Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-07-02

polluted water slaughter houses, sew
age and the carrying on of business or
/ trade so as to cause annoyance or dis
comfort to persons living in the vicinity.
The speaker then outlined the various
other trades which arc considered under
the head of nuisanccs and explained some
of the most useful methods of dealing
with them as viewed from the health
officers standpoint
The discussion of this subject was
opened by Dr. H. T.. Somers of West
! Derby. who outlined some of the most
! common complaints received by health
officers and the best way of dealing with
! them
! At the close OF the discussion the meet
! ing was adjourned until u. m.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The afternoon session opened at three
! o'clock. the first paper presented being
one dealing with the subject of The
Local Health officer" by II. Il. Stllson
of Bennington. Mr., Stllson's remarks
dealt with the relation of the local health
! officer to the local board of health
The health officers success. he said,
depends greatly upon the attitude as
sumed by the official. and whether in
the pursuit OF his duty lie presents tho
! mailed ns, OF the officer of the law, or
that o: Il ncighbor and fellow citizen;
whether he approaches tie family aflict-
/ cd in the spirit Of one who desires to
| help them out of trouble. or as "A dicta-
! tor of conduct. In sense of the law he
| is dictator but the as, umption should
ever be before the official that his neigh
Dor IS in trouble and that primarily he
is there to assist him The records kept
by the health officer are also Important
They should be kept ny the officer FOR his
own protection and as q reference in flu
turc wears should they ever be investi-
gated Wealth officers should spare
Themselves nothing in the way of rem
derinG their labors efficient The inte-
ests Of the health officer and the local
board Of health. of which, he is secretary
and executive officer, are Identical and
the relations should and must he cordial
In periods of quarantine. if the officer
approaches his duty Ike one who really
intends to help his fellows, doing what
ever Is consistent to keep the wage
Garner at work. urging upon the lndolcrt
and careless the necessity of sanitation
for safety's sake. there will be little
troupe Ill producing u'S'lN'i lfSu!tS
Lastly, Mr.. Stillson said that jurisdic-
tons employing competent health officers
are becoming more liberal. possibly be-
cause the clear-headed Nermonter is just
becoming convinced that cheap service
is dear a any price.
The discussion OF NJ. Stil'sons paper was
opened Ivy Or. A. C. Bailey of Randolph.
who said that the subject was one which
any that would come up during me session.
The duties o. health officer are many
and the compensation is not always equal
to the work. Mr.. Bailey said he con-
sldcred the first duty of the officer to
be to educate the public and then see
that HIS work Is respected The discussion
was continued by Or. c. NJ. Campbell of
Rochester and several others who brought
out many points Of value for the con-
sideration of the health officer.
SANITATION OF PUBLIC BUILD
INGS."
The, last paper Of the afternoon session
was presented by William Paul Gerhard,
c. T., of New York on sanitation of
Public Buildings"
DR.. Gerhard took up several points re-
gardng the sanitation of public build
inEs dividing them into several classes,
according to their uses and locations, CIV
ing detailed explanation of the methods
employed in their sanitation. The most
important of tie group of public buildings
where large numbers OF people are
sheltered during the day and night are
houses and office buildings. Another class
| h,,i1 ha hpt
markets DIR. Gerhard touched on the
work of sanitation in hospitals. bath
houses. churches theatres. and school
houses and explained at length the diff
ferent points to be considered, such as
location. water supply, fire protection.
sewage disposal. etc, in the sanitation OF
such buildings.
The discussion OF DR.. Gcrhard's paper
was opened By S. W. Butterheld. who
was followed By G. Il. Kent of Dorset;
Prof. d. b.. Locke, superintendent of
schools, Rutland and several others. The
discussion brought out several points
which were cleared up by DR.. Gerhard in
! closing the discussion.
The afternoon session was then ad-
journed until evening.
EVENING SESSION.
The evening session opened at eight
o'clock, the first paper being on The
| Importance of Vital Statistics" by Ed
ward y. Clark of Castleton. The speaker
! showed that the registration of vital
| statistics is OF more than passing i'm
! portance The statistics OF our State for
fifty years. even though they are in
complete and faulty. have in many in
stances shown that our ancestors did
more wisely than they knew.
In times past many physicians have
| made only the most pcrfunctOry returns,
doing as little as they possibly could to
comply with the law in regard to registra-
ton. Nowadays the importance of vital
statistics may he considered under three
heads. first. their value to health Of
fcials. second, their value to the COM
munity. and lastly their value to the
individual seeking to establish his family
history or to locate his dead.
Statistics to be of value must be exact.
complete. written and uniform. The
speaker closed by citing some examples
Of cases where vital statistics have been
of great value.
The discussion of the subject was taken
up by several health officers who act
In the capacity of town clerks.
PLUMBING, ADVANCED AND SIM
"