The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-01

and it is the duty of this senate to
pass it.
Senator Bennion gave it as his opin-
ION that vaccination is not what it is
cracked UP to be. Il am not convinced
that II is a preventive of smallpox
he said. I feel as if 1 will vote for
the bill.
Then Mr. Smoot recalled the numer-
Gus petitions which have been floating
/ IN upon him. Said he: Il am here to
serve a constituency. of whose intel
Igence am proud. I agree with Mr.
I Tanner that the present law as it has
I been construed by the board of health
I was not what the legislature intended
when they enacted it Two years ago. I
I believe that 80 per cent of the people
OF this state oppose the arbitrary rules
Z adopted by the board. The board has
acted unwisely and the people have
Deen aroused In obedience TO the de
mandS Of the people who have sent me
here~I shall vote to pass the bill"
Mr. Murdoch suggested that the
/ board has placed the cart before the
( horse. and that if vaccination is to be
I compulsory, The legislature ought to
enact compulsory vaccination laws out
/ ana cut and then start in bv vacci-
mating everybody, beginning with the
/ governor and the members of the SEN
ate. I would be in favor of it" he
said, but do not feel like going
agains' he wishes of two-thirds of the
On the digestion of Mr.. Thonl as. the
motion of AR. Allison to strike out the
enacting clause was brought up at this
} Juncture. The motion was lost by a
vote Of to u.
To Promote Contagion.
Mr.. Chairman" said Senator Ali
| son, Solemnly, Il move to strike out
the title and substitute as the title
TINS: An act to promote the spread
/ OF contagious Diseases Mr. KieseI
! seconded the motion.
Mr., Smoot thought to relieve the sit
I uatiOn by moving to lay the motion
I on the table. but President Evans sug-
! gested that to lay it on the table would
I take the bill with it. if carried and il
! would go into the records. Thereupon
| MIR. SmoOt hurriedly withdrew his mo-
/ ton, while the opponents of the bill
/ sat back and enjoyed the unique situa-
/ ton.
! The motion to adopt the substitute
! title was then put and the noes roared
/ their dissent in a volume OF sound that
! seemed overshadowing to Mr.. AlIison's
! lone ave"
This out of the way the coast was
/ clear for some more debate and Law
/ renee got the floor.
/ This agitation" said he, has been
/ one OF pTeJudices and bases of people
/ VINO have not taken into consideration
/ the merits or dement's of vaccination
/ They have just taken sides in a con-
/ trOFerSy because their friends were in
/ vOlved- Some Of the honorab BIZ. sena-
/ tors are dangerously near being con-
/ Verted to just recognition of the nee
/ essity for intrusting the board of pub
/ lie health with the care Of the public
/ health The board may have exceeded
/ the powers that the last legislature in
/ tended 10 give, but / do not believe
senator SmOOt is right in assuming that
/ 80 per cent of the people of the state
/ are opposed to vaccination. I am OD-
posed to this measure because ] be
/ lleVe with Senator Allison that if the
! board has not the proper power to
/ check it, the disease will spread"
Carpet Bag Rule.
I Mr.. Thomas was the next to express
( his views; We should not be COM
/ PEELED to submit to carpet bag rule in
/ this state. 1t is not the faIlacy or eff
! cacy Of vaccination that we have to
consider here. but whether we shall
/ submit to surgical operation against
/ our wishes and citizenship rights. I
/ was deceived, as was the entire Iegis-
( lature two years ago. when the present
/ Law was enacted. by the dishonest man
ner in which the board has used the
law It has not been any Deseret News
I that has Influenced me in this cOntro-
{ versy- These physicians who spoke be
IQre the committee arc all taught IN
/ certain school. If they had been taught
in some other school they would be adj
Vocating something else There is
nothing that can prove that vaccination
/ can prevent smallpox, but we can
prove that harm does result from it
Personally I believe that physicians
are a great boon TO humanity. but I
do not believe that tire general public
should be compelled to pay fees for
/ their services when they do not want
/ to-"
M yrbor,.,e cold +1,,+ -i,,,c 80 s,,7
had one of his, children vaccinated
years ago ne had been opposed to it
and he would not have any more of his
fan ly vaccinated. although two of his
older children had elected recently to
comply with the ruling of the board of
health and submit to having their arms
. scratched. He read q pamphlet setting
forth the dire results TO be found in
vaccination and quoted an English doc
tor as authority for the statement that
about 10000 deaths annually result from
diseases contracted from vaccination
There is no opposition to d tolerant
law he said; 1T is an intOlerant law
that the people rise w. against l con-
slider this case of referendum. We
must respect the wishes of our cOnsti-
tuents.
Mr.. Lawrence questioned whether
any reputable physician would oppose
vaccination and declared Il do not
think we ought to set up our judg
ment against that Of experienced sci |
ence."
Il Gm a believer in vaccination; I am
also a believer in popular government
said Senator Love. I have some re-
gard for the kind Of men who would
resist officers going into a house TO
compel the members II a family 10
submit to vaccination.
Barnes Experience.
The actions Of the board of health
struck Mr.. Barnes as very cratic and
he said as much when Mr. Love sat
down. Il was in England fifteen or
twenty years ago when there was an
epidemic of smallpox and ] saw many
dire results arising from vaccination,
which was done under compulsory
laws which have since been modified
So that any one with a conscientious
scrupie against inHocUlatiOn is not sub
jected TO the process"
Said Mr.. Larsen. Il am not convinced
that vaccination viii make a person /
immune from smallpox. I had two
cases Of sickness in my family-One
was smallpox and the other was vac
ciuati0n. and OF the two the vaccina-
ton was the most serious.
II came not TO do my own VIII, but
the will OF those who sent me, =" was the
text which Mr.. Whitney took for an
explanation Of the fact that he was
going to vote in favor of the Mcmillan |
hin mechanically Mr. Whitney brought /