Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-09-27
STATE BOARD OF HEACTk
One a. sthe Republican Sores on the Body
Polite of the State of Illinois.

Polite of the state of Illinois.
The state board of health of Illinois
has long been an object of suspicion.
Organized originally with good objects
in view it, fell almost Immediately
under the control of DIR. j. III. Rauch,
who soon managed to make himself SO
obnoxious that there was an almost uni
versal demand for his removal. His
acts were exceedingly arbitrary in some
cases, while in others they were over
lenient. He has been known to close
up schools on the suspicion of an cpl
demic and agains tthe protests of the peO-
pie, and has at almost the same time
permitted the most open violation of the
health laws, although urged to act by
the most reliable citizens. He has per-
mitted the most barefaced quack to
practice medicine, while reputable
physicians were refused certificates.
His decisions as to the use of disinfect-
ants have confiicted with each other, and
his acts generally have been such as to
create the feeling that he was either
corrupt or incompetent. 1t has been
freely asserted that he was susceptible
to influence in his official acts, and he
has been charged again and again with
favoritism. Under successive governors,
Cullom, Oglesby and F'ifer he was kept
in office, and no amount of influence on
the outside seemed strong enough to
force him out. So obnoxious had he
become in 1889 that the legislature de-
manded that he resign as a member of
the board before it would grant an APP
preparation. This was finally agreed to
in writing, and Governor Fifer and
members of the board were parties to
IL H.. L. Ill
ture adjourned he resigned, indeed, but
was Immediately appointed secretary of
the board, and remained in control, thus
violating the spirit, at least. of the
agreement. In 1891 the Democratic
house of representatives absolutely re-
fused an appropriation unless his con-
nection with the board cease. He went
out, and DIR. Reilly, one of his most in
Inmates associates on the board, succeed
ed him and it is said that is only
blind for Rauch, who is still the con-
trolling power in the institution. DIR.
Eggleson, editor of the Peoria Herald,
who was formally clerk in the Office
of the board, is, through his paper, max
ing the most serious charges against
Rauch and the other members. One of
the most serious of these charges is to
the effect that one Dr. Brinkerhoff,
claiming to be physician, was refused
a certificate by Rauch and that Brinker-
hoff then gathered a lot of evidence
affecting Rauch's integrity as public
official and came down on the board
with them. that the matter was cOmpro-
missed by the board paying Brinkerhoff
$1,000 in money and giving him a GER
tificate to practice.
DIR. Reilly the present secretary of
the board and a member of it when the
Brinkerhoff episode occurred, replies to
DIR. Eggleson's charge through the Chi
cago Herald. He admits that Brinker-
hoff was paid the 81 900, but says that
$500 of it at least came from the pockets
of the members of the board. He tries
to show that the money was paid to re-
compense Brinkerhoff for expenses in
CURED in fighting the boards action.
However he puts it the transaction
stands out as a piece of bribery and
marks the state board of health as one
of the plague spots to be investigated
when Judge Altgeld is elected governor.
We may be sure that under Fifer's adj
ministration it will not be disturbed.