The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-09-20
IT IS UP TO The TEACHERS
To Enforce the Law Compelling Pupils to
Present Certificate OF Vsccin.
alton,
OR PUPILS TO STAY OUT OF SCHOOLS.

with request that the same bt
placed in the hands of each teach
er. 1t may be added here that
there is no responsibility with
the board in this matter, and they
are asked to place the circulars
in the hands of the teachers, as a
matter of courtesy to them.
To Principals or Teachers IN
Charge of Schools in Pennsylvan.
ia:
Greeting:-Your attention is
respec fully called to section Il
of the act of assembly CT June 18,
1895, which declares that "all
principals or other persons IN
charge of schools as aforesaid
(namely, public, private, paro-
chial, Sunday or other schools
are hereby required to refuse the
admission of any child to the
schools under their charge or su.
pervison, except upon a certiti.
cate signed by a physician, set.
ting forth that such child has
been successfully vaccinated, or
that it has previously had small.
pox."
Section Fl of the same act pro-
vides that the penalty for failure,
neglect, or refusal to comply with
or violation of this req uirement
shall, Tor every such offence, up
on convection thereof before any
mayor, burgess, alderman, police
magistrate or justice of the peace,
be a fine or penalty of not less
than five dollars or more than one
hundred dollars, and in default
of payment thereof, lmprlson-
ment in the county Jail for a per.
iod not exceeding sixty days.
L beg you to observe that in this
matter the principal or teacher
is responsible, not to the school
directors, but to the health author
tiles of the State or the munich
pallty, and that no action OF the
school directors can supersede
the requirements of the law
Any attempt to shift the respon-
slbllity onto the shoulders of the
directors would therefore be at
tended by serious risk.
do not allow myself to doubt,
however, that your own intelll-
gent appreciation of the import
ance of the strict enforcement of
this law, both for the protection
of the health of the children un-
der your care, as we'll as of that
of the entire community, and for
the avoidance of the serious inter
ference with education which an
outbreak of smallpox IN a com,
munity always involves, will make
further reference to penalties en-
tlrely unnecessary.
SAMUEL Z. DIXON,
Commissioner of Health.
1t will be noticed that the act
above referred to was passed ten
years ago, and no one has had the
nerve to enforce 1t up to this time.
1t was not until the present State
Board of Health was organized,
and a salary OF $4,000 provided
for it's head and allowance of
$4,000 more for office help, that
we are to have this law 20 into
effect.
The burden now falls on the
teachers. They must either turn
pupils out of school, who do not
come with the yellow certihcate,
or run the risk of an officer max.
ing them friendly call some day
and pinching them to the tune of
five to hundred dollars. These
are glorious old times. The pure
food man gets after the country
merchant, and the health officer
is after the poor school marm.
Just here let us say to parents
and guardians, Don't make fuss
about it. 1t is the law, and you
must observe it's provisions or
suffer the consequences. If you
fail to have your child vaccinated,
or II vaccinated, fail to get a cer-
tificate from physician, show
ing that such is the case, the
teacher, to protect herself from
the penalty OF the law, must send
your child home.