The Bismarck tribune., 1934-01-16
THE SCOUNDRELS WHO PEDDLE
THE CRT

Children are VIGOROUSLY SuSceptlDe
to cri. GoWan I've defined 1t often
enough. Mature or elderly adults are
notably less likely to catch whatever
is going around. To my mind there
is nothing strange about that. The
explanation is that children are more
intimate. careless and gregarious than
older folk.
Notwithstanding the periodic labo-
rious bulletins to the newspapers by
the Johns Hopkins expedition. no one
knows any more about the common
cold" than ever. For that matter, no
one can define or describe "the COM
mon cold" In fact The common cold"
is so vague conception that the doc
tors who use it as diagnostic make
shift are quite safe, for no one can
tell at the onset what the alleged
cold" is going to be. Thus 1t IS easy
to stall along on the fake diagnosis
of cold" until the actual nature OF
the illness becomes manifest.
AS long as the big shots in the pub
lie health world persist in the fiction
of 'the common cold" not only this
diagnostic skullduggery but also the
vicious practice of peddling respira-
tory infections thru the community
is encouraged and given respectability.
Most public health authorities or
health officers, when pressed. WILL
reluctantly admit that people ought to
be careful about sneezing and cough
ing all over the environment when
they have colds" But tell me the
name OF any health officer who has
ever warned the public about the
peril in the conversational spray OF
the scoundrel who purports to have
a "cold." In addition hereby offer
reward of ten dollars for proof that
any health officer or health author
ity Of standing has ever dared to deny
that there is the same peril in con-
versational spray as there Is IN the
spray Of the uncovered cough or
Sneeze.
There is just this difference between
being coughed on and being talked
to, by person who has the cri (any
common respiratory infection which
may masquerade at first as q "cold'o
The effective range Of cough spray Is
ten to twelve feet. whereas the effec-
tive range of conversational spray Is
less than 5 feet.
It is more difficult to keep beyond
the conversational spray range than
it is to keep outside OF the cough
spray range, because coughing in 1t.
self is, like sneezing, ground fo1
suspicion that the scoundrel has some
thing catching. But conversation i
not suspicious sign, and 50 the con-
versational spray Is deadly. In m!
opinion the chief cause of the cri, that
IS any and all Of the common respira'
tory infections which account TO-
three -fourthS of the illness IN the
community, is the germ-laden spra!
Of invisibly fine droplets Of moistur,
that shoots forth to a distance o
two or three feet, never over fiv'
feet, from the speakers mouth, dur
ing ordinary conversation. And &C
cordingly ! believe that the most ct
fective prophylaxis against such In
fection consists in the effort to re
main beyond the conversational spra'
range whenever you can manage to d
50, or II your occupation requires tina
you come into intimate contact witt
many persons, then arrange q suit
able screen to protect you or you
J vis-a-vis.
We need q housecleaning in Oh
public schools. to remove ignorant
; vicious teachers who insist on comm
to school when they have "sligh
} colds"-and so subjecting every chill
; in the school room to the unwarrante
risk of infection with heaven known
what.