THE YEARS 1946 to 1948, the period in which the highest incidence of syphilis was recorded, also witnessed the successful development of absorption-delaying vehicles which opened the door for outpatient penicillin therapy for syphilis. For the first time in the history of treatment of this disease an effective method of therapy was provided which could be administered with relative safety not only by specialists in the field, but by any qualified practitioner of medicine. The dramatic decrease in reported cases of syphilis from 1947 to 1957 is a success story in the field of public health. Although there is no question that there was a large and actual decrease in the incidence of syphilis during this era, part of the decrease in reported cases may have been due to the shift in treatment from public facilities and complete case reporting to private physicians and incomplete case reporting. Isolated surveys