The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-07-09
Cn1d nor the Health oacer.

ClAl OF inc 0eAlIn department. dc nAS
received 80 many words Of approVal, how.
ever, from the very best citizens, includ.
ing physicians, for the course he has re-
Gently taken, that he will not perhaps
suffer much in public estimation from
your unjust remarks. Stills word or two
Of correction may not be out Of place, Is.
peCiAlly. e. this Is not tho firSt time you
have, through ignorance Of the law regu.
latin Shis duties, GenSured the Health
Officer, for not doing what, under this
law, he had no power 70 do.
lst. You remark on the Improbable.
meas q sending q man into each ward
clothed with the mere and useless Author.
ity Of telling tie people neY must do
this or that to prevent being killed by
cholera" Hyou had ever tesd the Health
Ordinance you would know that these
men have the authority, az agents Of The
Health Oh1cer, 70 eoElrt! the d5dteIeEt q
al nuiS1nce1. They were instructed "a
Issue written orders for the suppression
within specified time, Of nuisances or
private property, and to make 3 return!
in aggravated cases, in order that legal
measures might be resoited to Il necessary
These instructions were obeyed, as Is
shown by the fact thGt nom IS 70 80 re-
turns hAYe been mSae b each Of the sew
ersl wards, after less th1n 8 weeks work.
In addition 10 these written ORDER, they
have In q number Of cases exercised, The
luseless authority" o. issuing verbal OF.
ders for the tleansing and ,dhiniectng Of
Yards, cellars, &c, which orders they 70.
port were generally willingly and prompt
" oheyed.
Cd. You suggest the need Of "Eell. or.
ganized dsln1ectipg corp, md an Abund'
ant supply c: disinfe ct3nts t1fGtet c0ntral-
" IN each ward" AgStnI i I0hbBd even
read the Health 0tdn9nce You would
know that the Health ohloer has not a
shadow Of authority .lof ibrgsnizlDg 4 dis
inIectAut corps, Of Tor giving dtslute Giants
to the needy. BE Gpproyes heartily Of
the idea, however, and some time ago sug.
gested it TO the Committee on Health,
which, from douhtconcerning fts author.
ity, and for other reasons. declined TO
adopt such measures Iswlltbe present
ed to Council this evening, however, and
as AQopuCp uTgeu.
Sd. Suggestion that The Health
Officer should have special care" OF the
drunkaYds Of the city Is too ridiculous for
consideration. The meagre salary re-
ceived would scarcely justify the officer
in neglecting his private interests entirely,
in order, in addition TO his other duties, 10
seek out the innumerable incorporates Of
the city, and compel them TO abstain from
improper food and bad whisky. Nor
dos the law expect him to do
anything Of the kind. The law DOES
require every physician to report
cases Of cholera 10 the Health
Officer, in which case It Is that officers
duty 10 visit the residence Of the patient,
and to enforce necessary measures for the
prevention Of the spread Of the disease.
But one case Of cholera has yet been re-
ported. In that case the Health Officer
saw that proper disinfection was resorted
to. With regard to the several cases in
Centre Wheeling during the last twenty.
four hourS" resembling cholera, The
Health Officer would say that he has
heard OF but one Of them, and this, an Ag.
Cravated case OF chOlefa Inbr6us, RAs not
regularly reported. He vidtedjths case,
however, and had proper diSinlectAnts
used. 1.-THE writer OF your OrtiCle, being
a physician, as he probably d, has any
professional knowledge Of any other cases
o! supposed cholers, he has neglected his
duty III failing to make q report Of them.
1tcan scarcely be expected that the
Health Officer shall search out and visit
every cholera morbus and diarrhea pa.
tient, none Of which are reported'to him,
and command that their excreta be disin.
tected, although this i a MEASURE cftH
irStiHp0rtdHdE. The people have receiv.
ed proper Instructions from the Health
Officer, both through the daily papers
and by circulars distributed over the city,
what disintectants 10 use and how 10
use them. II they fall TO use them,
or II the family physician neglects TO-
enforce the great importance Of distn.
lection, even, in cases Of diarrhes and
cholera morbus, the Health Officer is free
from any responsibility. In all reported
cases he win certainly see that dliniect-
ants are used, and in this connection urges
physicians 10 DO the same, when called TO
8 case Of disrrhea, cholera morbus or
cholera. '.-.--
4th. "Sprukltng lime in the street gut.
ters" Is, in the estimation Of the writer Of
your article, "child's play" Suffice it to
say that the Board OF Health Of New
York city, alter experimenting with al
known disinlectants, report that lime is
the cheapest and most effectuAl disiniect-
ant that can be used for the disintec.
ton OF gutterS"S Zee Report Of New
York Board Of Health lot 1870, p.
80 Hence this "child's play" will
be continued until Council orders it
discontinued, or until q necessity ior it
ceases. Lime was not used on Chapline
street recently because Of The existence Of
3 cholera case on that street, as your
writer affects 70 believe, but because the
cutters had been cleaned out on that day
and were offensive.
In conclusion allow me to say that as
come TO me from reliable quar-
tiers, that the streets and alleys OF the city
have not been in better condition than at
present, II In as good, since the cholera
epidemic Of 1865, when the Health
Officer was clothed with diCtatorial pow.
erS. The recent rains have injured and
made flthy some OF the improved parts Of
the city, but the St Commissioner Is now
At work putting them IN repair, and will
Ioon, unless prevented BY continual rains,
have them in better condition than Tor
3 long time befoIa 81 's-, ~
Assuring you, MessrG Editon, that no.
lice is thus taken o. your structures, sim
ply because the people are under the i'm
PRESTON that the Health Officers powers
are unlimited, and therefore that he should
be held responsible for the existence Of
everything, public and private, that does
not condpce 10 the public health, and
promising not % soon 0aAin irespass on