The suburban citizen., 1900-07-21
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
An Experiment Station Of the
First Glass.
How the Funds of Taxpayers are
Being Diverted From Leglti-
mate Channels to Garry
on Visionary Schemes.

The editor of the Suburban Citizen"
has received a large number of petit
tions from numerous citizens through
out the city and county to investigate
and open for discussion the working
of what they feel to be an extravagant
and impracticable Health Department
We desire to inform our readers that
we have fully investigated the various
departments connected with the Health
Office, and will without delay give the
public the benefit of our research and
labor.
Let ii be further understood that it
is our Judgment from a careful, un-
biased study of the history of the
workings of the present administra-
tiOn for the past six years, and the ap-
parent future operations of the present
management will be one fraught with
great expense, poor results, unfair dis
ordinations, needless and harmful
prosecutions and prosecutions, the for
mer costing the District government
large expenditures of money, and as
but few convictions were made by the
Department it is plain to us that the
Department is mismanaged
Further, we predict that we will con-
vince all fair-minded readers that as
at present operated the Health DEPART
ment of the District of Columbia is an
expensive kindergarten in which, by
reason of lack of knowledge, executive
ability. lack of experience of its Off
GERS, the public funds of the people of
Washington, by reason of their Gre
dulity, is being squandered upon
the schemes of a visionary executive
Of the Health Department.
We propose to show that the depart
ment in question has insulted a class
of citizens who by reason of their mis-
fortune and lack of money are known
among us as the poor, and by facts and
figures drawn from the reports and
records of the Office itself we will show
that the department has by its egotis-
tical desire to fiatter its own opera
tions so far forgotten itself and it's
duty to the public as to have in one of
its own reports reflected unnecessarily
upon a large body Of physicians, and
we claim that such reflections were abb
solutely unnecessary and maliciously
false.
We shall show that it has been the
spirit Of the department to sarcastical-
ly refer in its reports and communica-
tions to various citizens and organiza-
tions in such manner as to bring into
disrepute a department of the District
government which was once much re-
spected and honored by the thinking
public In this connection it may not
be out of place in order to incident an
occasion that demonstrated the em-
bryonic character and immature in
experienced judgment of the depart
ment to call to mind an occasion of the
criticism of the Police Court of the
District of Columbia by the Health De-
partment of this city. If our informa-
tion be correct in relation thereto the
department was induced or compelled
to change or retract its reflection
made against the court and its
official If space will permit and
time allow, the management of
this newspaper will point out the
defects of which there are many,
in the various departments of the
Health Office. We venture to say that
our readers will conclude as we have
already determined upon the following
petition, which shall be urged upon the
Commissioners of the District of Co
lumbia:
That in the interest of the taxpayers
of the District of Columbia, and the
fair reputation of the National Capital,
the Commissioners should appoint an
experienced and capable physician as
Health officer for this District, and
that the present management be not al
lowed to longer continue its control.