The Project Gutenberg eBook of Safe Marriage, by Ettie A. Rout

[E] The devastation of these diseases among the British armies abroad (in the Rhine, Black Sea, and Palestine areas, etc.) has been much worse since the Armistice than during the war. Approximately one-fourth (sometimes one-half) of these armies become infected with venereal disease every year. From 1919 to 1921 somewhat soothing statistics were issued for the army of the Rhine, but these have now been admitted in Parliament to be "quite unreliable" (Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, November 3rd, 1921, p. 1952). It must be remembered that, owing to the exchange value of the £, the English soldier on the Rhine is now being paid about £8 or £10 per day; that is, he draws a far higher salary than the highest paid German official; hence there is no riotous pleasure, however expensive and extravagant, which he cannot afford. These conditions do not promote manly virtue or even sexual cleanliness.—E.A.R

[F] It would be much less untrue to say that the remedy for the venereal problem is clean women.—E.A.R.

[G] Judging by certain original letters (dated December, 1888, to November, 1892), which I have seen myself, by the courtesy of Messrs. E. Lambert & Son, of 60, Queen's Road, Dalston, London, E.8, the rubber spring pessary was first suggested here by an English doctor, and manufactured for him by Mr. E. Lambert Sen. Under date December 23rd, 1888, the doctor wrote:—

"I think highly of the watch-spring rim. There will be very little fear of conception with one of these new pessaries properly adjusted, as the rim will press equally all round. The inflated pessary would be the most perfect, however, if you could only contrive some method to prevent escape of air and consequent flattening. Such a pessary would be most comfortable."

[H] The chief pioneers in teaching Birth-Control in England were Mrs. Annie Besant, Mr. Charles Bradlaugh, and Dr. Drysdale, Senior.

[I] The following is taken from a paper read by Captain H.L. Walker, Canadian Medical Service, O.C. Report Centre (British), Paris, at Conference on V.D., organised by the American Red Cross in April, 1918:—

"Speaking in regard to licensed houses, Captain Walker said that he had not found one case of venereal disease contracted in a licensed house in the City of Paris, and he could only suppose that the people who were responsible for putting the licensed houses in Paris out of bounds knew nothing at all about the real facts of the case.... In the licensed houses in the City of Paris, during the year 1917, only five cases of venereal disease were contracted; and in 1918, up to April 20th (the day he was speaking), there had not been one case of venereal disease contracted in a licensed house in the City of Paris. But out of 200 women arrested on the streets of Paris during the month of April, over twenty-five per cent. were found to be infected with venereal disease. In the months of November and December, 1917, the French authorities had made a round-up on one boulevard of seventy-one women, of whom fifty-five were infected with venereal disease; a few days later the French authorities repeated the same procedure on another boulevard; something like one hundred women were arrested, and ninety-one per cent. were infected with venereal disease."—p. 134, Public Health (England), September, 1918.

I supervised a tolerated house in Paris for over twelve months (1918-1919), and had no cases of disease either among the women or the men. The women attended from 2 p.m. to midnight and resided in their own homes.—E.A.R.

[J] Among the first medical men in Great Britain to recognise the importance and effectiveness of self-disinfection was Mr. Frank Kidd, M.A., M.Ch. (Camb.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), etc., of the London Hospital. A full statement of his evidence before the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases is given in Mr. Kidd's book, "Common Diseases of the Male Urethra" (published by Longmans, Green and Co., 39, Paternoster Row, London, etc., in 1917). The diagram of male organs of generation I have used on page 36 was taken in outline from Mr. Kidd's frontispiece, and during the war I found all the illustrations he gave most helpful with the soldiers, although the book itself was written for the purpose of enabling doctors in outlying districts to treat patients on modern lines with success. Mr. Kidd designed prophylactic tubes, which have been sold in England on his order for more than fifteen years. He tells me they have been used all over the world by his patients, and that as far as he can ascertain "they have never failed, when used properly and intelligently."—E.A.R.

[K] Since this was written, a large number of experiments have been made with the single treatment tube, containing an ointment destructive of all forms of venereal disease microbes, whether used before or after connection. The Pennsylvania Department of Health is within measurable distance of finding a solution of this problem—the production of a cheap, portable, easily applied and thoroughly efficient self-disinfecting ointment.—E.A.R.

[L] In 1915-1916 Colonel Sir James Barrett, then A.D.M.S. of the Australian Force in Egypt, had successfully applied prophylaxis, but unfortunately he was invalided for a time to England in November, 1916, and with the evacuation of the Dardanelles there was a severe outbreak of v.d. in Egypt. Prophylaxis was then steadily applied during 1917 by Colonel Sir James Barrett and others, and at the end of 1917 v.d. had been reduced to small proportions. In December, 1917, Colonel P.G. Elgood, Base Commandant of Port Said, wrote:—

"Fortunately, however, at this stage, I came into contact with Colonel Sir James Barrett, K.B.E., R.A.M.C, and Miss E. Rout, New Zealand Volunteer Sisterhood. The first suggested that the solution of the problem would not be found in police measures or in medical examination, but in prophylaxis; while the second, in correspondence relating to her own experiences gained in England, encouraged me to advocate this remedy."

The successful results of the Port Said efforts are quoted in full by Colonel Sir James Barrett in his book, "A Vision of the Possible" (Lewis), and Colonel Barrett had early in 1917 sent me to London the following tremendously valuable letter of advice and warning:—

"I suppose my instinct is rather more in the moral direction than many people, but I recognise, as you will see from these articles (published by Lancet), that it is by direct prophylaxis, and direct prophylaxis alone that we are likely to get rid of this abomination. I should never in any campaign exclude all the additional aids—proper soldiers' clubs, such as I have established in Egypt, the influence of decent women, and the one hundred and one factors that go to make a decent and reputable life; but you have, in the long run, to recognise the fact that a percentage of men are certain to seek women who are prepared to cater for them. If the steps indicated are taken, the proof is absolute that the disease can be practically extirpated and without great difficulty. The failure of prophylaxis depends on two factors—firstly, it requires someone charged with responsibility, earnestness and high character to explain to men precisely what they are doing and what it means; and secondly, prophylaxis is of very little use to drunken men. My experience has been that when these precautions are properly used venereal disease may disappear."

That proved to be exactly my own experience in the army. Failures in the army were due to the absence of proper personal instruction of the men and the laxity of control, and these conditions can always be assumed to exist in any army having a high v.d. infection rate.—E.A.R.

[M] The New Zealand Times daily newspaper published my first article and was severely reprimanded by the New Zealand Government for doing so, and all New Zealand newspapers were then prohibited from publishing any further articles relating to V.D. in the New Zealand Forces.—E.A.R.

[N] See Publishers' notice, p. 75.

[O] In some cases the printed matter used by the drug companies also bears the "Official Endorsement" of the local "Social Purity Association" stamped upon it in indelible ink—a magnificent tribute to the educative work of the Public Health Department, as well as to the enlightened courage of the Social Purity Associations.

The following is quoted as sample of directions authorised in U.S.A.:—

"The use of this package is not to be construed as a licence to exposure. Pro-Ven, the original preventive. The only sure way to prevent infection: Do not expose yourself. All exposures should be considered as infections, for 90 per cent. of all "easy women" are infected. By proper use of the contents of this package disease may be prevented, as the action upon the germs is as effective as can be secured by the latest scientific knowledge; if exposed, use within two hours. After contact: 1st. Urinate. 2nd. Remove the cap from tube; take organ in the hand, holding the canal open; insert tip of the tube and squeeze half of the contents into the canal. 3rd. Squeeze the remainder on the outside of the organ, rubbing well into the creases and folds under and back of head and clear to the body. 4th. Leave ointment on three or four hours. Remember: It is best to use Pro-Ven immediately after exposure; never delay more than two hours if possible. Pro-Ven is not a cure—it is designed to keep men from getting disease; it can be used as a lubricant and preventive both before and after exposure. Pro-Ven is harmless and will not cause pain or injury to the sexual organs. Insist upon having Pro-Ven. At all good druggists, or directly by mail, 25 cents a tube; 5 tubes, $1.00. Booklet mailed free upon request. The Pro-Ven Laboratories, Washington, D.C. This product has been tested and approved by the Pennsylvania State Department of Health Laboratories."

In addition to Pro-Ven, the following proprietary tubes of self-disinfecting ointment have, to my knowledge, been authorised by the Department of Health, and samples were sent to me:—

Procaline, manufactured by the Hawthorne Drug Speciality Co., Inc., 88-90, Reade Street, New York City.
Cargenios, manufactured by H.K. Mulford Company, Philadelphia.
Andron, manufactured by Andron Hygienic Co., 120, W. 32nd St., New York City.
Sanitube, manufactured by the Sanitube Co., Newport, R.I., U.S.A.

Excellent printed directions and pamphlets accompany these tubes.—E.A.R.

[P] Chinesol (C₉H₆NKSO₄), potassium oxyquinol in sulphonate, is a proprietary disinfectant and deodoriser. After some little experience of it in ointments and suppositories, I believe it deodorises these—an important advantage. But further investigation is necessary.—E.A.R.

[Q] In England the Ministry of Health refuses to authorise the sale of v.d. preventives; refuses to authorise suitable printed directions; recommends immediate and thorough cleansing but refuses to explain methods or name disinfectants; and claims that persons who sell v.d. preventives as such, with directions, are liable to police prosecution and imprisonment. (Vide Circular 202, Ministry of Health, May 31st, 1921.) This may be mere "politics," but it looks uncommonly like fooling with death.—E.A.R.

[R] The argument that compulsory treatment would "drive the disease underground" is absurd. Venereal disease is underground now.—E.A.R.

[S] Towards the end of last year, extraordinary interest was aroused throughout the United States by a decision of Judge Royal Graham, of the Children's Court of Denver. He had ordered Mrs. Clyde Cassidente to submit to an operation to make further motherhood impossible, because of the under-nourishment of her five children and the habitual insanitary condition of her home. This was the first time any American court had imposed such conditions. Judge Graham could not legally compel the mother to agree to the operation, but he told her that if she refused he would commit all her children to a home. She then agreed. Judge Graham was much influenced by the testimony of Dr. Sunderland, who described the progressive insanitary environment as more children came, and declared that in his opinion the home condition was not due to poverty but to too frequent child-bearing.

In the February, 1922, issue of The Birth Control Review (New York) edited by Mrs. Margaret Sanger, the Medical Officer of a London Welfare Centre (Dr. Norman Haire, M.B., Ch.M.) definitely advocates contraception and sterilisation as a result of his experiences in a very poor part of London. Medical officers of many welfare centres now hold similar views. In The New Generation, the official organ of the Malthusian League, Dr. Barbara Crawford, M.B.E., M.B., Ch.B., strongly urges birth-control, and says:—

"I would go further and say that all those with incurable transmissible disease, all addicted to drugs or alcohol in excess, those habitually criminal or vicious, and the mentally defective, should be rendered sterile by operation, for such as these cannot or will not use control, and their children tend to inherit their parents' taint and to lead maimed and vicious lives."—Vol. I, No. 4, p. 3. The New Generation.—E.A.R.