The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-01-13
TIE JERSEY CITY NEws. FRIDAY. JANUARY Is. 1898
SMALLPOX TERROR.
Employees at Snake Hill
Will Not Work in the
Pest IIouse-Tents
for the Sick.

The Board OF FfeehOlderS met IN che
! Sessions Court room at the Court House
yesterday. Director Bruggeman used
for a gavel the top of an ink well, which
/ County Superintendent Cannon eyed APP
~prehensively each time the Director
raised 1t from Judge Lippincott's desk.
Mr.. Herman Kreitler, the architect 70
the new asylum reported progress GU the
work, and later a resolution was adopted
| suspending the inspector of the work
until the weather will permit work to be
| done.
Proposals for a new and much needed
telephone service were received by tile
Board and referred with power TO the
Committee on Finance. The Board rs-
fused to act on the bills of the telephone
company. The claims will be considered
| at the mex meeting.
SMALLPOX TENTS.
Freebooter Ellis informed the Board
that the Special Committee on new
| Smallpox Hospital had met with County
| Physician Converse. The doctor had
recommended that IN the present emery
ency it would be better to buy TWO sepa-
rate tents Cor smallpox patients. DR..
Converse said this would permit the
separation of the sexes and diseases. The
tents had been purchased at a cost OF
S117 each, and they We're guaranteed to
be warm and comfortable. Freeholder
| Ellis wanted to know further who would
put up the tents and built the board
| floor after making sufficient excavation.
| The site selected for the tents IL right
| adjoining the old Pest House.
Mr.. Ellis said the keepers at the Pent-
Tertiary refused to do work at the Small
pox Hospital, and no one had volunteered.
He thought it was wrong to employ
extra help because the county employed
a sufficiently large number of people to
call on in such a contingency as the
present.
After d%enouncing the employees roundly
for their cowardice in fleeing the disease,
Mr.. Ellis said:-"Well If smallpox is SO
contagious and dangerous. | would like
to have all persons ut Snake Hill vRccin-
ated, so that employees would have no
excuse when their services should be
needed, The tents will be at the Hill
tomorrow (oday) and il we can't get
help from our employees. why, suppose
we must go outside for IL"
County Superintendent Cannon re-
ported that DR.. King, OF the Asylum.
thought it not safe for the employees at
other institutions to work about the
Smallpox Hospital because of the danger
of carrying the disease anon The
lunatlcs, paupers n prisoners.
AFRAID OF INFECTION.
Continuing the report. Superintendent
Cannon said that Warden Grimes had
overweight or thirty keepers at the
Penitentiary, but not one of the men
would offer his services at the pest house.
The Warden did not feel like compelling
the men to do duty there without direc-
lions from the Board, and he had not.
Under the circumstances" said Free
holder Ellis, Il think the Board should
fpatr11cf tna c0n miYtaa an SupnriDfap-
dent Cannon TO employ outside help. I
offer q motion to that effect"
Something should be done at once"
commented Mr.. Cannon. flor the present
pest house is overcrowded now. there
being ten beds in the rooms which here
tofore contained but eight beds"
Freebooter Coyle objected to the motion.
He believed that, if the cowardise of the
employees caused Them to refuse 10 WORK
at the pest house when ordered, 1t was
the duty Of the Board 10 suspend the
men. He believed it was unjust to COM
pei the County superintendent TO work
at the pest house, and to excuse other
employees. The motion without further
debate prevailed, and outside help will be
employed.
COUNTY ROAD LAND.
The report of the Commissioners of
Condemnation for Section 4 of the County
Road, published in The NEWS Wednes-
day was accepted and ordered filed.
Among the claims ordered paid was q.
bill for plumbers work presented by Stu
clair. Freeholder Nelson made an ou-
slaught On this bill. not because it was
not q just claim. but because there ap-
peared to be no end of the WORK OF the
plumbers. 1t was explained that there
mad been a great deal Of work done by
Sinclair because the changes made in the
county Offices had madei it necessary
Freebooter Pfngsten wanted to know
II the Committee on North Bridges had
done anything with the disabled culvert
on the Paterson Plank Road, which had
been constructed to form a covered pas
sageway for a natural water course.
Freebooter Ellis declared that there
was a natural water course there. and
that If not, the County mad nothing to do
with it. Freenolder Phngsten insisted
that the county build the culvert and
keep it in repair. The subject was
to the County Counsel for an
opinion. {
A resolution was presented by Free
holder Ellis to the effect that all disburse-
by officers under the Board should
be reported to the Board at the first
of each month. IL was so ordered.