The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-10-07
IT COMES HIGH.
City Board of Health Proving
to Be a Luxury.
City Dump Bill of $3.50 For Re-
pairs Is Filed.
OFTEN In SESSION.
Meetings of Board Are More
Than Doubled.
That Means More Expense For
the City.

About the most expensive luxury
which the city of Topeka has had on its
hands for some time is the present city
physician and board of health.
The city physician gets $50 a month
salary, and $50 month for taking care
of smallpox cases. There are no small
pox cases at present in the city. But
the bill for taking care of them is on
hand again this month. Besides the city
physician gets an allowance for office
expenses.
The board of health has spent between
$500 and 5000 in attempts to fix up the
old city dump, in spite of the protests
of residents in that vicinity, and the
promise of the mayor, made to the coun-
ell, that no more money should be wasted
in this manner. The council tonight viii
be asked to pay $3.50 for dump repairs,
The board refused to discharge two OF
its SIX sanitary policemen, who get $50
month, although there is no smallpox
in the city, only two or three cases of
any form of contagious disease, and the
alleged bad sanitary condition Of the
city has been fully ascertained, and
nothing remains but to keep the books
Four sanitary policemen are the usual
number employed by the city. But six
are still on the pay roll
But the greatest graft which the board
of health has been working is the sal
airy grab. The city ordinances provide
that the board shall meet on the call of
the city physician, and that the two out
side members of the board shall receive
IS for each and every meeting The rec
ords of the city clerks office show that
for two years prior to the present ad-
ministration, the board has met on an
average of once month. During those
two years $105 was paid to each of the
two members of the board. So far, the
present board of health has held twelve
meetings in four months, at cost to
the city of $40 per meeting. If they keep
I'm ar f70 a17f r-Qf 70 f1axT a
city $500 a year, or $1040 in two years
instead of $210 for two years as the for
mer board did
The present board has justified it's
action by asserting that the city was in
deplOrable sanitary condition. 1t at
tempted to get up a contagious disease
scare. and make people think that pes
thence and sudden death We're pounding
on our doors, and that so board meet
ing each week was the only way to avert
them
So the board instituted a fight on the
city crematory, because the crematory
could not handle the work as fast as
the board demanded. 1t secured the
abolition of the crematory and the sub
stitution of the foul and dangerous city
Dump which could not be operated with
out great loss of time and money.
Meantime, the contagious disease
scourge failed to materialize. Instead,
the health of the cicty continued to inn-
prove. For years the city has not been
50 free from cOntagiOn as during the
past few mcnthS- AT the present time
there is not a Single case of smallpox,
and only two cases of other forms of
contagious disease in town. But the
board declares that the city is still in
awful condition, and needs six sanitary
men to care for it.
In the past it has been customary for
the city physician to spend a portion of
his time in the office furnished by the
city where he might be found by parties
having business with his department
The present city physician, while he has
nominally an office hour at the city
building in the forenoon, Often is not to
be found in the building during the day.
Seldom if ever is he in his office for an
hour day. People who call to see him
at the city building are obliged to in
convenience themselves by hunting up
the city doctor at his Kansas avenue Of
fee
1t looks as though the city sanitary
department needed some investigation
and regulation There is no APPARENT
good in throwing away the noisey of the
city on useless meetings of the board
of health, on extra salaries which
amount to donations to the parties who
receive them. If new ordinances are
needed to repair existing defects in the
law, they should be passed without de-
lazy. ana stop tbs leaks.