Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-05-28
HEALTH BOARD
HAS GRlEV ANCE
PRESENT LAWS GIVE UNLIMITED
POWER, BUT DO NOT WORK OUT
REsuLTs-REFoRM URGED. :.
Des Moines Bureau OF
The Ottumwa Courier,

Des Moines Bureau OF
The Ottumwa Courier,
Des Moines, May 20.
The Iowa State Board of Health
has so much power that it hasn't
scarcely any. For that reason 1t Will
ask the next legislature to enact
law taking away some of Its power
and thus giving it more.
The law under which the board
operates is too general, is the trou.
BILE The law gives the state board
of health authority to makes rules
and regulations for the protection OF
the public health and 1t can call on
the courts and machineries of Justice
to enforce its orders too. Attorney
General Mullen in interpreting the
law for the benefit Of the board at
one time told the board that 1t had
almost unlimited power in everything
affecting the public health of the state.
But the state board Of health forced
the removal of doctor UP in Bremen
county from the position OF health Of
flcer because he insisted on treating
a case of scarlet fever as the itch and
would not allow the case to be quar-
antined according to the instructions
and orders of the state board OF
health. After being out of office for
few months the local board OF health
up there has put the man back into
office and the state board OF health
has no means of preventing them
from doing 30.
If the state board Of health finds
that a contagious disease is prevalent
in a community 1t can order the case
quarantined. 1t can send one OF
It's members to investigate and tax
the expense to the county, but the
county nearly always refuses or ut
least strenuously objects to paying the
bills and the board experiences great
difficulty in making the collection.
Furthermore, though the state board
of health has unlimited power and
authority It has considerable difficulty
in enforcing it's rules as to reports
OF the total statistics Of the state.
The vital statistics of Iowa are prac-
tically worthless and have been for
several years. In the first place the
method OF gathering the statistics has
been changed several times which
in itself is enough to cause failure to
make the reports and In addition
many do not make the reports when
they find 1t Is their duty.
The board at its next regular meet
ing In July will take up the question
of Its rules and will entirely revise
and rewrite them 1t will then seek
to get the doctors of the state edrl-
Gated on the matter of the rules and
how all guarantees should be handled.
It will seek to impress the reason
ableness Of its rules on the minds Of
them with what strength it can be-
sides.
The movement to have a longer
school year according to educators
will help to solve the question of the
shortage Of teachers in Iowa. In the
country districts the school year Is
short. 1t is in many instances only
five or six months In the cities 1t is
nearly always nine and sometimes as
long as ten months. The compensa-
ton in the city Is greater per month
than in the country, but it is antici-
pated by leading educators that II 1t
were not for the fact that there is nine
and ten months school In the cities
the shortage of teachers there would
be nearly as great as in the coun-
try. II the cities had but five or six
months school, unless the wages were
CORRESPONDENCE increased the teach
ers would seek other professions
get married.
fot tcff< No <>pA 4,
year in Iowa are not very valuable
because Of the method in obtaining
the average. Heretofore it has been
the custom to add together the mum.
Der of months the various public
school of the state are open and d.
vide that by the total number Of
schools. Ordinarily that would seem
to be the way to get the average, but
when 1t Is explained that the school
with but five months usually has but
four or five pupils while the school
with ten months as In the city where
there are sometimes 1000 to 1000
pupils 1t is at once apparent that If
the statistics are to show the length
of school there is available to the chill
dren Of the state the larger number
of children enrolled in the ten months
schools must be taken into considera-
ton tn getting the average.
The statistics for 1906 were com
puted by the state superintendent Of
fce on the new idea of allowing for
the number of children enrolled, but
all the other years the average was
based on the old idea The figures
showing the number of days of school
offered are as follows: In 1907, 1853
days; 1898, 1852; 1899, 159; 1900, 100:
1901. 100; 1902, 100; 1903, 100; 1904,
ISL; 1905. 100; 1905, ITO. The DIFF
ference In the figures is at once ap-
parent. Under the old means of com
putting the statistics there were about
eight months school counting 20 days
(school days. to the month. Under
the new method there is shown to
be eight and half months.
The cities Of Iowa that have more
than nine months school with the
number OF months school Of each are