The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-13
HOUSE KILLS
GOVERNORS BILL
Vaccination Question Again
Before the House.
COMMITTEE DECLARES
GOVERNOR is WRONG
Final Action on Mcmillan Bill
Next Monday.


mending that the Mcmillan anti-vac-
cination bill be passed over the COVER
nor's veto ana that the measure Of
fered by the executive as a substitute
be killed. A determined effort was
made by the Observation-Disclosures to
adopt the report of the committee blIt
they were only half successful. That
portion OF the report suggesting the
slaughter of Governor Wells hin was
adopted. The other Gas made a spe-
clal order for next Monday afternoon
at 3 o'clock
There Is now q possibility that the
house, which was considered homeless
sy the friends Of vaccination. will vote
10 sustain the governors veto. Four
teen members voted against killing the
substitute, and II is reported that most
OF them VIII vote TO sustain the veto.
II they do, and if they can win two
others over TO their side of the oues-
tOn the Dill VIII fail OF the pecessa ~
rwo-thirds in the house
me argument over the report was
torTld and long dEawn out. Nearly
every member had something to saw.
The speaker called Don &. Johnson TO
the chair while he made some re-
marks IN support of the motion to de-
Ter action, and the final result was the
dcLon above set forth The report of
the committee was as follows:
> L.
Mr.. Speaker-Your committee on nub-
ny iiealLh- 20 whom was referred the veto
OF house ball No. Is. An act to prevent
compulsory vaccination and tn Drevevf
vaccination being made a CONDITION nre-
cedent TO entering the public schools or
5dn, atse the substitute bill by mis- ex-
eeuencys Governor Heber NJ. Wells No
~, "A bill for an act authorizing the
stats ana local boards OF health to make
Gnu .ofce rules ana regulations to pro-
tect the inhabitants of the state against
malignant. contagious. infectious or nOx-
i9us diseases. and providing a penalty for
tne violation of this act. or the rules of
the said boards made in pursuance there
of, beg leave to report as follows:
We nave carefully considered said veto
and said substitute bill and recommend
tnal SAID substitute bill No ~ be not
passed, and that II. B No. Is become a
law, for the following reasons:
f1rst-Ihat it is an infringement upon
lne inherent and constitutional rights Of
Seeond-Our constituents demand that
the substitute bill be not passed.
Rights of the People.
We regret very much to differ from his
eNcellency, the governor. but believe chat
II is not necessary 10 now enter upol the
consideration of whether or not Vsccina-
smallpox The substitute bill, No ll2
rather precludes and attempts to destroy
the 4ualienable rights OF the De0Ulp The
question of the benefits of vaccination as
preventive of smallpox has been SuF-
fciently discussed before this bOdy- am:
merits have been thOughtfuily and con-
SlStently investigated. While a large ma
jority of the faculty believe that If IS
5llLfr d preventive or palliative, they
differ materially as to the length OF time
IL affects the patient The minority, how
ever, include number of the foremost
scientists of The times. There are sufi-
clent evidences of a gradual and definite
change on the question of vaccination in
favor of The position taken by the minor
lily.
The governor admits that compulsory
vaccination IS an Infringement upon the
personal rights of the individual, but JUS
tines il on the ground of public safety,
therein showing the same inability to
meet the real issue as e&nlDlted by the
doctors when before the joint committee
o. the Legislature The preme court of
me United States he Peatedly, ruled
that II was not nece = Tor the law 10
interfere with the Il srty of the indIvid-
ual until IL breaks out into overt acts
against peace and good order. Should
an Individual become menace 10 the
health or the peace and good order of the
public. he may be restrained of his free
dom; so q person lllficted with con-
taglous disease Or whom by exposure to
CCntagiOn becomes dangerous to society
may be dUarautined. and the infected
premises may be fOrcibIy diSinfected or
destroyed. The Mcmillan bill does not
attempt TO lessen this authority, IT sim
ply admits the healthy unvaccinated
children 10 pubic or private SchooIS
which are open 10 vaccinated children
Right to Compel Vaccination
No one will dispute that under our DO
lice regulations buildings adjoining others
on ire may be destroyed, but the COVER
nor fails 10 show its relevancy To the sys-
TEN OF injecting disease into healthy
person on the ground that at some flu
ture time he may possibly contract some
OLner disease. The question presented,
have we the right to force it upon every
body whether they viii or not. on the pos
sbility which may never become ii real
Ity-that is, their contracting smallpox
remains unanswered and manifestly an
undesirable condition Ihat class of our
community, the healthy unvaccinated
children. against whom our schools were
closed has been comparatively free from
the disease complained Of and its spread
mas not been traced 10 the schools No
evil results followed the opening OF the
schools last year, no evil results have
followed the present opening. Herein lies
the weakness of the argument thar other
states viii quarantine against Utah be-
cause her school children are not vacci-
mated If compulsory vaccination has ans
logical or Iegai force II IS the general
public who should be fOrcibly VacCinatSd,
and not the class which is virtually eE-
empt, and whether or not "a number OF
the states give OF fail 10 give their boards
or health the authority to exclude unVac-
cinated children. we consider no argu-
ment against tne proposed house bill No.
rs The travelling public are not required
TO be vaccinated before they may travel.
port Of the substitute bill No III. they
Will be prohibited from departing from
this state simply because we do not COM
pei our school children to be vaccinatec.
State Boards Authority.
The governor has not quoted one single
provision of law that authorizes the state
beard OF health or its secretary 10 as
sumo the powers against which 50 per
cent Of its people protest. and that want
of authority and assumed power would
continue should the governors veto pre-
vail. The decision OF the supreme court
Or the subject OF the powers of the city
board does not touch or mention the state
bOa-ds authority. Should the Mcmillan
bin fail. the question Of excluding the
healthy unNaCcinated children from TIE
schools Of the state viii remain open Tor
DrOtractpd litigation Should ~ prevail
voluntary vaccination may continue un-
impeded, but forclble vaccination will be
unla Wful
We believe that the Mcmillan bin is a
step forward and not backward The Leg
islature of 1850 rejected compulsory
measure and intended TO define the powers
OF the boards of health and make them
ample 10 meet the demands ct sanitation,
quarantine, isolation aud prevention OF
conta giOn- The above said biil SIMPLY
makes definite that which the former leg
islature ieft open 10 strained cOnStTuc-
lions
AT the close OF the reading of the
report. AXton moved that it be made
a SPECIAL order for Monday afternoon
at 2.30. Anderson moved as a substi-
tute that the report be laid on the ia
bic. Glasmann with Don johnson in
the chair. declared shat ne was not
ready TO vote. lie said he wanted 30
get some facts from the state board
of health before making up his mind
Hewlett was in favor OF immediate
action. He said he knew how ne in
tended TO vote and he believed every
member Of the house was in the same
tx SoUth sided with Hewlett. II
don't nave 20 ask anybody how 10 vote
en- THIS question, said he. MY mind