The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-01-26
BY DIR. Lewis.

reasonable person as 10 bHe lluS haeuA :
of the eruptive disease prevailing in Will
son county, l did not intend to impose
further upon your readers, but the char
acter of DR., Herrings letter in your last
Sundays paper rejecting on my profess
sional conduct. renders 1T necessary
withdrawing the disparity between
"bl,lnderbus" and "Mauser rifle
II is hardly necessary to argue further
the question as to whether the disease
is smallpox or not. DR.. O'Hagan, state
Smallpox Inspector Taylor, United States
Expert Hobby, and the superintendent OF
health of every one of the adjoining
counties say it is smallpox. And after
the visit of Surgeon Hobby all the doc
tors in Wilson agreed to call it small
pox," according to the representatives
from that county in the Rocky Mount
meeting, But they seem to have over
looked Dr.. Herring The Doctor says |
ought to beg his pardon for calling MIN
"A '>chickenpox doctor" / would, but for
the fact that it is generic term intend
ed to include all those denying the disease
TO be smallpox, and therefore lncluding
him. However, if it will salve his
wounded feelings, | will remove him IRON
the chickenpox class and promote him TO
the higher class of the Cuban itch-ers"
the Elephant itch-ers," the Georgia
bumpers" or the whatever it is, al
lowing him the privilege of selecting
his associates. But when he says: "Dr,
Anderson. our health officer has repeat
edly pointed out the different character
istics of the two affections, but he mas
been laughed at, ignored and treated IN
decently and unprofessionally by the
Secretary of our State Board OF Health,
the matter assumes a very serious COM
plexion and demands that for myself and
the board I represent | should make
fuller statement, as much as regret TO
do so.
In my article l was very careful not
to mention the name of the Superlnten-
dent Of Health, and said nothing to ms
discredit unless the assertion that ne
called the disease chickenpox be SO con-
.sidered, being careful, however, in even
making that assertion to give him credit
for being honest and sincere in his opin-
ion.
have never treated DR.. Anderson I'M
professionally. On the contrary, as II
happens, l have extended to him profess
siOnal courtesies in specific act since
our disagreement as to the nature OF
the eruptive disease in his county. Ana
| am ready to repeat such courtesles 10
him should occasion arise. But my rela-
tions with him in this business are not
professional but official. Doctor Lewis
has never treated Doctor Anderson with
anything but respect and courtesy, but
am free to say that Secretary Lewis has
ignored Superintendent Anderson dellb-
erately and regretfully for what seemed
to him good and sufficient reason, when
/ will give presently. AS matter Oh
fact | and the Board of Health have been
ignored by him throughout. In the pe-
ginning, last spring, when there was a
difference of opinion as to the nature oil
~he disease, he did not ask for any ex-
vert to settle the question. DR.. Albert
anderson. then a member of the State
lsoard of Health, thought that it should
be settled, asked for the expert and /
sent DR.. Tayloe During the summer |
received a telegram from the Surgeon
General of the United States Marine Hos
pital Service, saying that Wilson had
asked for an expert, and requesting IN
structions. The President of the Board
happening to be with me at the time an
swered the telegram by requesting the
Surgeon General to send this reply, as |
remember it, "All applications must come
through the State Board of Health APP
ply to Lewis Secretary" | hoped then
that day was beginning to break and
waited patiently for the application from
superintendent Anderson, intending upon
it's receipt to have the United States eX-
pert sent Immediately to him. Not
word on the subject have | heard from
the Superintendent from that day to this.
Who was ignored in this transaction?
At tho conioint session of the State
Board of Health with the State Medical
Society at Durham in May, in making my
annual report on mall-pox l asked for
instructions as to how | should, report
the disease in Wilson. superintendent
Anderson was present and argued the
question at length from his p>int of view,
being or the floor three times. Quite
number of gentlemen took part in the
discussion, among them some of the lead
ing medical men of the State, and al
though neither DR.. Albert Anderson nor
Dr. Tayloe was present, every single one,
without exception as | remember, basing
his remarks on superintendent Ander-
sons own description of the disease, ex-
pressed the opinion that it was small
pox. But it never faxed the Superintend-
ent.
The law requires that the County Su-
perintendent of Health shall report 10
the Secretary of the State Board all cases
of small pox within twenty-four hours
after they come to his notice. Not
single case of smallpox has Superintend-
ent Anderson reported to me since he re-
ported 8 for March The afterwards took
that back until his last report for De-
cember, when he reported 10 cases.
There can be only one conclusion from
the above statement of facts and that is
that "Ephraim is joined to his Idols.
And so, following the scriptural injunc-
ton. LET him alone" Despairing of ac
complishing anything through the
Superintendent and feeling it to
be my duty as the executive
officer of the State Board of
Health in response to cries for help from
adjoining counties to lend every assist
ance in nay power, Il appealed to Caesar
Ito the County Sanitary Committee,
which according to the law, shall have
the care and responsibility of the health
interest Of their county. and oflwhich
bodv the SUPERINTENDENT of Health is