The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-03-31
FOR A CLEAN NATION

The war has brought many tremen-
dous and far-reaching changes in
American character and American
thought. 1t has been a great awaken
er to duty, not alone to the great out
standing duties of raising billions for
the Allies, of creating an RAINY out
of nothing, of depriving ourselves of
food so that Europe might not starve.
These were big duties, unselfshly per-
| formed.
With the coming of peace there has
come, too, realization of the smaller,
but none the less important, duties
we owe ourselves. One of the great
est of these is being pointed out by
the U. S. Public Health Service, and
backed up by the secretary of the
treasury, the secretaries of war and
the navy. 1t is the duty of clearing
the nation of vice diseases, which war
! demonstrated to US all were the prime
causes of inefficiency in the nation.
,, Before the war it would hardly
have been possible for the newspa-
pers to discuss such a theme as vene-
real diseases. The narrow, short
| sighted view was that such a subject
was shocking, immodest, disgusting,
not fit to be discussed. The result
has been that ignorance of the extent
| to which these venereal diseases were
menacing the nation has allowed them
to thrive and multiply until, when for
the first time in our history, millions
of our young men were forced to SUBJ
NIT to expert medical examination,
the percentage of men found to be in
fected with one or the other of these
diseases was appalling.
1t was estimated that fve-sixths of
all the venereal diseases in the army
was brought there from civil life.
Such revelations as this add terrific
poignancy to ex-President Wilson's
note of warning: at is not an army
we have to make fit; it is a nation"
To know the truth about communi-
cable diseases is to be able to guard
against them. That has proved to be
true Of tuberculosis, of measles, of
smallpox, of all communicable dis
eases.
So we must all come to realize that
the venereal diseases are highly COM
municable. They are primarily dis
eases of vice, and spread mainly thru
prostitution, but they are also COM
municable by innocent means.
The U. S. Public Health Service
through the bureau of venereal dis
eases of the Florida State Board of
Health is making statewide fight
| for the cleanliness of communities.
Prostitution is being suppressed, laws
requiring the reporting of venereal
diseases, just as other communicable
diseases are reported, are being pass
| ed by many states. Clinics for the
skilled treatment of venereal diseases
are being established.
In this work, which has for its OBJ
ject a clean America, every citizen
must help in his single strength. The
false modesty that has prevented
free discussion of this menace must
be brushed aside, so that every one
may know and realize the danger to
be fought against
! Never again can we as individual
citizens be content with an attitude
of Indifference toward such a subject
as this. The war has opened our
eyes; we must keep them open until
the danger is past.
Free lectures on this important sub
ject will be given for the colored peo-
pie at the Maceo theater on Saturday
at $3.50 p. m. for women only, and
$3.50 p. m. for men only. On Sunday
the lectures will be given for white
people at the Temple theater at $3.50
for women only and p. m. for men
only. No children under fourteen
years of age will be admitted.