SYPHILIS 
33 
A young man may harbor gonorrhea germs in his body for 
months or even years, ready to contaminate the bride who 
trusts him. A girl risks her life in marrying a man who has 
not been pure in conduct. The disease under discussion is 
so widespread, and the innocent have been made to suffer so 
cruelly from it, that legislators are endeavoring to enact laws 
that will afford protection to those who suffer through no 
fault of their own, laws permitting marriage to those only 
who are physically fit. 
1. How serious a menace is gonorrhea? 
2. In what ways does gonorrhea injure men? 
3. Describe the greater harm done by gonorrhea in women. 
4. How does gonorrhea injure new-born babies? 
5. What measures are taken to prevent babies becoming blind? 
6. How are brides in danger from gonorrhea? 
7. What measures have been taken to protect them ? 
Syphilis. — This disease has been more dreaded than 
gonorrhea, because its symptoms are more revolting and its 
effects are more far-reaching; but it is not so widespread as 
gonorrhea and perhaps does not produce so much suffering 
and death. The germs of this disease spread in the blood 
all through the body. The skin is disfigured with eruptions. 
Large sores difficult to heal often develop, and unless proper 
treatment is persistently applied for months or years the 
body may gradually or after a period of several years suc¬ 
cumb to a loathsome decay or become paralyzed, or the mind 
may fail and insanity result. 
Children produced while either parent is suffering from 
syphilis usually contract the disease and die either before 
they are born or during infancy. If they live, they are often 
deformed and produce either weak children or none. Chil¬ 
dren of parents who have recovered from syphilis, though 
sometimes strong, often bear the effects of the disease — 
small, fragile teeth, deficient bone growth, and general lack of 
vigor. The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. 
