It’s worth noting here that premature deaths were routine back when these decisions were made, in a way that we would find almost unimaginable.

While smallpox was no longer a major threat, influenza, polio, whooping cough and a bunch of other infectious diseases killed kids in huge numbers. People died from infections from routine cuts. Millions of young men (mostly) had been thrown in the meat grinder of WWI.

Life was cheaper then.