Easy Women: 1920

"Don't worry. Lead a vigorous, clean life, and forget about sex matters."

Was their role in preventing disease not recognised then, or were they omitted for political/religious reasons?

I was unfamiliar with the term, so I googled. Came across this pamphlet by Bernarr McFadden. What a hoot. ("There is only one safe road for the unmarried man, and that is to avoid all influences which will excite the generative organs.") Oh, and you might want to sleep naked in an "air bath," with a rope holding the sheets up so they don't touch you. And tie a towel around your waist with a knot in it, so you can't sleep on your back. And you might want to go live on a farm. Or maybe not. The barnyard, you know. All those animals. ("Too much excitement of any kind is undesirable until your condition has been improved. A quiet farm life would be good except when it is found so monotonous and lacking in interest as to cause the mind to turn to sexual matters. A country life is for this reason the very worst for certain people, though in most cases it is the best.")

The term in the Red Cross flyer. This might explain some of the phone conversations we have heard lately in the media.

LATER: Oops--misread that condition as "running rage" instead of "running range." Maybe running rage describes it as well or better anyway.

The top right placard is from St. Louis. Three of the particular medical institutions are still roughly at the same location, and Jewish Hospital has pretty much merged with Washington University Med School.