Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-05-20
No Slur Intended Upon
Intelligence of Laity

TO the Editor OF The Star:
In view of the fact that Mr.. Elmer c.
Crowell has seen fit to answer my letter
OF protest against unWarranted condem-
nation of the medical profession relative
to the practice of animal Vivisection,
appearing over my signature in The Star
May 6, 1887, by Transporting the issue to
an alleged undertaking of lay intelligence
on our part, his palpable error compels
me to answer
In writing my protest I was attempt
ing to appeal to the very intelligence of
the layman which Mr.. Crowell claims We
as physicians, hold in contempt His
rebuttal gives evidence of an ignorance
OF history and an utter contempt of facts
which fairly shout their admonition to
the unbiased and discerning.
Medical progress never has and never
will rise above the threshold of lay INTEL
ligence. The efficacy of vaccination
against smallpox had to await genera
lions of preventable plaques with their
attendant high mortality until lay INTEL
ligence was capable of compromising
the benefits of vaccination and an
enlightened public opinion demanded It's
protection. Because lay intelligence
remembered the lesson from smallpox.
preventive incubation against dirhtheria,
scarlet fever and whooping cough has
been adopted with little delay, giving
promise of graduating these diseases
within the next generation, or at least
making their persistent virulence a
scathing indictment of community INTEL
ligence. The partnership of lay intelli-
gence with medical research has resulted
In the control of typhoid fever, eliminate
ing endemic sources of infection through
sanitary measures and when proper sani-
tation was impossible, obtained the same
objective by immunization of suscep-
tibles In like manner malaria has
practically disappeared from these parts,
where it was indigenous some thirty years
ago, simply because lay intelligence
appreciated the role the mosquito played
in its causation and took proper sanitary
measures to screen living quarters and
destroy the mosquitoes breeding place.
Rabies has been conquered and the lethal
commissions OF tetanuS are almost thing
of the past because lay intelligence
co-operated with medical science This
same lay intelligence and this lay UNDER
standing of the fundamental issues
involved has made the lives of children
safer by creating and supporting the
health department, and I may say with
out fear OF exaggeration that the health
departments assurance of success is
directly proportional to the community
intelligence. Lay intelligence is winning
the battle against tuberculosis by accept
ing the challenge of human need and by
It's cruSadlng aggreSslveneSS, uproOting
its prolific breeding place, the squalid
environment OF poverty and economic
privation. Lay intelligence is saving
thousands of lives annually by recogniz-
Ing the danger signals of abdominal pain
and the potential malignancy of little
lump in a Woman's breast and by that
Intelligent recognition of prodromal
symptoms brings the victim of appendi-
cltlS and cancer under the jurisdiction
OF the medical profession early enough
to enjoin preventable morbdity and
mortality.
The medical profession sees no reason
to defend the thesis that the brute is
possessed Of the same moral rights as his
rational superior in the biological scale
II, in an attempt to establish the truth
OF biological hypothesis, the issue is
raised as to which is the proper subject
OF a corroborating experiment, man or
brute beast, we deem that sentimentality
which demands the jeopardy of a
rational being in the brute's stead self
adduced absurdity. The animal was
created for man, not man for the animal.
Our fear is not of lay intelligence but
OF lay ignorance modified by self-seek-
ing demagogues who use sophistry to
arouse passions for ignoble ends.
We appeal to the intelligence of the
laity not to let the modern Proteus
deceive them. The anti-vivisectionist
may be the Simon-pure article. but we
have seen bunch of them who were
members of several clubs and all of them
were nti-somethingl
THOMAS E. MATTINGLY, M. D.