The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-06-09
THE CLERKS LOUD VAIL
ALBERT n. FEARING, Oh HEALTH
BOARD. RECITEs HIS WOES.
According To His Pessimistic View of
Life. Job, of Biblical PANE, Had
Sinecurc.

troubles TO a Journal reporter yesterday.
''why. the Affections of Job were not
marker 10 my daily experiences. II there Is
a man on earth entitled 10 a raise in salary
l certainly am the one. for my fluctuations
are almost insupportable.
II suppose you overheard what that wom-
that just went out said 10 me. didn't
you? No? Well. what she said was plen-
ty They have been having measles up her
way. and when one OF her children was re-
ported as having the disease We perforce.
had 10 card the house. The law requires
that the card shall be kept on the house for
fourteen days. and We haven't any right 70
take it down before that time unless we re-
ceive a doctors certificate that the child
has fully recovered and that there are no
others in the house who are likely TO con-
tract the disease. Well. the card hadn't
been up on this womans house five days
until she began calling US up over the
phone TO know when she could take IL
down. Her child. she said. had recovered
from measles, and she didn't propose TO
keep IL out of school any longer. We put
her off for a day or two. and then what did
she do but send her child 10 school and tear
the card from her house without even say
ing by your leave or course. the child
was refused admittance 10 the school and
the matter coming to our ears We sent out
a man and REGARDED the house.
WOMAN TALKED PLAINLY.
THAT was yesterday. and to-day she
came in 10 tell me what she thought OF the
Board of Health. There wasn't one OF US.
she said. that had sense enough TO come in
out of the rain. We sat down here in the
office and unwound our red tape without as
much discrimination as a hog would have
in a parlor. We didn't know. she said.
whether her child had ever had the
measles, and, therefore, we couldn't say
that it had or had not recovered from
them. i tried TO reason with her and ex-
planned that we were simply governed by
the law in the matter but the best got by
way of a parting shot was that 1 knew as
much about law a goat, and then the
lady. in her righteous wrath. swept out and
left me in the collapsed condition in which
you found me.
Her case. while IL is only a sample of
many others, is not marker TO some of
them. a man came i'm here last week. and.
after saying what he pleased about the
Board of Health. threatened to give me a
licking because the garbage collector had
refused TO empty his keg because it had
paper in It. 1 told him about the rule the
garbage people had. but he wouldn't listen
to me and went out swearing he would get
even with me at the next election.
Every time a new case of smallpox Is
reported 1 know that am in for it and
am rarely disappointed. The officers always
kindly inform me Of the horrible things
that will be done to me as soon as the I'M
fortunates that have been Guaranteed are
at liberty to hunt me up.
THE NEIGHBORS COME.
LAS soon as a quarantine has been es-
tablished the neighbors all come in ana
want TO know what the chances are of their
catching the disease. l assure them that
there isn't the remotest possibility Of their
contracting it and they 20 away apparent-
ly satisfied. Daring the next few days. how
ever. they begin to come in with complaints
about the careless methods that are pur-
sued by the officers in maintaining the
quarantine and they rarely depart with
out giving us a lot of wholesome advice.
OF course / thank them with as good grace
as possible, and it isn't as easy TO always
be courteous as you think, especially when
| you know by past experiences that they
haven't done with you yet and are coming
back after a while to scold you in some
instances curse you in others and threaten
you with the law If you don't follow out
their suggestions. They never take into
account our experience and invariably hold
that our opinions are not worth their con-
| sderation
1.-The women are always harder TO deal
with than the men. The latter usually come
in and after exploding their warth on my
defenseless ears. are willing TO listen TO
reason, but the women who come in with
their opinions almost invariably 20 away
with them. despite all one may say TO
them. / remember a woman who came in
here once and blew me up 10 the skies be-
cause / had permitted a neighb0r of hers
to take down measles card after it mad
been up for twelve days L explained 10
her that the case in question had not been
reported TO the Board of Health until fve
or six days after the child had broken out
with the measles and consequences
the patient had recovered at least week
before the card was taken down. She de-
| clared that we didn't have any right to
take the card down until the fourteen days
had expired She had kept tab on the date
when il put up. she said. and she
| didn't propose 10 have her children getting
the measles from the house next door. just
because the Health Board didn't know its
| business About a month after this we put
a card up on that woman's house. her chill
| dren having managed TO get the measles
somewhere or other. and do you know IL
wasn't a week before she was in here ask
ing US TO take the card down so her chill
/ dren could go TO school. OF course had TO
refuse her request and l think that won-
an gave me the best tongue flashing / have
| ever received.
A STILL HARDER SIDE.
But there is another side of this bust
ness that is even harder 10 bear than the
phase / have just told you about l have
in a way become hardened 10 the COM
plants and abuse that seem to be my daily
| portion. but when a man comes in here and
| in a trembling voice asks me II I won't give
him a permit TO bury his wife without a
doctors certificate as to the cause or her
death il takes all my strength 10 deny him.
| He will sit right down beside me and tell
me that his wife had been ill with con-
sumption for more than a year and will
| graphically portray life of such hard
| ship and perjury that IL makes me shudder
TO hear IT, lie explains how he had 10 stay
at home and nurse his wife. going for days
at time without anything TO eat because
he couldn't go out and make any money.
| or course he didn't have doctor for her