From the article on Vaccination in one of our leading American books of
reference, the “International Encyclopedia,” published by Dodd, Mead &
Co. in 1904, I take this surprising gem of falsehood, as follows:
“_There is absolutely no danger of transmitting disease by
means of bovine virus._”
Please note that the author of this falsehood is not content with
saying merely that there is _no danger_, but _absolutely_ no danger.
And when he was asked for an explanation or “authority” for this
outrageous statement, this is what he answered:
“You ask for the authority for the statement in the
International Encyclopedia: ‘There is absolutely no danger of
transmitting disease by means of bovine virus.’
“I cannot refer you to an authoritative work on medicine where
this statement can be found, but it is commonly repeated by
professors of medicine to students, and was put away in my
memory as an established fact many years ago.”
The rank stupidity and falsity of the statement first quoted will
be evident when we recite the fact that _the very basic purpose and
function_ of the bovine virus is _to transmit the disease cow-smallpox
from calves to man_, as an alleged preventive of another disease,
natural smallpox, and yet this high medical authority, writing for
the information of the trusting public in one of our leading books
of reference, solemnly tells us that it is absolutely impossible to
transmit any disease by it, and that this doctrine has been preached
to students for years _as an established fact_! If, however, he meant
to say that it is absolutely impossible to transmit any other disease
besides cow-smallpox or “vaccinia,” this statement would, of course,
be equally false. Even of such generally harmless and benign mediums
as _air_, _water_ and _milk_, it could not be sanely or truthfully
said by any one that “_there is absolutely no danger of transmitting
disease_” by them, for we all know that some of the most common and
fatal diseases are often transmitted by these very benign mediums,
air, water and milk. But to make such a reckless statement about a
dangerous complicated _disease culture or virus_, a revolting _extract
of pustules_, is not only grossly _untruthful_, but it is hardly even
_sane_; yet this is a good sample of some of the statements with which
our _high medical authorities_ have misled the trusting public mind.
And speaking of “sanity,” it may provide us with a rather laughable
emotion, at this point in our very grave subject, if I now cite the
fact that at the time this high medical authority made this most false
and absurd statement, as to the utter harmlessness of vaccination, he
actually held the most high and significant office of--“_President of
the New York State Commission on Lunacy_”!