Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1906-09-28
Official ShiftleSSneSS.

La tht. ten at'S-llrt> ll'lh i.''>' ''
,l..,.. are a few that mav hr described ~
,,,,,,i,,g f,o,u ..remutr mountain hau. |
lets" where. it is true, they are most J.
need of l,.s>ums il hygiene. or rr'N'"''- /
five doctoring. There are towns "aln''
in this list o. our county that VIII l"NN'
hN resent heiug described a. ''>l''i'lrN''
Lrt Nha else is il: Sh"ul = Tor It.
stance the shire town of the county h'
sbiftlpss. or a thriving community HIT
Canaan. of milk and honey, allo" Bag
TO yet in from shiitlessness: We taxi
the names of these towns hecaust the>
have men competent to do the job
though none ever will "eveh the bright
est aud brainiest of them know To"
much about his business
Emerson says there never was want
\ need. that there was not mlnd I"
supply it. 1t had been we'll said before
but in matters of public health 1t Is /
case of where "damnable iteration Il
permissible.
There is no excuse for the delinquent
health officer any more than ignorance
is accepted as a plea i'll the law that
should regulate material affairs. he
state is generous, it is therefore matter
of personal duty in otiicialdOm.
We do not accept the remedy offered
of "a strong centralized government
The very terms used are an offence to a
large number of people likely to come
under the term '.Shftless," though per
haps not "otficial' in Vermont. W.
have got all the government, all the Law
we need, it is up to us as voters to pn'
MEN in places where the safety of the
people is concerned, and have them otti
cially preach to the people. even in ''re
mote mountain hamlets," the gospe
that Cleanliness Is next to Goodness.
The HERALD regrets the neglect o
all the towns mentioned by the MeSsen
ger, especially those of Essex county
Here is the article referred to -
The law of Vermont requires tina
every city or town health officer in tn
state shall attend the school of instruc
ton for health officers conducted an
nually hv the state board of health an,
provides payment for his time in so dc
ing. The object is plain aud one tina
at this late day stands in no need of eX
PLANTATION or emphasis to an inteIIigen
people. These men are the safeguard
of the public health. 1t is obvious tina
even the brightest and braiuiest Of then
never will know too much about hi
business, and equally so that only 10y
mutual understanding of and cooper,
ton in an approved general plan Of Law
enforcement and general supervision {
local health conditions throughout til
entire state can the danger of commW
icahle diseases he materially lessene
and the public safety against epidemic
and other risks minimized. 1t is rlai
that the towns must work together in a
this, because no town can through i
norance or neglect permit unhealthy COZ
ditions to exist within its own horde
and at the same time pretend that II
risk to health is confined there. Or
shiftiess town out of the 246 can he ii
means of endangering health aud hv
in all the other 243.
However, notwithstanding the We
known fact that the law requires the a
tendance Of these PIG health officers
the annual school of instruction, II
state hoard of health reports that no -
than % did not attend at all. of who
four were excused by reason of sickne,
ii re is the list of delinquent tow
reported:
Addison County, I. Bennington, |
Caledonia, 4. Uhi.tenden, l. Essex.
Franklin, }. Lamoillp, 3. Orange,
Orleans, II. Rutland, s. Washingto
&. Wlndham, II. Windsor, 10. Fo
We've excused by reason of sickness.
Cine ten delinquent towns of Ess,
county are :-Bioomtieid, Bruuswic
Canaan, East Haven, CRANKY, Guildha
Lexington, Maidstone, Norton and V
tory)
This is no new story. More or Il
the same general list of deIinquents
published year after year, aud The Nj
senger itself has invited attention to t
matter before. One can uudersta
how possibly some of the most rem,
mountain hamlets included in this
would find it difficult, tinst, to select
very competent health officer at all, ~
second, to find him in man that co,
we'll afford to make this journey to
annual school of instruction. On
other hand, it is true that those are
very towns WHOSE health officers ST.,
most in need of the benefits of {
school OF instruction. But glance
the foregoing list will discover the nan
OF towns whose health officers can pie
no reasonable excuse for non-attendan
There are towns in this list of del
qnents that are large enough to be u
to support an efficient health nfIinnr =.