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Saturday, May 25, 2019

After Winning the War, U.S. Must Fight Venereal Disease, May 23, 1919

From the editorial page of the Brevard News, Friday, May 23, 1919

War on Vice

The great world struggle between the forces of might and right, from a governmental standpoint, has been concluded and democracy is in the ascendancy. Militarism must perish from the earth. The mailed fist shall no longer exercise a deterring effect upon the acts of men and women in any civilized state, country, or principality. The world is approaching the dawn of a new day. Peace, sweet peace, is to be enthroned where the stealthy hand of danger and death has been the dread of the helpless and the oppressed. The bayonet is soon to be converted into a pruning hook and the cannon into a plow-share. All which is beautiful to contemplate in this land of the free and the home of the brave, for its stalwart sons have to their credit a large share of the glory in shaping the future destiny of man.

The enemy abroad has been vanquished and our heroes are returning home with victory over German arms written large upon their foreheads. They have made the world safe for democracy and the United States Government now seeks to make the home land safe for them. The Government Health Service has started a war on vice in hope of having our soldiers return to their families and to civil life uncontaminated by preventable disease. A countrywide effort is being made to impress upon civil communities the need for protecting returning soldiers from prostitution and debauchery. Cities and towns throughout the country now face a most important crisis—“the biggest emergency yet encountered in the fight against venereal diseases.”

The need for this propaganda became apparent in the selection of men fitted for military service and it is now proposed, as far as possible, to make sure that demobilization of our splendid young men shall not mean demoralization at the same time. The reports of the draft boards and camp surgeons revealed for the first time the menacing seriousness of the venereal problem and the failure of the country’s pre-war attitude towards the whole question. Europe, for the first years of the war, evaded the problem and suffered terribly in incapacities at the front and sickness behind the lines. Our military authorities threw aside evasion right at the start and attacked venereal diseases directly, with the result that only a very small percentage of cases were contracted in the army itself. The denizens of the underworld were driven out of the zones around each army camp and naval station; all men in the camps were given extensive instruction and those exposed and infected were promptly treated. Result: “The venereal rate was lowered below that of the army of any nation in the history of the world.”

The government health program is a comprehensive one. It invites to service all citizens who feel responsible for their community and their nation in times of peace as well as war. The call is to state, county, municipality, community cub and all betterment societies. The North Carolina Board of Health has taken up the fight, adopting as its slogan, “There should be no peace with prostitution, no truce with the red-light district, no armistice with venereal diseases.” And unconditional surrender is the demand. The war against the enemy of society and home is on. Are you going to be a slacker?

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