The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1883-02-02
The Egis and Intelligencer
BEL AIR, Md, FEBRUARY 2 1883.
A Defence of the Baltimore Board of
Health.
BALTIMORE, January 25th, 1883.

BALTIMORE, January 25th, 1883.
10 he EditorC Of The 4Egi$:
DEAR SIR: So much attention has been giver
in Baltimore to an action of the State Board OF
Health in relation to Small Pox, that would like
the matter understood in our county. This
Board which renders gratuitous service, Is only
advisory and without control of money or au'
thorty. Its duty is to watch over disturbances in
public health, and to suggest, at the proper time
precautions or remedies 1t can have nothing tC
do in Baltimore, which is supplied with strong
Health and Quarantine Department, and takes
care of itself. Three-tifths of the population OF
our State are not so protected, nor are they sup
piled with the means of meeting such emergencies
as the present invasion of smallpox in Baltimore
presents DR.. Teackle, State Vaccine Agent, is II
member of our Board. Through him we have
known the early exhaustion of the vaccine fund,
and of the very numerous and pressing de-
nandS for virus, since made by the counties. We
know also how much less easy it is to carry out in
the country the precautions which have lately
been forced upon Baltimore, and we felt that in
recommending an early and general distribution
of vaccine matter we were taking the best pro-
tCctive step. 1t Is now some months since the
suggestion of applying. in this way part of the
$1,000 contingent fund was made to the Cover
nor, and declined by him as contrary to law
Still, on the 18th January we renewed the recon-
mendation to provide the vaccine Agent with the
Meanwhile the papers informed us that in the
week ending with that date So deaths from small
pox had occurred, and in the following week,
while found the new cases running up each
day until from 30 per day they reached 81, g..
deaths were registered, nearly all in the four
wards of the city where our Gamers find their
labor. We became naturally more anxious to OBJ
tain the means of atfording protection from the
disease, not being able to foresee that on the day
after our last meeting 1t would suddenly abate
Ole-half.
AT that meeting, having no answer from the
Governor, who was very unwell, we were called
together to consider a letter from the Secretary
of State, containing a circular just received by
him from Washington and the suggestion that in
this way the desired means might be had. 1t did
not occur then to us that there was much differ
ence between accepting our share of a sum sup
piled by all the States for such occasions and
calling on the Government to make our canal
across the Eastern Shore Or, when we had paid
couple of hundred regulars to settle the disputes
in 1877 between our great railroad and its work
ing men. We have never heard of proposal to
contribute any money for assistance outside of
Baltimore, place with which we had no idea of
interfering. You may, however, see in the SIN of
2}d January, that the Health Commissioner of
Baltimore city, an eX-oiiicio member of the
Board, proposed a resolution identical with that
moved by DR.. Steuart, except in preamble,
which we rejected possibly offensive to the
Governor. mercantile community is naturally
very sensitive to its peculiar interests, and per-
haps cannot be expected to have much regard for
acts of duty which might touch those interests,
but | still believe we were right in following
suggestion which promised to supply the only
means we knew of 10 afford to six hundred thous-
and people the protection enjoyed by the city
population through concentration and greater
fully spread such protection before our $50 can
ners would have to look up their summer labor.
Yours with Respect,
Il ('RAWFDRD NELSON