The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-03-01
OFFICIAL D%ERILICTION.


casion to refer to and criticise the very
lax manner in which the board of
health enforces the sanitary laws and
regulations enacted for the purpose Of
conserving the public health Of the
community. 1t wa hoped that no oc-
casion would arise where the same
course Of comment would again be
necessary. 1t seems, however, the
board is Indifferent to criticism and
comment and continues it's disregard
of duty with the same calm indiffer-
ence that it m%anifests for public opin-
ion and the censure to which it lays
itself open. Totally ~disregarding
every consideration for the commun-
ity's health and safety, it permits
smallpox patients to be removed in
the most public manner, and at the
most unreasonable hours under it's d.
rect1ons they are carted through the
streets to the hospital maintained for
their treatment and isolation.
An instance Of this kind occurred
Wednesday night when at an hour
that many were still passing and re-
passing the place a man affected with
the scourge was removed from a lodg-
ing house in North Twenty-seventh
street, between Montana and First av-
enues, and taken to the pesthouse. With
the utmost deliberation a wagon drove
up to the place and calmly and slowly
u lot of infected bedding was brought
out and placed in the vehicle. Next
the patient himself was carried out
and slowed away into the wagon and
then the drive to the hospital began.
While all this was going Oh dozens of
persons passed by and were exposed to
'contagion.. Ordinary prudence, it
seems, would have suggested that the
removal be made at a later hour, or if
absolutely Necessary at that time that
means would have been employed to
warn persons having occasion to be on
the street so that they might have re-
manned away from the infected place
during the time removal was making.
Without expense and with but very
little trouble an officer could have
been stationed at either end of the
block to stop pedestrians and teams,
or at least give warning. Instead,
no more effort was made to prevent
contagion than though the unfortunate
victim of the disease was being taken
to the hospital for treatment for some.
thing no more contagious or infectious
than "a simple fracture of a bone.
Many Of those SO unnecessarily and it
may be said cirminally exposed, in
passing came so close to the disease
burdened bedding that some of them
probably were in actual contact with
it. |
This is a statement not made on
hearsay, but based upon actual obser-
walton and as seen from The Gazette
office by at least two members of the
staff.
The gentlemen of the health board
may be immune to the disease and
consequently have 7 fear of it, or
they may consider . occurrence as
trifing and too insi .nificaDt to make
1t the cauee Of complaint, but that in
nowise frees them Of the charge of
culpably neglecting their duty and
needlessly exposing directly dozens OF
persons and indirectly probably hun.
dreds. Neither they nor anyone else
a say that those who were passing al
the time did not carry with them sufi.
cient germs to endanger the health Of
almost every person in the city.
1t was shameful and d%isgraceful anG
an occurrence that should be impossi
BILE in a community boasting a city
government and supposed to be clothed
with full power and authority tt
protect the lives and safeguard thu
welfare Of it's people. But there il
still another cause of complaint. Onl,
q very short time before the inciden'
here related another victim of small
pox was taken out of the same place
No attempt, as far as known, wa
made to quarantine the house or max,
further effort to prevent it from be
coming q source of infection than t,
close the room which the patient hat
actually occupied. Instead Of causing
~ II ho 0loaa6 fOr a reasonable finn