Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-05-25
STATE HEALTH BOARD
100 MUCH POWER
-
So Much So That Its Rulings
Are Sometimes Without
Force
CONDITION RESULT
Therefore Board Will Ask Changes in
Law Taking Away Some of It's Au-
thority in Order to Give It More -
Quarantine Rules to be Revised and
Rewritten-Women's Club House.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, May 25.-The Iowa state
board of health has SO much power
that it hasn't scarcely lany. For that
reason it will ask the next legisla-
ture to enact law taking away some
OF its power and thus giving it more.
The law under which the board oper-
ates is too general, is the trouble. The
law gives the state board of health
authority to make rules and regula-
tions for the protection of the public
health and it can call on the courts,
and machineries Of justice to enforce
Its orders. too. Attorney General Null
len in Interpreting the law for the ben
eft of the board atone time told the
board that it had almost unlimited
power in everything affecting the pub
lie health of the state. \
I. But the state board Of health forced
the removal of a doctor UP in Brener
county from the position Of health
officer because he insisted in treating
a care of scarlet fever as the itch and
would not allow the case to be quar-
antined, according to instructions and
orders of the state board of health.
After being out of Office for a few
months the local board of health up
there has put the man back into Of,
flee and the state board of health has
no means Of preventing them from do
ing so.
If the state board Of health finds
that contagious disease is preva-.
lent in community it can order the
cases quarantined. y 1t can send one of
its members to investigate and tax
the expense to the county, but the
county nearly always refuses or at
least strenuously objects to paying the
bills, and the board experiences great
difficulty in making the. collections.
Furthermore, tho the state board Of
health has unlimited power and au-
thority, it has considerable difficulty
in enforcing it's rules as to reports Of
the vital statistics of the state. The
vital statistics of Iowa are practically
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 it is
their duty.
The board at it's next regular meet
ing in July will take up the question
Of its rules and will entirely revise
ard rewrite them. 1t will then seek
to get the doctors Of the state educated
on the matter of the rules ands how
all quarantines should be handled. 1t
will seek to impress the reasonable
ness of its rules on the minds of all
officers of the state and enforce them
with what strength it can besides.
sss
The Des Moines Federation of
Woman's clubs is to have an art gall
lery and club house. The $4,000
worth Of paintings and art collections,
belonging to the club will then be
placed on exhibition. The Des Moines
park board recently purchased the
old Hoyt Sherman residence that
stands at Fifteenth and Woodland.
The grounds Of the residence COM
prise about one block. The board Of
park commissioners purchased the
property which saves one of the resi-
Dental landmarks of the CITY, The
purchase was made after Jan under
standing with the Federation of Wo-
mems clubs that they would remodel
the home and make it into an art gall
lery that should be open to the pub
lie. The club has $4,000 worth Of
paintings and works. Of art most of
which, or large part of which, are
hung on the walls Of the executive
rooms of the state house. A consid-
cradle part of the collection Is stored
because there is no place to keep IT.
The rooms of the governor at the
state house are not the proper place
for the display of paintings, and
neither for the best advantage of the
paintings nor for the best use of the
rooms The public has, however, had
the opportunity Of seeing the paint
ings there. The contract has~ been
made for the remodeling of the Sher-
man home and the work will begin
shortly. The residence was the home
of Hoyt Sherman and the Sherman
family for many years. It leans it
self readily to the purposes of an art
gallery and the public of Des Moines
will thus have the privileges Of an art
gallery open to the public without
public expense. The Federation has
several thousand dollars in its treas
ury which it has been collecting with
the intention Of erecting an art gal
lery and this fund will be sufficient for
the purpose of remodeling the Sher-
man home into an art gallery.
= 4 4
.nhe juvenile court law is having
hard fight in winning its way in Polk
county. In the first place the super
visors of the county with the GUS
tonrary narrow minded thought to de-
sire to see, how little money they can
spend on the enforcement of the ju-
venile court provisions rather than
how efficient they can make the law.
Tho judges did their duty in accord