"The repression of prostitution was declared to be a public health measure, and all public health departments were required to cooeperate actively with the proper law authorities in minimizing its practice." When the American armies entered France, the same end, of keeping the men from "coming in contact with the prostitutes, either public or clandestine," was always kept in view. The difficulties were immense. At that time (from August to the early part of November, 1917) the troops were stationed in certain French towns, where the houses of prostitution were running wide open and were frequented by large numbers of men. On November 15th all these houses were placed out of bounds. The table on the following page shows what happened. Month No. of No. of Disease Rate Troops. Prophylaxis. Cases. p. 1000. Houses open. August 4,571 1,669 72 16 September 9,471 3,392 124 13 October 3,966 2,074 67 16 Houses out of bounds. November 7,017 885 81 10 December 4,281 539 44 10 January 3,777 523 8 2 Take also these figures: in one body of 7,401 troops belonging to various branches of the service, with an average of seven weeks in France, only 56 prophylactic treatments were given, and only one case of venereal disease developed; again, during two months in France, one infantry regiment of 3,267 men had a record of only eleven prophylactic treatments, and no case of disease. But perhaps the most effective example of the efforts made by the American authorities to repress prostitution in France occurred at Blois. American troops arrived at the town in January, 1918. The brothels were at once placed out of bounds, but, shortly afterward, and, owing to protestations on the part of the French authorities,[132:1] the order was relaxed, in so far as one of the brothels was taken over for the use of the American soldiers. Not for long was this tolerated. On March 21, this brothel also was put out of bounds. Strict repressive measures against prostitution and street-walking were put in force; and repeated arrests--by the military police--both of prostitutes and suspected prostitutes, succeeded in almost ridding the town of this menace. The result was very interesting. I will quote directly from the article from which these facts are taken: _Although politicians and the owners of cafes and brothels continued to protest, the decent elements of the community gradually changed from an attitude of skepticism, even of hostility and resentment, to one of appreciation, commendation and cooeperation. An official report from the Surgeon-General's office on conditions in the town declared:_