The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-07-20
The Small Pox.

have been ,CxtenSIvcIy circuiatcu throuehoul
the county and elsewhere, and even in the
city all kinds of reports have been flying thick
and fast, and all kinds of charges were being
made against the city officials. That there has
been grave derelction of duty in some re-
I spects, cannot be denied, but we trust that the
cause has now been ascertained, and that he
roic remedies will be applied. We have re-
Trained, heretofore, from giving publicity to
tanything connected with the loathsome dis
Lease. in the hope that it would be stamped out
We think now, however, that plain state
meht of the facts, as officially reported and
brought forward in a meeting OF the Council.
is due to the citizens as well as to ourselves
as journalists, re-,.
The matter was brought up in the City
J Council on Tuesday night last by the reading
OF the following communication from The
h Mavor.. ~ 'tsf.f s-r.l iillg -itrf
l'''s 81" i'' M,yoR's OFFICER,
s,aIfsto = e,eieis siaunton. July Is, 'S2.
/ To the Members Of tie City Council: t..t
GENTLEMEN "A sense Of duty prompts me
| 10 report to your honorable body thai small
| pox Is on the increase in our city, and feeling
that should leave nothing undone to sup
press the dread srOurge, ask that yOnr Hon
sOrahle body co operate with me in my efforts
10 prevent the disease from becoming an cpl
.,icmic thereby seriously damaging the inter
ests Of the city and destroying our schools,
which have M long been the pride OF our ctl-
zens ~ -s
! We now have fifteen cases of small pox Mt
our hospital, which have filled it u its capaci-
ty, and has necessitaird the building Of an
other temporary hospital. The city physics
reports IL me that on Sunday, the 18th, he
sent patient Ia the hospital that had evident
| ly Ind The disease from two 10 three weeks,
Hs the patient was ut the sCabhiiig period
| This case had been attended by u physician of
this city who pronounced it chicken p,x.
! Another case reported was that Of IL chill
who had been broken out Tor several days
with small pox before the city physician SAW
| it, another physician pronounciug it chicken
pOX. ~ so Il 81 q : - tirHt j"
I respectfully ask that your Honorable body
either pass an ordinance requiring every prac
ticing physician in the city to report all erup-
ture diseases to the city physician or the Mayor
adopt some other plan by which the city ply
stefan can be promptly informed of cases Of
! small pOx breaking out in our city. |
4 Iblush To inform your Honorable body that |
| prominent merchant informed me that pruc-
4 ticing physician Of this city had stated TO him |
II few days since that "he would not care ii |
every man, woman and child in this city, out |
side OF his own family and personal friends,
would be- taken down with the small pOx" as |
1t would improve his business, and for the |
further reason Tint he had been badly treated |
| by those representing the city's interests =
| Comment is unnecessary. Your Honorable |
body will see the necessity of passing strin
gent laws when practicing physicians can SO
! express themselves.
In conclusion must say, that the city ply
stefan, chief of police and overseer of poor
| have always acted with promptness, and vigil
lance, and altlio' unsuccessful 50 far in their
efforts to suppress this loalhsome disease, they
4 are no less entitled to the thanks of the COM
munity for their faithful performance of duty
! Respectfully,
as,a .@t J. A. COCHRAN,
| %if MAYOR.
l e Following the communication of the Mayor,
was read petition numerously signed by citi-
zens, praying for vigorous steps in suppress
ing the disease, and suggesting that an ordi
nance be passed for the rigid quarantine
against any house or family in which small
pox had made sappearance. The petitioners
expressed the belief that quarantine is the
most speedy and sure means tor the final ex-
tinctiOn of the scOurge.
The petition was referred to the Mayor with
full power to act.
Mr. Burke stated that he was confident that
he expressed the sentiments of the entire
Council in saying that the most vigorous
measures should be adopted, and no expense
spared, to extermnate all traces of the disease
He favored giving the widest discretion in
the premises to the Mayor and city physician.
Other members heartily concurred with the
| president, and various statements were made
in reference to the management of cases which
have heretofore occurred. These statements
seriously reflected upon the Board of Health,
to whose gross neglect of duty seems to be
traceable the greater part Of the trouble which
has been experienced. The ordinance creating
the Board provided that "its members shall
inspect the wards of the city carefully tscice
month from May 1st to October LIST, and once
month for the balance of the year, visiting all
localities Suspected of being unhealthy or ex-
posed to disease. They shall suggest to the
Council such measures as they think fit to
preserve the health Of the city, and especially
to prevent the introduction and spread of
contagious and iafscsaous diseases, and to pre-
vent or regulate the pursuit Of callings preju-
dscsal to the public health or comfort. They
shall also ccndder and report upon all such
matters as may be referred to them by the
Council. and make monthly reports Of tsesr pro-
ceedstys."
For months before the old Board went out
of office, no report had been received from it
by the Council, and since the election of the
new Board, on the LIST of July, it has never
been convened. Although it was known that
a serious disease had made itself manifest, and
grave apprehensions were entertained OF it,
yet the Board of Health never so much as met
together, much less carried out the plain pro-
visions of the law In the semi-monthly inspec-
tions of each ward of the city. Had they
done SO, there would have been little fear OF
any further trouble
1t was stated by member of the Council
that a colored woman. had had the small pox
-becn nursed ut home by her relatives until
she recovered, and then sent out of town, and
no report of the case made to the authorities
From the house in which this occurred have
since been taken four or five cases, some of
whom are now in the hospital In another
instance a colored child was taken with the
disease. and attended by physician Of the
/ city who pronounced it chicken pox The
patient was allowed to remain at home for
three weeks before the city physician was mott
fed. pc inspection it proved to be q bad
case Of small pOx, and was at once removed
to Q hospital. There were also other cases
of somewhat similar nature, nearly all of
which could have been prevented had the
Board of Health done its duty.
To cover all such cases, the Council, on
Tuesday, amended the small pox ordinance SO
as to require physicians to report all eruptiye
or eutaneous diseases of whatever character.
within twenty four hours after their discovery.
under penalty Of a fine. They also passed
resolution that the Mayor be authorized to
Summon the Board of Health at once and
take prompt action in regard 10 the small pox
cases, and if the Board of Health fail to meet.
then the city physician and Mayor were
authorized to take such steps to arrest the
spread Of the disease as they may think best.