The daily gazette., 1883-03-15
DIR. SNI ITCHER HEARDl
HE DOES MOT INTEND TO DIS.
oHEY THE LAW.
HIS CASE BEFORE THE MAYOR:

|
-s
The FIRST Case on a Refusal to Properly
report smallpox Cases--.A Decision
Reserved for the Present.
DR.. Fl. c. Snicher wa. before the Mayor
this morning, char ked with the violation OF
al ordinance Regulating tie health Of the
eity, warrant having BEEN issued for him
yesterday at me instance Of the Board of
Health.
e. B. Frazer, Secretary of the Board of
| Health, testified as follows: DR.. RI. O.
Sniteher, regular and practicing physi-
cian OF this city, frequently refuses to report
TO the Board ot Health cases Of small-pox in
the manner and form regulated bv civ
ordinance. Here is Que showing a paperl
which ! consider an insult Here Il
another in Which he calls colored person
an Ethiopian There is still another will no
date or anything. He told me wouldn't act
as secretary of the Board, and we propose 10
see II there is any virtue in the law. Two
weeks ago when the matter was brought be-
fore the Board OF Health they instructed me
to bring the matter before the Mayor. am
only acting as secretary of the Board of
| Health.
j. H. Hofffcker, Jr. ESQ.,, who repre-
| sented DR.. Snitcher, asked that his client
| De allowed TO make statement and explain
matters. The Doctor then stated son one
occasion was called to see a case at SIG
Tatnall street there found ii colored
woman suffering from smallpox and de
| lirious. The family with whom she was
| living Knew nothing of her, and could
not tell her name, age, or give
any other information. They
had found her IN the street sick and taken
her in; and wanted her sent to the hospital.
nfaf oft, d.
| the health OF the city, to inform the Board of
Health, Told the BOY in charge of the
office about the case The woman was badly
broken out, and had no other knowledge
of her other than that l returned. did moi
ask how long she had been there, and the
woman of the house did not know her
/ name.
This case (picking up paper and read
ing it) / was called upon to see In the even
Ing. had no blanks, and used the word
Ethiopian to- describe the mans race, in
stead of using the 'Squire's term of nigger.'
have no disposition to interfere with the
mandates of the Board of Health When
| go down in the lower part of the city,
among people do not know, | occasionally
find case IF smallpox. have no blanks
| with me, and make a memorandum of the
case and hand 1t in. | forget names. do
not intend to go back to my office, make a
second visit and do the work of the Board
IN getting tho pedigree of families.
1.-The last case found in a third story
l had no paper or pencil aud wrote the re-
port as a man would in a hurry. had no
intention to violate the ordinance. | pur
pose giving just sufficient information to
send The patient to the hospital. 1t was
getting late when the man Thompson called
On me, land my Office was tilled with
patients. ! would not allow him
to come inside among the people,
but made him stay In the yard
and talked 10 him out there. Afterward
l went to the house, 613 Christiana street.
and saw the colored child, Willie Harris,
aged II, got where he was born, and other
points,"
Mr.. Hofecker-''That covers the whole
ground"
DIR. Snitcher-'The report was made
within Is hours after it was seen. wrote
the notice between 10 and II O'Clock yes
terday morning. l had not then been
served with a process, and first knew that
there was one about 1.3O. My report was
sent in and returned to me-"
A. e. Jones, a young man in the employ
of DIR. Snitdher, stated that at about II 80
he received a paper from Dr. Snitcher and
told to leave it with Registrar Frazer. The
Registrar glanced over it and said he was to
take it back. He did not see the doctor
then until between 2 and 8 o'clock. The
witness had also another paper which he had
handed to the Registrar, and he "thinks it
was bill OF $40 for reporting the case on
| hand"
James Stewart, lad, janitor of the Board
of Health office, stated that he had once
gone to Dir. Snitcher to have a blank
properly filled out, when the Doctor de-
clared, Shy the eternal heavens | will not
report case to Squire Frazer or any one
ese.'
DIR. Sniteher then explained that his
blanks would always get mislaid or lost and
that he did not suppose the notices should
be on any particular paper to make them
legal. "In regard to the man coming to
my office" he continued, esquire Frazer
had taken the occasion to write me an i'm
pudent note, saying that he would have me
before the Mayor" The doctor declared
that he was too busy to fill out the blanks.
Secretary Frazer stated, in reply to a
question from the Mayor, that he had re-
ceived about 80 blanks properly filled in by
other phys1cians, and that the Mayor him
self, as physician, had frequently, late at
night, reported cases and took half an hour
SO as to be careful and have the required re-
port properly filled out. All the physicians,
with the exception of Snitcher, had care
fully complied with the law.
Mr.. Hofiecker, in addressing the Mayor,
thought that the whole animus of the
|, | nhGter, 80 lar ds ne was able 10 discern, was
not SO much that the law had been disobeyed
as 1t was that DR.. Snitcher had offended the
dignity of Squire Frazer, and had refused to
respond To the mandates ofthat gentleman.
He thought the Doctor had complied with
the law. There was no law in regard to
gulating the health of the city, in which it
, was shown that DR.. Snitcher or
any physician had to pay court to
, Squire Frazer. The accused had
done all be could in cases which he had
reported. He did not think it would have
been right to have filled up the blanks by
, guesswork just because the law said they
were to be filled. 1t would not be right to
falsely make statements. There was, he
thought, only one case, of those complained
of, not fully explained, and that was when
the points needed could not be had.
+ The law does not require printed
| blanks, and there was no proof
that the Doctor had not reported his
, cases within Is hours. A report of the
r Christianh street case was made before the
! warrant was served. Whether or not the
doctors report suited the dignity of Squire
Frazer had nothing to do with the matter.
In the judgment of the speaker there had
been no violation. He could understand
why physician, in active practice, would
not want to carry a lot of blanks around
with him A dismissal was thsreupon asked
. . in the case.
The Mayor remarked that Dir. Snitcher
had, in his statement, unfortunately fol