QUARANTINE

Perfect protection rests only behind a strict quarantine.

It is not sufficient to bar the seaports of a country against infectious physical diseases.

The greatest need of quarantine is against germs of disorder that originate within the gates.

Quarantine can never be partial, for, unless complete, it ceases to be quarantine.

Quarantine means, in brief, exclusion—keeping without the gates.

There are gates, however, other than seaports, and germs of pestilential contagious disorders other than the bacilli of smallpox or yellow fever.

Social Quarantine and Moral Quarantine are even more essential for the protection of communities and individuals than quarantine against epidemics of imported physical sickness.

Quarantine is less expensive than correction.

All languages have a proverb similar to the Anglo-Saxon, "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."

Centuries of experience with quarantine, and occasional neglect of it, have demonstrated that the smallest neglect may engender endless mischief.

Why not profit by this experience in dealing with all questions of social and individual concern? Why not adopt social and moral quarantine with the same thoroughness of aim in order to escape the evils of ignorance, waste, poverty, fear, worry and unhappiness when we know that these disorders are more harmful to a people than the most virulent imported diseases?

Moral and Social Quarantine are the bases of all forms of prevention and protection. They guard against ignorance and thereby insure the wisdom that institutes other branches of quarantine which throw a cordon of protection around society.

Social quarantine stimulates and embraces moral quarantine.

Seaport quarantine is maintained only while the last microbe is prevented from entering the gates.

Social quarantine must extend its protection to every growing human life in a community during the period of its growth, and influence the formation of its character, in order to be signally effective. It must reach the last waif with its loving care. Reaching the last waif necessitates reaching all waifs, and that constitutes, and must be the aim of, Perfect Social Quarantine.

The character of the last, or least, unit of a nation is a vital test of the strength and consistency of a nation.

Society is indebted to the mother instinct of the race for the finest expressions of its character.

The functions of social quarantine are clearly within the province of maternal care.

The first necessity of social quarantine is to protect the dawning intelligences of children against evil or false impressions by furnishing ample facilities for gaining wholesome suggestions, so that good ideas shall dominate the mind and leave no room for the assimilation of harmful impressions.

The second necessity of social quarantine is to surround all children with good-character-forming and health-giving industrial facilities and make them so attractive that none shall escape their allurements.

Society fails of its most important duty while there is any lack of facilities for the best known methods of child protection and training.

More kindergartens or manual-training schools than are needed to accommodate all growing children that need them, is an evidence of the forethought, wisdom and strength of a community. One waif turned away from care, through lack of facilities for care, is evidence of criminal neglect in which each member of the community shares. Care of the last waif is worth more to a community than the care of hundreds of the first ones reached.

As the "family is the basis of society," so is the kindergarten the basis of education, and Character-Building Schools the basis of Good Government.

The strength of early character-building tuition—of social quarantine—is mother love exercised without prejudice or over-indulgence.

The instinct of mother love in the hearts and souls of women who are not themselves mothers has been the means of developing the blessings of the kindergarten, and the wonderful enthusiasm of all good kindergartners is evidence of the value to growth—of true merit—of the method of Froebel.

In the development of the kindergarten woman has shown her strength and capacity as an architect and builder of character, and in the establishment, maintenance and management of character-building institutions she has proved that she is master of all the branches of administration of these fundamental nurseries of good government.

The evident, urgent and growing need of beginning at the root of society and building character from its first foundation as the only efficient means to social reform; the proving of mother care to be the most potent factor in character-building; the increasing willingness of woman, in this era of our civilization, to share the division of political responsibility; and the need of complete and thorough measures to attain speedy reform, all together, call for a stride in evolution that shall provide for a system of Perfect Social Quarantine and for a Mother Organization to establish and maintain it on lines of the best intelligence.

This is the sum and substance of the contention of this book; and hence the title.

An argument of the case for the contention, although it should be unnecessary at this present stage of the development of Character-Building schools, follows, inspired by the hope that an earnest presentation of forceful simila, striking contrasts, uncivilized inconsistencies and a heartfelt appeal (as we see and feel them) may arouse a sympathy, of national breadth and strength, that will not rest short of the accomplishment of Civilized Social Quarantine.

There are illustrations and suggestions pertinent to the subject that may prove interesting to those who are trying to find and eradicate the last germs of evil that are a present blight upon the normal happiness of mankind. Inasmuch as cleanliness and sanitary care are certain results of the influence of character schools, quarantine against uncleanly and unsanitary conditions of neglect is sure to follow.

There are also some attempted exposures of neglect and inconsistency within our gates that impeach our vaunted assumption of first place in the vanguard of progress.

The main plea of the book embodies suggestions relative to the formation of quarantine or character associations in communities, and a national organization of gentlewomen and gentlemen whose aim shall be to nurture and protect society at its weakest roots and at every point, so that the fruit shall be the best material for good citizenship. And the call includes all who have experienced the blessings of forethoughtful care and parental love.