Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-22
DR., ALEXANDER
MAKES REPLY
SAYS COMMISSIONERS CLARK'S
ATTACK WAS MALICIOUS BUT
NOT SURPRISING.
SMALLPOX VICTIM WAS
NOT IN THE COURT HOUSE.
So Says the Doctor and He Gives the
History of the Case-Case Was
in Healing Stage.

The fight between the board of county
commissioners and the president of the
city board of health, DR.. Alexander,
which began during the smallpox cpl
demic of last winter, is becoming some
what heated. The letter of Chairman
Clark of the board of commissioners to
Mayor Mccarthy. and which contained
a severe arraignment of the city physi-
clan. VAS published in the Inter Noun
tain last evening. In reply. DR.. AleXan-
der has given out the following state
ment:
The malicious attack made upon me
by the 'one-man' board of ounty COM
~missioners was not a surprise to me. as,
knowing the maj and being familiar
with his condition of mind at the pros
pect of the county being obliged to as
sumo the responsibility and expense of
controlling any new cases that"the, for
a time, latent visitation Of smallpox may
AXE on, that l rather expected that he
Would avail himself of some little trifie
that was capable of being exaggerated
so as to take on the proportions Of a lie
of some magnitude, and in this l was not
disappointed.
In his letter addressed to the honor
able mayor he would imply that l direct
ed the man having smallpox to go to
the court house. and seek throughout the
editice until he found His Importance,
w. d. Clark. and his associates. and give
himself III and pictured very wildly the
man with smallpox invading the offices
of the different unit officers.
Now that the public may know that
the city authorities are not lacking in
any precaution that may tend to eradi-
cate smallpox, please say that the true
circumstances surrounding the court
: house affair are these:
0 Sunday afternoon a man much
affected with smallpox presented himself
at the office of a we'll knnu-o phrsinian
who approaching his condition, gave him
a note to me, but the man and physician
We're not in accord relative to diagnosis
n the man never came to me, but went
home. Yesterday a man who proved to
be the same as referred to was found in
the California brewery and one of the
proprietors FASTENED to the health office
and notified Sanitary Officer MciGnley,
who Immediately took the man into GUS
toby and brought him to my office in the
Bee Hive block to be advised, and as
there was a patient in my Office l was
not disposed to entertain the smallpox
subject there, and as ne lived on Ohio
street I was not disposed to allow him
to return to his room and possibly es-
cape again, SO I advised Mr.. Mckinley
to take him to the court house and re-
quest the commissions to send him to
the pest house, but not to allow the man
to enter the court house, but to keep him
a AAIr S'oN I'LL do III
rected and the commissioners not being
in session, turned him over to County
Sanitary Officer Kelly, but the man was
not inside the court house nor We're any
: exposed, so in the face of truth, Mr..
/ Clark's version transforms itself into a
maliciously intended, nefarious lie.
The state law makes it the duty of
any and every ounty within her con-
fines to take in hand an epidemic any
where within said county and pay the
expenses, etc. of the same, and this
county must and will. if it lies in my
power to effect it, take and care and
pay for any and all smallpox cases that
shall hereafter occur. In the meantime
the city will spare no effort to suppress
the disease"
Smallpox alley as the city Jail alley
was known during the smallpox cpl
demic of last winter, was the place of
temporary detention of a smallpox pa
tient this morning, and the incident at
tracted SO great a crowd that the mayor
was compelled to place a police guard
at the entrance of the alley. The vic
TINS name is w. F. Hughes. He says
he arrived in the city from kemmerer,
Wyo., only last night: that he had not
been feeling we'll for several days, and
that he did not know he was i'll of small
pox until this morning. The ounty au-
thorities were notified and Hughes was
taken to the pest house.
Late this afternoon no other cases had
been reported to DR.. John Henry Cronin
the city sanitary officer.