The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-17
SmoOt Mouth" Resorts ia
Sweeping Charges in Effort
to Make Point.
RED HEADLINES FAIL
TO PROVE ITS CASE
Effort to Place Blame for Deaths
ON the Board Falls
Flat.


headlines mostly, has been attempting
10 prejudice the public Of Salt Lake
City against the city board of health. ,
charging it in gittcring generalities
that told little and meant less with in
competence and negligence and Il whole
lot Of other things that few persons
paid any attention to,
The latest frantic. but rather inco
hcrcnt and Intellectual attempt of the
Mouth TO discredit the board Of
health in its handling Of the contagious
and infectious disease situation, was
made Sunday morning in connection
with the death from scarlatina OF
Hazel Evelyn Evans, the 7-ycar.old1
daughter of Joseph T.. Evans of Tbir-
tceuth West and Eighth North streets,
who at the present is O. mission in
England. This was the second death
in the family from the same disease
within twentyfour hours, and third
child is seriously ill Of the disease. The
first child 10 be taken was Emily
Evans, ) years old, who died Friday
afternoon, The i'll child is Rhoda, 9
years old.
The "Mouth'' would have pconle be
hcvc that the board Of health is di
rccily responsible for the deaths of
these children and the illness of the
third. when there is nothing at all in
the situation TO Justify such thing.
The mother is quoted as expressing the
belief that the children contracted the
disease from germs that she carried from
Il laundry whore she works, or had
been working mp until 4 week or ten
days ago. The germs supposedly came
90 the laundry in clothes from homes
from which the scarlet fever Quaran-
tine had been raised, if the mothcr's
opinion was given correctly in the usu-
ally incorrect - Mouth. - The I" Mouth's
goes on TO set out that friends OF the
afflicted FAMILY say that the laundry
has been in the habit of receiving
clothes from homes that have been re-
leased from quarantine, but is delight
fully indefinite and uncxplicit. for the
name of the laundry is not specified
neither are the names Of any of these.
"frcuds' - set out
If the afflicted children contracted
the disease from germs the mother car-|
ricd TO them from clothes sent to the
laundry from homes released from quar-
antiuc, as the ''Mouth' says they
may have done the board of health
under the law, clearly is not TO blame.|
/; The board has absolutely nothing to do
with the situation after the quarantine
has been released. When the twenty-'
one days for any ono case of scarlet
fever TO rum has expired, the board Of
health. upon the report from the att
tending physician that tho case is ready
TO bc released, thoroughly fumigatcs'
and disiufccts thc premises and clothing
of the family and raises the quaran-
tine. What the family does with its
clothing after it has been thoroughly|
fumigated-as the board always does
or anything else after the quarantine
is raised, is a private, personal privi-
lcgc uncontrolled by the board Of.
health. Under the law the board has
no rights IN such a matter. unless IL
desired 10 get the city tangled up in.
q law suit.
Real Facts in Case.
The facts in the case arc these: Tho
first child in the family became ill.
about two weeks ago \ physician was
called and the board of health was no.
titled \ quarantine was promptly
established and is still being maiptained
and Will he maintained until the disease
in the family disappears entirely and
there is no danger to others from con-
tagion. Whether the disease was com.
trac,cd in the Evans family in the man.
H'i lnllfldlSD pN tue Mouth Is q
matter OF opinion. The "Mouth
simply used thc misfortune that threat
ems TO wipe ont family to charge in-
competence and negligence against the
board of health, without rhyme or rea-'
son. but for partisan purposes, and in
spite of the fact that owing 10 the dill.
gcnco and efficiency of the health dc.
partmcnt the contagious and infections
disease situation in the city for the last
week showed wonderful improvcment
over the prcvlous week. There were
only 33 cases of contagious and in
tcctiouS diseases reported for the week
cudinG Saturday rs compared TO sc
cases for the previous week, almost
twice as many.
Smallpox dropped from Is cases for
the week before to i eases for last
week, Il decrease of q cases Whoopinc
cough almost disappeared from tho re-
port, only ; cases being reported for the
week lnst ended, as against IL cases
for the previous seven DAYS. There
were only : cases each of chickenpox
and diphthcgia reported for the week
Just ended. The rest Of the blanks for
contagious and infectious diseases be-
ing vacant. Scarlet fever was the only .
disease 10 show an increase, and only
: more cases Of this disease were re-
ported for the week Just ended as
against the previous week The num-
Der Of cases of scarlet fever last week
was H.. the number of the previous
week 30.