300 THE WONDERFUL CENTURY. CHAP. xvm. 



to the mass of evidence in the " Reports " which brings 

 out this fact most clearly receives no notice whatever 

 in the " Final Report." 



VI. 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION. 



As the diverse aspects of the problem which has been 

 discussed in the preceding pages are somewhat numerous 

 and complex, owing to the vast mass of irrelevant but 

 confusing matter with which it has been encumbered at 

 every step of its progress for nearly a century, a brief 

 summary of the main points here referred to, and a state- 

 ment of their bearing on the essential problem, will now 

 be given. 



I have first shown the nature of the tests which 

 seemed to the early enquirers to establish the protective 

 influence of vaccination, and have given the facts which 

 the two greatest living specialists on the subject Pro- 

 fessor Crookshank and Dr. Creighton consider to prove 

 the fallacy or insufficiency of all the tests which w r ere ap- 

 plied. This is followed by a statement of the abundant 

 evidence which, in the first ten years of the century, 

 already showed that vaccination had no protective power 

 (pp. 219-221). But the heads of the medical profession 

 had accepted the operation as of proved value, and the 

 legislature, on their recommendation, had voted its dis- 

 coverer 30,000 of public money, and had besides, in 

 1808, endowed a National Vaccine Establishment with 

 about 3000 a year. Reputations and vested interests 



especially applying to zymotic diseases, is also so generally prejudicial 

 to health as to produce a constant and very large effect upon the total 

 mortality. 



