The San Francisco call., 1907-02-04
Anti-V acCinati0n
Fight Will Be
Waged Again
CALL HEADQUARTERS,
1907 EIGHTH STREET.
SACRAMENTO, Feb. 3.-Witl

OASINfAlILiN W CD. =" w ltn
the return of the junketers. most of
whom are due to answer roll call to-
morrow. the Assembly will take up con-
tested measures now on the third read
ing file and press them to a vote. This
means that a hot battle over the bill to
prevent compulsory vaccination will
soon be on.
The aye and no test will be taken
either tomorrow or Tuesday. and both
sides are predicting victory. although
neither one has as yet made a careful
canvass of the lower house.
Since the Assembly met on January
5 two antivaccination bills have been
introduced. One by John M Eshleman
of Berkeley makes it a misdemeanor
cination as a condition for admission
to the public schools. The other by
George L. Sackett of Ventura, repeals
the law calling for general vaccination.
TEST ON SACKEIpS BILL
the committee on public health and
quarantine, which is controlled by
three physicians and an undertaken
and seems to be taking it's long, last
rest. Sacketts bill lodged its natural
enemies, slipped into the committee of
education, of which Sackett is chair
man, and emerged a few days later
with favorable recommendation.
The test will come on Sackett's bill
-, rss< l
himself. He was superintendent of
Schools of Ventura County for num-
Der of years, and believes that COM
pulsory vaccination keeps a large per-
centage of the children of theFState
out of the schools. His argument con-
fines itself TO what is best for the
schools and eliminates, so far as pos
sible, whether or not vaccination really
prevents epidemics of smallpox. Eshle-
man will ably support Sackett in the
fight and both expect to bring up rein
forcements at the critical moment
WILL HURL STATISTICS
Before the vote is taken statistics
will be hurled to and fro with prodigal
generosity. Advocates of the bill will
try to make point of the fact that
more than a third of the school census
children in the State have never been
vaccinated. In 1906 there were 321, $40
school census children in the State. OF
these 1920 have managed to escape
the official scrapers and inoculators of
virus. The figures show that the vac
cination laws have been more strictly
enforced in Sske Francisco than in any
other place CT fhe State. For instance,
9343 of Los Angeles County's 61,S27
school census children remain unvac-
cinated while San Francisco reports
show that out of 59,571 school census
children only 1907 are barred from
public schools by reason of failure to
qualify under the vaccination law.
Interior counties, however, run close
will give strength to the argument of
the Observation-Disclosures that the pres
ent law forbids more than a hundred
thousand children the privileges Of
the public schools.
FIGHT OF TWO YEARS AGO
Two years ago the Assembly was the
scene of a bitter. fight over an anti
vaccination bill which had been intro
duced in the Senate by Senator Frank
w. Leavitt. When first put to vote
it was beaten, the roll call showing
thirty-ni ayes to thirty-two noes
The antivaccinationists were two votes
tion a few days later they won the day
The bill went over to Governor Pardee,
talk about the Japanese war situation
A ,fxol TN1xx- l~,,-