The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-01
COUNTY HEALTH BOARDS
CLAIMED THEY ARE INCOMPETENT
AND UNSATISFACTORY.
State Health Board. in It's Report to
the Governor, Urges a
New Law.

Governor Mount yesterday received the
quarterly report of the State Board of
Health. In it many sensational reforms are
asked for, and chief among them is the re-
organization of the county boards Of health.
In the opinion of the State Board most of
these bodies are incompetent and altogether
unsatisfactory in conducting the business of
the State and render the task of the State
Board not only a hard one in compiling sta
fistics, but preclude all possibility of ac-
curacy in the work the board was created
90 perform. The board recommends that
the Governor take such measures as are
possible to have suitable bill presented
to the State Legislature, changing the pres
ent laws relative to the conduct and selec-
ton of county boards Of health throughout
the State.
According to the report, the commission
ers of the several counties act as members
of the county boards of health, and elect
a secretary to attend to the detail work
of the board. According to law the coun-
ty boards are required to make returns of
all births, deaths, sickness and other items
of interest in their several counties to the
State Board. While, in the language Of the
report, there has been no desire manifested
on the part of any of the county boards to
evade making these returns, the work has
been to say the least very unsatisfactory.
One of the principal reasons for this state
of affairs, according to the report, is that
the terms of the secretary are too short.
None of the secretaries hold Office for more
than one year, in which time it is hardly
possible to become familiar with the work.
The State Board recommends that the term
be heightened by law to four years, which
it is the opinion of the board is the least
possible time in which the county boards
can be made to do effective work. Fur
thermore, says the report, the question of
compensation has in the past made the
county boards of health prolific fields for
abuse. Under the present system the mem
bers of the county boards assign the work
Of attending to it's business, which is so
essential to the success of the State Board,
to the physician who makes the lowest bid.
The result Of this is that the successful bid
der in nearly all cases pockets the salary
and fees and does little or no work in ex-
change. AS a remedy the State Board adj
vises that a new system be put into effect,
based on the payment of such sum as $40
thousand population in each county as
salary to the county medical officer.
Enclosed with the report was the draft
of the bill to be presented to the Legisa-
ture. Besides framing the law to govern
the county boards Of health and their work
as outlined above. the bill deals at great
to the people, 1t makes it a crime, punish
able by heavy fine and Imprisonment, to
make or sell adulterated food of any kind,
either bread, meat, vegetables or liquids.
and specifies in particular many acids and
chemicals which are now in common use in
the preparation of food products in factor
les, the use of which is to be interdicted.
The bill also makes it a misdemeanor fer
the county boards of health TO fail to keep
an accurate account of all vital statistics
and turn the same over to the State Board
on demand.