The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-12-06
HORRIBLE INDICTMENT.
The Municipal Government Guilty of a
Fearful Crime The Greatest Piece
Of Barbarism knotcn to
Modern Times.
10 hRny Johnson Officiating a Pest
house IN the City-Indignant
Protest from a Learned
Physician.

Under the above startling head lines
We find the following deeply interesting
article in the Appeal of last Monday, I'd
instant:
The following letter is from one ofour
most eminent physicians, from q gentle>
mau who would not think of rushing into
print If he saw any other remedy for the
evils complained of Thus it Is, when
every plan fails, and all other measures
have proved fruitless, the press is the
last resort. It IS to the press that all
mankind must come at last to redress
their wrongs. Ths evils complained of
here must find prompt remedy. The
public is inclined to be patient but too
much bullheadedness Sometimes becomes
intOlerable.
SMALL Poxi
EDITORS APPEAL deem it nv duty as
r citizen and physician, TO call tie at
tentiOn of the people of this community
to the recent action of the city authori-
ties upon the subject of smallpox For
many years We have had upon the
grounds Of the City Hospital, and within
the city limits, a pest-house-a thing
which should not be tolerated in civiA
| lized community. At the present time
| smallpox Is prevailing to q greater extent
in Memphis than it has ever done before.
The city authorities finding the pest-house
not large enough to accommodate all the
smallpox patients applying for admission,
have resorted to the extraordinary expe-
dent of throwing open the wards of the
| City Hospital for the treatment Of this
| diseaSe
The practical effect of such 4 step is to
convert our only hospital into pest
! house In so doing, the community is
not only deprived of hospital for the en-
tire winter and spring, but by heaping up
mass of lOathsome contagiOn within
these walls the neighboriuS portion of
| the city is rendered virtually uniuhabita.
| bic. Now l do not hesitate to say that
| this Is great outrage upon society, and
that tho action of the city government in
the matter is worthy of unmeasared cen.
sure. Three days ago, two vessels aFriv
| ing at New York, with several hundred
| passengers, among Whom were few cases
of smallpox, were promptly put into quar-
| antine. Yet we, instead of taking means
| to exclude this disease from our doors,
are actually adopting measures to foster
| it in our midst.
| Should smallpox become epidemic in
| Memphis, and it is not very far from be-
ing 50 now, let us not lay the latt ring
| JUNCTION to our souls that because we'll
vaccinated VIC will be exempt from its
ravsges The history of this disease shows
| that when itprevails in an epidemic form,
mono are safe from its attacks--nOt even
those who have previously had it. In
| view of these facts, the city authorities
have been respectfully urged to erect a
| - l. 81
and to move to it all the cases of this dis.
ease now at the hospital, or who mag in
the future apply for admission. They
have also been urged to appoint Board
| Of Health-not merely for this eInergen+
cy, but as permanent organization, such
as Is to be found in all other civilized
| communities.
| Memphis needs Board Of Health tor
day more than she ever did before, whose
duty it shall be to collect and preserve
vital statistics, to take cOgnizancc of aud
ablte all public nuisances, and to recon
mend such measures as may be neces'
sary for the preservation Of public health.
The only reply we receive from our au-
thorities on this subject is that the city is
too poor just now to adopt measures
which are admitted TO be so necessary.
We honor and esteem or worthy Exc
cutlve as highly as any one could 90, and
we appre ciate the extraordinary Difficult
tics attG nding his administration, growing
out of the imPossibility IF collecting city
taxes. but surely such & reason is wholly
insufficient To halt now in the expend'
iture of few thousand dollars for such
purposes is literally tsmpering with hu
man life. For the same reason, and upor
the same grounds, might our authorities
propose to close the public schools and
disband the fire companies. Indeed, We
main tain that the case Of the public
health is 4 far more important subjec
for confederation than the preservation
of property or the education of the young
This subject is here brought before thu
public in the hope that our citizens vii
at once take proper action in regard to it
Prompt and effective action Is required
or we shall soon Fave great suffering II
our midst, commercially, as well as sani
tsrily.