Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-24

|
performing his duty as a physician.
| Il thereupon called the attention of
| this board 10 the rules of health;
stated the last case brought to my
notice. / did not mention the name of
DR.. Jay or any one. | simply wanted
| the physicians, one and all, to be alert
to cooperate with the city officials to
prevent a possible epidemic. Epidem-
! les are expensive, as we'll as danger
touS.
| "5. DR.. Jay, at the next meeting of
| the board, took upon himself to defend
his action. l had not named him or
designated a case. l can construe his
! action in no other way than an implied
admission that he was the guilty per-
son. Why else should he defend him
self, when | had named no particular
physician?
"6. I advised DR.. Jay, at that meet
ing. that if he failed ~ promptly re-
port cases in the future | would bring
the matter to the attention of the state
board of health, for them to determine
whether his certificate should be re-
i voked. While DIR. Jay states he will
not report to the mayor | have no
| idea he will in the future refuse to
| OBEY the law. 1t seems to me he has
been sufficiently impressed with the
| idea that he must personally report
smallpox cases, and not leave the fact
| of the existence of the disease to reach
| the mayor thru other channels.
| Rule 80 of the rules of the board
Of health provides that If any physi-
clan fails to promptly report a case Of
smallpox to which he has been called
professionally. to the mayor, that Of
fetal shall make affidavit of the facts
to the state board Of health, who shall
cite the physician to appear to show
cause why his certificate should not be
revoked.
1T is perhaps my duty to file these
charges. have decided not to do so
at the present time, for the following
reasons:
l. DIR. Jay has contended I have been
:lctuated by personal motives. This is
not true. had no such motive. ! en-
deavored to protect him as far as I
could consistently do so with safety
| to the public. I mentioned no names
His connection with the Reisinger case
has been precipitated by himself; not
by me. But as long as DR.. Jay now
makes that charge. it does not seem
wise for me to place myself in the at
titude Of prosecutor.
"2. I believe the public interests
have at present been subserved and
that in the future all physicians, in
Guiding DIR. Jay. will be vigilant in fol-
lowing the rules of the state board of
health.
"3. The suspension or revocation OF
DR.. Jays certificate seems to me an
extreme remedy. and at present unnec-
essary to be demanded.
"While these are my conclusions, yet
they are not binding on this body. The
facts, in the form of affidavits, are be-
fore you. and if this board of health
deem it expedient to follow the matter
further. you have the data upon which
to proceed
while do not counsel that course.
yet II this body instructs the mayor to
file charges, your instructions will re-
ceive prompt attention and action.
Respectfully submitted.
20. L. INGLEDUE.
Mayor.
Dr.. Jays Side.
DR.. Jay replied Immediately upon
the conclusion Of the affidavits. II
see you have got the thing badly
mixed" he said to the mayor. 81 in
sist that the president pro tenn preside
at this meeting. I don't propose that
you shall be the Judge and the jury.
and it seems your intention to cut me
out of anything may have to say
The mayor replied that the president
pro TEN was absent, and DR.. Jay did
not urge his point.
"Am. to understand by your state
ment." he said, addressing the mayor,
that you claim I was the attending
physician Of the Reisinger family. If so
repeat you are badly mixed. I new
err saw George Reisinger. when he was
sick, and was never called when the
others were sick Of smallpox. I never
saw any Of the family until I was
called to vaccinate them, and 1 want to
say right here that if the members Of
the family had been vaccinated ten
days before, when they should have
been, Mrs. Reisinger would have prob
ably escaped the smallpox.
As to the Stanton Case.
Now as to the Stanton case. / was
no more their attending physician than
was DR.. Chesire. The case belonged to
another doctor, and ! was called to
confirm a diagnosis DIR. Chesire was
there at the same time, and we made
the same diagnosis. Mr.. Stanton was
then broken out. The report has been
circulated about the streets that I let
Mr. Stanton go abroad after he had
the smallpox That is not true for
didn't see him until after he had brok-
en- out Under the circumstances did not
feel that it was any more my duty to
report the case than it was DR.. Ches-
Tres, for I did not consider that I was
the family's physician"
The mayor then asked DR.. Jay if he
would concede that the state boards
rule was applicable to this case.
DR.. Jay replied that he considered
that the quarantine had beer -.operly
reported. eff we (meaning himself and
DIR. Chesire) had been called into the
case together, what difference did it
make who reported the case, or DR..
Chesire?" Another thing I would wish
to ask the mayor, and that is. have you
printed cards on which to report small
pox cases?"
The mayor replied that he had fur
nished every physician in the city with
printed cards on which to report
smallpox cases. and that he held DR..
Jays receipt for twenty-five of these
cards.
DR.. Jay replied that the cards might
have been receipted for at his office, but
that he was not in possession of any.