The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-28
TO MAKE EVERYBODY IMMUNE.
MAYORS PROCLAMATION DECLAR-
ING VACCINATION COMPULSORY.

All Persons Who Do Not Comply
With the Law within Ten Days
VIII He Subjected 10 Its Penal
ties The Step Taken at the
Instance of the Sanitary Board.
Mayor Myers Explains the Motive
for the Proclamation - Savannah
Better OF in This Respect Than
Most 0f Her NciRhbOrs and 1t Is
Intended That 1t Shall Remain So.
Compulsory vaccination, provided for
Chatham county by a special act of the
Legislature in 1877, is to be enforced by
the city. a proclamation from Mayor
Myers was issued yesterday. The first,
a paragraph, of which reads as follows:
"As a precautionary measure, and in
view of the fact that smallpox prevails
in many of the counties and towns of
Georgia and the surrounding states. and
can be transmitted through the medium of
the mails, express packages, freight, etc.
notice is herewith given by the Sanitary
Board Of the city of Savannah that every
person resident in the city Of Savannah
or the county of Chatham. must be vac
C.ndlE0 WllLtii tue iscAt ASAl de'g NhNih5
April C, 1900, and that after the eXpira-
ton of that time the law will be rigidly
enforced as to all persons found not vac
cinated."
The proclamation is based upon section
81 of MacDonelrs code, which reads as
follows:
Vaccination shall be compulsory upon
all persons living in Chatham county, and
any person or persons who have not been |
vaccinated, and who, after the 18th of
February, 1877, fail to be vaccnated, SHALL |
upon conviction for the first offense, be |
punished by a fine of not more than one |
hundred dollars or Imprisonment in the |
county jail for not longer than one |
month";
The proclamation further states that the |
city physician will vaccinate free OF
charge any residents of the city or of the |
county who are unable to pay.
The proclamation is the result of a |
meeting of the sanitary board held yes
terday morning at the Mayors office, |
when the question was laid before the |
board in vigorous manner by Health +
officer Drummer. DR.. Drummer showed !
that while Savannah has been very light
~ tOuCned Dy the disease, compared with |
other cities, and while the work of vac
cination has progressed satisfactorily,
immunity cannot be expected so long as
a large portion of the population remains
unvaccinated Even though the city be
kept free from the disease persons are
constantly coming in from the infected
countless and baggage, mail and personal
effects are constantly being exchanged
between Savannah and the infected dis
tricts, the consequence being that per-
sons who are not immune to the disease
by vaccination or otherwise are liable to-
infection almost as much if the disease
were permitted to exist in the city.
Having carried his campaign of vac
cination as far as was practicable with
out resortng to more stringent measures
DR.. Drummer stated that he felt that the
time had come to make full use of the
powers vested in the authorities for this
purpose
proclamation. said that 1t was simply
measure. "There is not a
case of the disease in the city" said the
Mayor. Every case which has develop
ed has been promptly removed to the pest
house. We have Jared much more fortu-
nately in this respect than some of our
neighbors We have Jared so lightly, in
fact, that we can afford to take open
mea sures against the disease without ex-
citing alarm. With the infection prevail
ing all around US, however, we can only
insure our safety by leaving as little ma
terial as possible for the disease to work
upon and this can only be done by enforc-
ing general vaccination. Citizens who do |
not care to be put to any Inconvenience in
the matter can save themselves trouble by
being vaccinated by their private physi-
clans Those who are too poor TO pay
physician can be vaccinated by the city
physician"
1t Is estimated that with the work which
has been done by the city physicians dur
ing the last several weeks. supplemented
by that done by private physicians, fully |
two-thirds of the city's population have al
ready been vaceinated. In fact, the class
from which almost the only danger is to
be apprehended at present, is the large
floating population. This includes the ne
gro population of Chatham and the ada
cent counties and the islands weu,
which is continually passing in and out
of the city and which has as little knowl-
edge of and as little regard for sanitary |
laws as did their aboriginal ancestors in
the Wilds of Africa.
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