Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-04-26

| Monday mornings session OF the
| executive council was somewhat pro-
Jracted, as it Tapped over into the after
noon by an hour and Il quarter. The
! greater part Of the meeting was used
up in the hearing of the claim of DR.. a.
! o. BOulay. of Walagrass, plantation,
! for 1898 due for vaccinating the in
! habitants of that and Eagle Lake
| plantation, though some little time was
! devoted to the brown tail moth, the
/ confirmation Of the nominations by
! Gov. Hill and Il few other minor mat
| tiers.
The first part of the session was de-
/ voted to the routine matters, confirm
ing Of nominations and listening to re-
! ports Of the various committees. Then
| Commissioner of Agriculture Gilman
| addressed the council, telling them how
| he had recently been notified by Clar-
| encc NJ Weed, state nursery inspector
| % New Hampshire, that the brown tail
moth had crossed into Maine, at Kit
terry. He explained how he had had
| Prof. Wood, Of the State experiment
! station at OrOnO, send an entomologist
| to that section to make an invcsti-
| cation. He gave the summary of her
report which set forth that nearly all
| the trees in door yards We're invested
| with the moth. there being from l to 20
nests to 4 tree. SO far as the entomo-
!C4ist cculd find orchards and trees out
side the village We're not infected.
On Eadger Island, however, which is
| in the river. between Maine and New
| Hampshire, where there was a large
tangle of wild cherry trees and bushes.
as we'll as along the shore they found
some nests. Found one maple tree in
the village infected. The report con-
Guided with the statement that the in
fected district would cover an arear Of
about one-haIf square mile.
The commissioner read Il letter from
\ the president of the State Pathological
society urging that active measures be
taken to stamp out the moth, before it
became to- late. lie then said that the
Kittery local officials were doing all
they could to kill out the menace to the
trees but that it needed the action of
the State officials to make the work a
success. At this time a single dollar
was as good as 10 would be after the
trees had lcafed out and better than $40
next year.
The MOTH said Commissioner Gil
man. lis not only menace to our
torcharGc and trees but to human be-
ines, as well. They act the same as ivy
poison does upon people. They fall up
on clothes hung out to dry and are in
that wy carried into the house and
get upon the persons of human beings
Asked what ne proposed to do and
what he though it would cost, the COM
missioner said that it was his intention
to go 10 %ftcry that afternoon and
take measures to have every nest in
| the place gathered and burned. He
thought it might be possible TO offer
bounty to the boys OF the town OF nall
Il cent for each nest brought in and in
this way stamp it out. Councillor
HaineS remarked that that would en-
| sure the complete destruction of all the
mont nests, all right, as the boys would
dig them out if there were any to be
dug. As to the probable cost, Mr.. Gill
man thought it would not exceed $500
possible not half that amount. He pro-
posed taking charge OF the work in
person and then he would know that
every cent was spent to the best ad
vantagt.
He was Instructed to proceed with
Che work, as the council felt that 1t
SHOULD not be delayed for moment.
III In the case of Dr. Boulay the whole
4 matter hinged upon the question Did
4 Or. f.. +. Flint of Fort Kent, as agent
of the State Board of Health, give the
Wallagrass physician to understand
that the State Board of Health would
1 pay the expense of vaccinating the
L residents of Wallagrass ana Eagle
Lake plantations?" j. A. Laliberte, who
appeared for DIR. Boulay, contended
that he did and introduced letters from
i a number of Augusta men, for his
4 client formerly practiCrd here, TO show
i that the doctor was n man of truth and
i veracity. He then stated his case
4 which was to the effect that in April
4 1908 DIR. Flint. as representative Of
i the State board, went to WallaSrass
and had a board of health organized, to
deal with the smallpox, then prevalent
there, and had DIR. Boulay appointed as
the active member. That DIR. > Flint
gave DIR. Boulay to understand that the
expense of vaccinating would be paid
by the State and that the next day Dr..
Roulay and Vetal Liable, a member of
the new board of health. went to Fort
Kent and received some vaccine points
from Dr. Flint. who told them that the
state would pay for the work. The
4 presented.
/ DR.. Boulay made house to house
4 canvass of the two plantations and
/ vaccinated 431 persons for which he
j had charged so cents each. At first this
n might seem high, said he, but there
were many houses where there were
II not more than one or two to be vacci-
mated and, the people being ignorant,
it required a lot of argument to make
them submit to vaccination. In fact
the only way in which it was ac-
complished was because the doctor was
able to talk their own language and
make them understand better.
DR.. Boulay told his story of the case,
which was substantially as set forth by
his attorney and then DIR. Young ap-
- peared in behalf of the State board.
He explained that the State board did
not make a practice of going into
towns and organized plantations and
rs paying for such work. Even in lumber
fa,-f Ia