transmit syphilis to her child. If the father is
affected, but not the wife, the child may escape.

Syphilis attacks every organ in the human body. The actual degree of
infection has no relation to the size or character of the external
manifestations. The external evidence may be minute and insignificant,
while the internal extent and ravages of the disease may be tremendous
and of large proportions. Many men when asked regarding incidents of the
long ago, may state, "Oh, yes, I had a chancre twenty-five years ago,
but it was a very small affair and soon healed up and was cured." Yet
that same little chancre, that made only a mild impression on the man's
mind, may, and most probably will, be the direct cause of that man's
death.

It is not possible to tell with absolute certainty that an individual is
suffering with syphilis by any known test. The most recent one--the
Wassermann test--is not absolute by any means.

The first symptoms, or what is known as the initial lesion of syphilis,
is the chancre.

THE CHANCRE is a small, hard tumor, or it may be a small ulcer with a
hard base, or it may simply appear as a thin small patch on any mucous
membrane. It is not painful, it can be moved if taken between the
fingers, showing it is not attached to the deep structures, and when it
is so moved it is not tender or sore. Any little lump which ulcerates
located on the genitals must be regarded with suspicion. Boys and men
should not be satisfied with any offhand statement that, "it is
nothing." It may be a chancre, and it may be exceedingly serious if not
properly diagnosed.

Systemic, or constitutional symptoms, begin to show themselves any time
from the sixth to the tenth week after the appearance of the chancre.

ERUPTIONS OF THE SKIN characterize every case of syphilis. They occur in
all degrees from the mild rash to the foul ulcer. The ulcerative process
is very often extensive and loathsome.

MUCOUS PATCHES AND ULCERS affect the mucous membranes. The mouth and
throat are favorite locations for these lesions. They occur in the anus
and rectum, and may be mistaken in that region for other serious
conditions. Men who drink and smoke suffer as a rule severely from
mucous patches in the mouth and throat.

Syphilis attacks the blood vessels and the lymphatic glands. These cases
may have been unrecognized, and may have existed for many years. A man
may die from a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain during middle life