Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1900-12-05
BOARD OF HEALTH Bills DISCUSSED -
ROLLS OF ACCoUNTS-SEWER
ASSESSMENT.

board of aldermen WAS devoted largely to
bills, which were examined, cussed and
discussed at length.
Among the bills which came in for
more than its share of-discussion, was
one for services on he board OF health. A
board of health bill has been to admins
tration after ad IN in list ration like a red flag
to bull. When one appears there is al
ways below and charge, and the bill
lodges under the table-or, more strictly
speaking, 1t is laid on the table-untii the
excitement is over. Then it climbs over
the fence and lands safely on the roll OF
accounts. where it is finally allowed to re-
main, because, as each succeeding board
expresses 1t, there seems no way to avoid
paying it.
As matter OF fact. the board OF health
is a necessity which for many years has
been expensive to the city of Ellsworth.
1t is a conservative estimate to say that
the board OF health costs the city on an
average from $3.50 to $500 every year, and
an epidemic OF measles Is likely to swell
it to far above the high hest figure named.
No member of any board of alderm en-
for the six years that the writer has been
reporting the city meetings has failed to
recognize the Importance OF every pre-
caution for the protection OF the public
health, but every hoard and every alder
man has expressed the opinion that the
city is paying more than it should for this
protection.
For each complaint of nuisance inves-
tigated by the board of health each mem
Der OF he board gets e. Many Of these
complaints are OF trivial nature. A
cesspool smells bad; somebody PUSHES to
the board OF health with a complaint; the
| board OF health tells the owner OF the
cesspool to have it cleaned out; the city
pays IS. This thing is repeated time and
time again. One cesspooi in Ellsworth,
the reporter is informed, cost the city s1S
year for several years.
For investigating a reported case of
| contagious disease, measles included, the
healt officer gets -. He may have to
call two or three times before he can de-
eide the case. He charges g for every
call. The physician who is attending
he case only gets 81 a call. Ii the case
proves to be contagious the health officer
taeks the required placard upon the
house, and charges g more for that. An
Ellsworth physician said yesterday that
it was The duty Of the attending physl-
clan to do that, and the city ought not
pay anything for it.
After a case of contagious disease the
house must be disinfected. The health
officer has been doing that, and the city
has been paying the bills. The present
board of aldermen has just discovered
that the statutes require the householder
to pay for the disinfection OF the house.
Strangely enough, no one seems to
know just how the S2-a-call fee of the
mem bers OF the Ellsworth board of health
came to be esta blished. The statute does
not fix the fee, and apparently leaves it
to the municipal officers. The compen-
sation has not been fixed from year to
year by the municipal officers, as have
other salaries, but the city has gone on
year after year allowing the q, and pay
ing IS every time Tom, Dick or Harry's
cesspool ran over or his manure pile got
too big.
The present board OF aldermen intends
to find out how much law it has ON its
side in this matter. In the meantime the
board Of health bill will lie on the table.
The goose that has laid the golden eggs is
in danger.
| ANOTHER INTERESTING BILL.
Another bill which was discussed at
some length WAS one from the Ellsworth
lumber company for plank used in repair
ing the read leading to the company's
mill which is public highway.
| Road Commissioner Hurley had made
some repairs on the road, but it was not
in condition satisfactory to the COM
pany, and without the authority OF the
road commissi Toner, the company put its
own mill crew on the road and planked a
portion OF it. The bill under discussion
was one amounting to about S133 for
plank thus used.
| Three Of the aldermen at the meeting
expressed themselves as opposed to al
lowing the bill, and it was not put on the
roll of accounts.
| WILL NOT SELL sCHooLHoUsE.
| Alderman Jellison, to whom was re-
ferred question of selling the school
house near Juniper cemetery, reported
that he did not consider it advisable to
sell it, as sale of building might involve
| title to land.
| SEWER ASSESSMENT.
| 1t was voted that a discount Of 10 per
cent be allowed to all persons paying their
| sewer tax on or before Jan. 1, 1901, and