The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-01-03
CLASH OF ARMS.
There Are $500 School Child
rem Not Vaccinated.
Board of Health Says They
Must OMIT School.

A clash between the city board of
health and the city board Of education
looms up in the near future. The mat
ter of the compulsory vaccination Of
school children will be brought to a.
focus at the regular monthly meeting
Of the educational board next Monday
evening
At the stated meeting of the board of
health in December the board made a
ruling to the effect that all school
children must be vaccinated, under pen
atty of being excluded from the schools
for noncompliance. The board of edu-
cation is supposed to have been made
aware CT this ruling, but nothing has
been done. It develops today. when, &C
cording to the announcement following
the health boards meeting, the ruling
was to have gone into effect, that due
notification in writing has not been
made to the school board This o1nis-
sion win be made up before Monday
nights meeting, and then the real
struggle will begin.
1t is believed that the school board
will resent the health boards assuming
to say what pupils will be permitted in
and what pupils will be excluded from
the city schools.
Until three years ago the school board
worked under a rule requiring pupils to
be vaccinated. The rule was then
abandoned, by action of the board of
education Under the two board OF
health administrations preceding the
present one this course of procedure
was permitted to go on without ques-
ton Consequently the schools have
been filing up for three years with a.
large number Of pupils that are not
vaccinated Since the present school
year began and the board of health
has been actively pressing the matter
of having pupils vaccinated, large nEm-
bers of them have complied, but there
are still 2543 out of 6,S79 who have not
been vaccinated, or at least for that
number no certificates OF vaccination
have been fled.
The school authorities have a COM
plete list made up of the pupils that
have not been vaccinated- The total
number is so large that the exclusion
would make serious inroads on the at
tendance if the health board continues
IN its insistence
City Physician H. B. Hogeboom has
declared repeatedly that the board and
himself will insist upon the compulsory
vaccination Of pupils in the public
schools. The present board Of education
has made no declaration on the sub
ject at all as yet, but according to the
figures it has and the sweeping nature
of the ruling, there will have to be a
loosening up somewhere, and more
time win be required to bring about the
change from a state OF optional to COM
pulsory vaccination, if such be the
pleasure of the board of education
Supt w A Davidson said today:
1.-THE board of education has always CO.
operated with the board of health. 1t
has complied with the measures taken
by the health board in the past.
1.-THE city physician has telephoned to
me several times on this subject, but
today is the first I have received any
authentic notice, when met Dr. Hoge-
boom and he spoke to me of it. Even
now consider the ruling should be re-
duced to writing and sent through the
proper channels to the board. Of6cially
I shall do nothing in the matter until
the board passes upon it.
I'VE have not been having a compul-
sorry vaccination rule since it was abro-
gated by the board three years ago.
could not say what the board will do
with the proposition now"