The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-08-30

for instance, that periods of un-
employment are the fault Of the
unemployed: it's a mans own
fault, iaziness or lack of initia-
tive if he is unemployed. The mod
ern economist recognizes that con-
ditions in the world today have
forced us to go on past that theory
and place the responsibility of un-
employment and its relief on the
government.
| do not know whether this Is
true or not. | am not sociologist-
l use it only because tn. term
cultural lag" is so appropriate
TO the thinking Of many persons
about the prevention Of conta-
gious diseases by individual vacci-
nation Of the entire population.
Triumph of Medicine
This, which has been accom-
plished with the diseases small
pox, diphtheria and typhoid fever,
is the greatest triumph of mod
ern medicine. Indeed of modern
science. 1t is a sheer reversal Of
the malignancy of nature-a leap
Of mans intellect, imagination
and ingenuity. The only accom-
plishments of man that are COM
parable to it are his discovery
that useful plants could be de-
liberately grown from the proper
seeds, that animals can be domes-
ticated, that fire can be controlled
for useful purposes and the prin-
ciple of the wheel and these are
applications Of the bounty Of Ma
ture while preventive medicine is,
as l say, reversal of the malig-
nancy of Nature. It is as meteor
ologists were able to prevent tor
nadoes, floods. and earthquakes.
And, let US add, the final advan-
tage in this field is that these
particular methods have been
tried so long that we know that
they will do exactly what is claim
ed for them, and they work not
haphazardly but the same under
all circumstances.
Yet in the face Of all this there
is always a group afflicted with
the cultural lag"-the anti-vac-
cinationists and their ilk-some
crank who is not going to have
his child filled with dead typhoid
germs or diphtheria toxoid poison,
who continue TO try to oppose
these successes of the human
genius.
These same people fall heavily
for such bunk as testosterone to
make old men young. But they
oppose methods of prevention of
diseases that in other days afflict-
ed and killed millions of people all
over the world regardless Of eli
mate, all year round regardless Of
season.
Anti-Vaccinationists Group
To tell a man of the year 1900
that before a century and a half
had passed smallpox, diphtheria
and typhoid fever would have dis
appeared from the surface Of the
civilized earth and would no long
er afflict mankind would have been
to invite fiat incredulity. The
mind of that man of 1900 repre-
sents today's group of anti-vac-
cinationists with the cultural
lag"
Typhoid fever is one Of the best
examples. incubation of each in
dividual against typhoid fever be-
gan about 1912. In 1910 in 78
American cities there were 10000
cases of typhoid fever and $500
deaths. In 1910 in the same cities
with a greatly increased popula-
ton there were about 700 cases Of
typhoid fever and about 120
deaths. This has been brought
about largely by public santa
ton, but individual incubation is
still necessary on account Of the
menace Of carriers.
1t is fair TO say that the war
against Japan could probably not
have been prosecuted were it not
for anti-typhoid vaccination.
During the Spanish War with an
army OF 100000 men the United
States had 81, 900 cases Of typhoid
fever. In the World War l with
an army Of 100000, all inoculat-
ed against typhoid, we had 1900
cases and most Of these could be
traced TO careless or incomplete
sNo.DIaA,z-.