Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1910-10-03
TO TAKE GENIUS
OF CONSUMP TvES
LIVING IN Ne WARk
Anti-TubercnIosis Society De-
cIares Local Doctors Are Lax
in Reporting Cases.

In view of the very lax system that is
being followed by the physicians of this
city in reporting the existence of cases
of tuberculosis that come to their at
tention the Newark Anti-Tuberculosis
Association announced today its inten-
tion of making a thorough canvass of
the city with view of determining as
near as possible just how many such
cases there are Of this disease
1t is estimated that there are at pres
ent between four and five thousand
positive cases of tuberculosis in New
ark, but the city laboratory, where the
sputum of suspected cases is sent, has
a record of only four hundred and
eighty-four cases from January to
September l, while the Board of Health,
where all such cases should be reported,
shows the existence of only eighteen
cases
That there should be more than four
thousand cases of tuberculosis in this
city, of which there is no official record
is a condition that will, it has been said.
doubtless result in criminal action be-
ing taken against the physicians who
have been violating the requirements OF
both the State law and the local ordi-
nance regulating such matters. A law
passed at the last Legislature makes II
compulsory to report to the local Board
of Health all cases of tuberculosis
coming to the attention of physicians
and local ordnance backs up the
State law to the same effect.
May Punish for Not Reporting.
A penalty of from $40 to 800 Is
named as the possible fine for failure
to report positive cases of tubercu-
losis and the only excuse that the
physicians have advanced for theil
failure to live up to the requirement.
of the law is that they have not beer
able to prove the cases positively. AS 6
matter of fact 1t is allefed that they
have made no effort to prove the cases
and the best evidence of this is thu
fact that the city laboratory has hat
such small percentage of cases t.
investigate.
The record of cases reported to th'
CITY clerk and to the Board Of Healtl
very nearly correspond, the slight dis
crepency in this regard being explained
on the ground that the city clerks or
flee complies the statistics from montl
to month while the Board of Healtl
gets out a report from week to week
There has usually been temporar.
discrepancy between the figures of tc'
two offices, but at the end of the yea
they tally correctly, and 1t could no
very well be otherwise as reports o
deaths arc flee with the Board o
Health very promptly by physicians.
Surprise is expressed that the law re
garding the records of cases of tuber
culosis should have been ignored S
long by local physicians, but the Boar
of Health is now determined to see tina
in tho future the ordinance is lived u
to IN all its details
Health BDnrd viii Be strict.
Heretofore the board has been willin
to accept the excuse that proof of posi-
4 tive tuberculosis had not been show
in tie case under suspicion, but thi
explanation will no longer he accepted
and physicians will be compelled t
send sputum to the city laborator
in every instance where the disease
suspected.
Another step in the fight agains
tuberculosis will be taken shortl
when an effort win be made to abolis
the common drinking cup in all pub
lie schools railroad trains and at pub
lie fountains.