The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-09
cHlcAeo's HEALTH LESSON.


had the most remarkable epidemic OF
scarlet fever and diphtheria i'm its his
tory. and one Of the worst ever known
i'm this country. Hundreds Of new cases
daily have been reported while thou
sands have been registered and large
number in existence were not reported.
IN some sections of the city the public
schools have beeen closed and all pub
lie assemblages forbidden, business has
been interrupted. particularly in the
suburbs. and the whole community has
been stirred almost 10 a frenzy by the
Gals to cope with the epidemic or check
its progress.
Several theories were advanced in ex-
PLANTATION of the phenomenon, a cru
SADIE against unsanitary dairies was in
augurated i'm the belief that impure
milk was the principal cause of the
spread Of the disease, and other meas
ures, largely forced by public opinion,
were undertaken, yet the epidemic con-
tinued
Finally some one suggested that the
council committee on health investi
gate the workings Of the health depart
ment. One Whalen. who is head Of the
department had preserved a most re-
markable calm during the excitement
and refused to be at all worried over
the situation because. he said, the death
list was comparatively small. OF
course. the parents of a child who has
scarlet fever don't mind the illness at
ali if the child RECEIVERS. He may have
acute Bright's disease after the fever
i5 over his hearing may be permanent
~ injured or his heart fatally weak
eued. but so long as he does not enter
the death list there is no occasion for
alarm-according to Whalen.
But this nonchalant attitude was the
least of Whalens offenses. When the
council committee got down 10 business
of the best physicians in Chicago. Di-
rected by them. the committee learned
that Whalen has not been quarantining
much more than half the cases where
scarlet fever and diphtheria were re-
ported. His excuse was that the at
tending physicians assumed the re-
sponsibility;" that is TO say, physi-
clan with pull was permitted 20 at
tend his patient and omit quarantine
regulations or the posting of a quaran-
tine flag on the house on his promise to
see that everything was all right
whatever that might mean. In Whal-
ems view, his oath to enforce the laws
had no relation to proper protection OF
the general public from contagion or
infection; all he had to do was to keep
record of the cases and let the doc
tors do the rest.
Quite naturally the council commit
tee as well as the people of Chicago
were astonnded at this display of ia
vcritism and incompetence in a post so
important as Whalen's, and they are
missed Immediately after his admis-
sions is unknown. but a man who would
expose thousands OF children TO deadly
disease because a few physicians did
not like to quarantine their patients is
unfit to be In public service. The health
commissioner ought to be removed
from Office for stupidity, IL not worse.
Apart from the suffering and deaths
and cost OF illness, the loss to Chicago
from this one epidemic is incalculable.
Thousands Of people left the city 20 es-
cape from the danger of disease; other
thousands took their children away for
the same reason. The indirect business
loss must have run into the hundreds
of thousands. and the end is not yet
all because of one mans amazing stu
pidity and willingness to prostitute his
public office for the benefit of physi-
clans who should have known better
than to take advantage of his weak
ness.
Chicago's experience ought to he
lesson to every community i'm the coun-
try. Quarantine regulations are often
incOnvenient for individuals and fami-
lies, but their worth to a community is
indisputable, and they are valuable only
when they are enforced without dis
elimination and in good faith by city
officials and the practicing physicians
upon whom depends the accuracy Of re
ports and the faithfulness with which
the law is observed.
Cyarhape cans mt ont ~, lTo,,5o.- r..