The San Francisco call., 1897-01-22
WAR DECLARED
4 ON VACCINATION
Medical Men Oppose the
Action of the Board
of Trustees.
Petition Being Signed Asking
That Last Tuesdays Work
Be Undone.
According to Medical Men the Law Is
Not Mandatory Except in an
Epidemic.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALL,


90S Broadway, Jan. Il. J
DR.. ]. Q. Oberg has issued an open letter
to the Berkeley School Board regarding
the present war in that town over the
vaccination of pupils.
AT meeting of the board last Tuesday
DR.. Oberg was invited to be present and
listen to the discussion on the subject.
The Trustees decided to enforce the law
with the proviso ''if the children are in
condition TO stand vaccination, otherwise
to wait until they are; and again provid-
/7g hat they do not absolutely refuse to
Vcomply with the law because they DO not
believe in its efficacy"
There is no proviso in the law" said
DI. Oberg, wherein we find authority
given to physicians or parents to use dis
cretion in regard to its enforcement. 1t
specifically states that all children ad-
mitted to the public schools must be vac
cinated. 1t further states that if one trial
does not prove sufficient they must repeat
it again and again until it does.
"If a party is able to attend school the
law takes il for granted that he is abls to
stand The ordeal of vaccination, and when
the Health Officer of Berkeley advises any
discretion IN its enforcement he does so
contrary to law. When the School Trus-
tees give authority to the Health Officer to
use discretion, they also act in defiance of
law. 1t nowhere states that the health of
the party must be considered before its en-
forcement, nor does it state that any lem
iency must be shown toward those who
do not believe in the efficacy OF vaccina-
tion. The Trustees have decided that the
law is mandatory and must be enforced
and II it is not to be enforced it should be
repealed while the Legislature is now in
session.
Upon reading the law it is seen that it
is not mandatory and that it must be
rigidly enforced in emergencies only. Ii
is called an act to encourage general
vaccination. The intention of the act is
more clearly shown in section 5, wherein
1t commands the various school boards to
render an accurate report of the vacci-
mated and unvacCinated children attend
ing school between the ages of and II.
II the law were mandatory it would take
II for granted that all such children were
vaccinated before admission to school.
The Trustees have clearly only read q
portion of the law and have not seen that
1t is an emergency measure only TO be
rlgidly enforced during a violent cpl
demic. To enforce it when there is no in
dication of any danger would be in
Audicious in the extreme, and even crimi-
NAail BECAUSE lne euecI Is NOT CIdlneQ 10
Vbe permanent; hence may prove useless
Wy the time an epidemic does come.
sits enforcement, therefore, becomes a
signal for war upon those who honestly
believe it injurious instead of beneficial,
and who consider the law a species OF class
legislation which is unconsututional,
hence its enforcement can never fully take
place, and as 1t stands at present, it Injuries
the believers in its efficacy, and hampers
the Health DEPARTMENT
1.-THE School Board of Berkeley, there
FORE has a duty to perform, viz: To
rigidly enforce the same without favor
toward any one during an epidemic, and
to see that it is not enforced when there is
none."
A petition is being largely signed asking
the Board of Health to rescind their action
of the 18th inst. and enforce the law only
when it is needed, and at no other time.