come and set tle here.
 If the conditions are so bad. why Is nothing being doner' What. if true as the article states, there have been 2l new cases reported since Febru- ary l." one dog running at large might really produce that many cases. Then, wonder why our health officers. with $25.o00 a year especially provided for antt-rabies treatment and for tho prevention of hydrophobia. now admit that nothing has been done"? If he doesn't know enough to dispose of one dcg. can't he hire somebody who does
 Of course. the availability of $25.- 900 as . special fund to draw upon. could not in any way have caused this wonderful awakening of . sense ,f hydrophobic danger. nevertheless have . hunch that if the state nhould ap- propriate and make available to the medsea. heslth officials $1oo.oQc g year for xslcing all male dinesarria ns wklck snssAt 1e teund r1nnirx vt large n AsanAsnf. that every conRc ef ec.;d ' ADE'rsxrtAfSc7, wUnld be most rec,>cniic- eiky rhhsaA1N by tAs board of hea:tt:, tad AN xeresna.1 evidences would bs sitAA siasx the nwnsy had been duty ex kenG.A &et a full report made of 7y0sk rAlsnfDliy done- And, while I may atfnst she reasonableness of muz- sling all stray dogs. am at the same >tme peysuaded to think thst the mug