MEDICINE: After 12 Years

Dr. Thomas Parran, able Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service for the past twelve years, once called his job "the most important public health position in the world, present or prospective." More than any other one man, Dr. Parran was responsible for breaking the taboo against using the words syphilis and gonorrhea in public (TIME, Oct. 26, 1936). By research and by blunt publicity campaigns, he led an anti-VD fight that has brought both syphilis and gonorrhea under more effective control.

Last week, President Truman fired Dr. Parran from his top...

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