The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-10
STORRS' NEGLECT
Showing Contempt for the City
Health Laws.
Does Nothing to Check Spread
of Typhoid.
HAS MADE NO REPORT,
But City Ordinances Provide
That He Shall.
Why Doesn't StOrrs Find Out
About the Water2

City Physician Storrs seems to be
taking no action whatever to check the
spread of typhoid fever. He has ap-
parently made no effort to either ascer-
tain the exact extent of the epidemic, as
required by law, nor has he investigated
the sanitary condition of the city and
the purity of the water. both of which
seem to be causing so much disease
DR.. Storrs contempt for the law
seems as frank and open as his con-
tempt for popular opinion. He not only
refuses to Aive the public the truth
about the location and number or cases
of contagious diseases in the city, but
for the four months he has been IN Of
flee he has made no written report of
such cases to the city council, as the
city ordinances require he shall do. The
following is the law on that point:
Ordinance 219O. Sec. 5: THE city
physician shall also on the first day of
each month make a written report of all
cases treated by him at the city hos
pital, or pest house or elsewhere, as
herein required to be treated by him,
and whenever required by the mayor,
he shall make written report giving
any and all information in regard to the
city hospital or pest house and all per-
sons confined therein
There may be some question as to the
legal obligation of the city physician
to keep any office record of contagious
disease cases. and there is some reason
to believe that he has abolished the
precedent of the past eighteen years
and is no longer keeping such record.
But the law is plain as to his duty to
report such cases in writing once a
month. and Storrs has for four months
violated the law. Not a single time
since he has been in office has he made
a report as required by law.
1t is evident that this provision was
put into the ordinances for the express
purpose of putting a check to just
such star chamber methods as StorrS
has adopted. 1t never has been the
policy of the city government to sup
press public records until Storrs started
in his occupancy of. minor office which
proved to be several sizes too large for
him
Another point of law which DIR.
Storrs has apparently forgotten to en-
force is this:
Every practicing physician in the
city of Topeka shall report all cases of
whooping cough, typhoid fever and tub
erculosis that he may be called upon to
attend in the city of Topeka to the city
physician within five days after having
examined or treated said person."
This is section ?. ordinance 2190, and it
would be nice idea for DR.. Storrs TO
get his ordinance book and read it
through.
A few days ago, it was stated by one
of DR.. .Storrs official employees that there
had been a report received of only one
case of typhoid fever in town. AS a
matter of fact. there are over d hundred
cases in the city. 1t is more prevail
ent than any contagious disease has
been for years. Storrs has not even at
tempted to secure reports showing the
true condition of the city in regard to
typhoid. He has done absolutely moth
ing to warn the public, or protect it.
But that is not his way. He doesn't
give fig for the public, and thinks the
best way to keep people from catching
contagious disease is to fool them into
thinking there is no contagion. This
ought TO please the Christian ScientiS
adherents-
1t is no wonder that doctors do not
report cases OF contaglon to the city
when for four months he has
given the city an object lesson in ne
glecting to make his own reports as
required by law.
Typhoid fever germs are propagated
largely by poor sanitary conditions and
poor water. 1t is generally believed
that the water in tine city is suspicious,
and likely to contain typhoid fever
germs Why doesn't Storrs, as guar
dian of the public health, ind out the
facts? Why does he not ascertain the
location of every case of typhoid in
town. as the law gives him authority
to do and try to locate the sources OF
the disease? The existence of great
number of cases IN any given AOcdleS
indicates that something is radically
wrong in that locality, and it Is the
duty of the city physician to locate the
trouble, and rectify it.
OF course, as long as Storrs can en-
courage the spread of typhoid fever by
neglecting it, he is making business for
the physicians, and he probably gets
his share. or hopes to.
1t may be that DR.. Storrs has not up
to this time known of the existence of
the law requiring him to make monthly
reports on the cases of conta gious dis
ease in the city, and possibly he did
not know that he had authority to call
upon the physicians of the city for
report of all cases of typhoid. The doe
tor is very seldom seen at his office
in the city hall. and naturally gets
bit rusty about his city job, which pays
only $50 a month. But the State Jour
nal has brought the matter to his at
tention now and it is uD to the doctor
to do something for the prevention of
the spread of typhoid.