The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-04-02
4 SALARY BOOST
FOR THE HEAL Til
OFFICERS FOUND
It Has Been Discovered That
Law Passed by Last Legis-
lature Will Help Drs. Bond
And King.
ARE PAID ACCORDING
TO THE POPULATION
City Officer Gets Two Cents
Per Head, and County OFF,
Ger Gets One and One-half
Cents a Head.
Especial Correspondent

Indianapolis, April 2.-Some enter
prising investigator has found that a
law passed by the last session of the
legislature will increase the compen-
sation of the secretary of the county
board of health in each county and
the secretary of the city board of
health in each city of the state to
very large extent. This is the law
that fixed the compensation of the
secretary of the city board at two
cents for each inhabitant of the city
and that of the secretary of the coun-
ty board at one and one-half cents for
each inhabitant of the city.
This bill was introduced in the SEN
ate by Senator Ranke. and originally
is proposed to fix the pay of the city
secretaries at three and one half cents
three cents. But before it was passed
the figures were changed to one and
one-half and two cents.
Increase at Clinton.
to show Just what increases will be
made in the pay of these officers in
the various cities and counties, but
that it will result in great increases is
shown by the fact that at Clinton,
Vermillion county, the secretary of
the city board of health now receives
a salary of 5000 year, while under
the new law his pay will be boosted
to $456 year. This one illustration
came to light yesterday. 1t is reason
able to expect that if it works that
way at Clinton it will work in cor
respondii degree in all other places
For instance, if Fort Wayne has co.
600 inhabitants the secretary of the
city board of health will receive $1,000
a year for his services. South Bend,
with, say, $4,000, will pay it's secre-
tary $1,000. The secretary in Richt
mOnd, for instance, will receive, at
the same ratio, between $500 and $500
a year. 1t is pointed out that this is
not bad pay for any physician who
becomes city health officer, for the
position takes very little of his time
in any of the cities of the state. The
only limitation made by the new law
is that no secretary shall receive more
than $500 nor less than $40 a year
for his services.
How Shall They Compute?
But the state authorities are at a
loss to know Just how to compute the
population of the cities and the coun-
n fn Oh
that shall be paid to the secretaries of
the boards of health. Some are of the
opinion that they should have the
figures on the United States census
of 1900 and use that basis until an
other census is taken. Others believe
the method employed by the state
statistician in. estimating population
should govern. The statistician takes
the number of school children shown
by the school enumeration and multi
plies that figure by 31a and the total
thus obtained is accepted as the cor
rect population.
How y. s. Does It.
There are still others who favor the
use Of the United States government
method of arriving at conclusions in
such cases. The government takes
the population as shown by the 1900
census and the figures shown by the
1890 census. 1t finds the difference
between the two. Then 1t divides this
difference by 10 (the number of
years from one census to another. }
The result thus obtained is multiplied
by the number of years that have
elapsed since the last census This
gives what the government regards
as fairly accurate estimate of the
population. 1t is likely, however, that
each city or county will have to de-
eide upon it's own way of estimating
the population before it can settle
with the secretary of it's board OF
health.