Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-04-16
SHELVE SCHEME
FOR ONE OFFICER
FOR THE ORANGES
East Orange Improvers Fight
Shy of Joint Health
Supervision.

Agreeing that the number Of people
at the meeting was too small to war
rant the organization putting itselE
on record one way or the other, mem
bsrs of the Second Ward Improve
raent Association Of East Orange last
night shelved until next meeting
vigorous discussion on the question Oh
employing a single health ofncer ror
the five Oranges.
At the same time, less than three
blocks away. the East Orange Board
az Health was completing arrange
rnents to hold examinations for the
nnsition of health officer In that city.
Sao,,sS the board succeed in appoint
ia5 man for the position before
stems can be taken to adopt the plah
of fine Improvement association, II IL
doubtful IL the scheme would haFe
any chance of being carried out
The scheme was laid before the in
nroyers last night by Miss Edith
Rockwell Hall, a member Of the Or
s,anization who declared she did not
wish to impugn the efficiency o. tno
-,,.asant BOARD OF Health, but tnat
she was advocating the step lor
purely economic reasons. IN her ao-
dress she stated that by allowing
Health officer Frank J. Osborne OF
orange. to act in that capacity Tor
all the Oranges q saving OF 2'ooV
could be effected in East Orange
Plan Received Coldly.
The idea has already been laid be-
fore the East Orange and West Or
auge health boards. In the latter II
vas proposed by DR.. Morris Farkas,
health officer, and met with q colo
reception. DR.. Ralph H. Hunt, presi-
dent of the East Orange board, also
offered it as a suggestion to members
Of his own board, at the request OF
Miss Hall, but here it also failed TO
find favor.
Since It was decided by the East
Orange board to dispense with the
services Of Health Offlcer William ID;
Bowman and to employ a trained
sanitarian in his place, the latter
rnunicipality has been looking for an
able man to I'LL the position. -Four
anplications have thus far been re-
neived. and 1t was decided last night
to hold the necessary exaInlnatlons
on Thursday, May q. They Will De
conducted by the Civil Service COM
mission in the rooms OF the boaro'
Main and Clinton streets. II is ex-
pected that the result or the examl-
nations will be learned about June 1.
In her address TO the Improvement
association, Miss Hall expressed dis
satisfaction at the lukewarm attitude
of East Orange residents claiming TO
favor the idea OF one health ofncer
for the five Oranges. She said that
the trouble was not that she could
not find people to agree with ner, put
that they were Indifferent about
bringing any pressure 10 bear on the
health board calculated 10 prlng
about the achievement OF their pur-
pose.
Residents Like Scheme.
she declared she had interviewed
fifty influential persons in the COM
rnunity, all OF whom had liked the
plan, and that she had thus far failed
to encounter any sentiment against
the idea except In the board itself,
which she censured for ignoring her
request that the question be aired at
a public meeting. She had laid the
plan before the board in person, she
said, and none of the members had
offered any objections to 1t, nor had
any reasons why II would not be a
good thing been vouchsafed. She
subsequently wrote q letter asking for
the public hearing, she said, and had
not received any acknowledgment OF
the n1issive
"And II the people of East Orange
want their health board to act like
that, then they're behind the times"
she concluded.
She had scarcely finished when
John Lenord Merrill, another mem
ber, offered the motion that the as
ISOLATION place itself on record as be-
ing in favor of the plan. A vote was
about to be taken when Colonel Jo-
sepil ". Slower obtained the floor and
besought the twenty members pres
ent to defer action until larger at
tendance could be obtained. There
are SO few Of US here tonight that
our action would not carry much
weight" Mr.. Merrill withdrew his
motion, declaring that Colonel Sto-
ver's point was we'll taken.
Work Behind Scenes"
Indications that the association will
try to carry out their plan before the
board can appoint It's officer were
given when former Councilman Ed
ward s. Pierson, whose term as pres
ident of the society expired last
night, said that much active work
along those lines had been going on
discuss 1t publicly Just now" said
Mr. Pierson, "but you can rest as
sured that We have not been idle"
That the Orange Commission, as a
whole, is opposed 10 the scheme, as
we'll as the East Orange and West
Orange health boards, Is the belief
OF DR.. Hunt. Questioned last night
about the plan he said he did not
think there was enough sentiment in
favor Of It to permit of its being
carried out.
He declared that as Tar as ne could
learn II was not favored IN South
Orange township and Sonuth Orange
village, either. One OF the objections
TO the scheme, ne said, would be the
question OF how the single health Of
flcer should divide his time among
the municipalities under his care, and
that sooner or later, should the as
sociation succeed In It's object, dis
satisfaction would probably arise
from this cause.
John LIenord Merrill was elected
president Of the association. He will
succeed former Councilman Edward
s. Pierson. The other officers chosen
were: Secretary, Warren A. Clapp,
and treasurer, Richard T. Mosely.
Eight vice. presidents, two from each
district of the ward, were also elect.
ed as follows: First district, Edmund
n Walker and Mrs: Frank Bliss
Cotton; Second district, Philemon
woodruff and Miss Edith Rockwell
Hall: Third district, former Mayor
Julian A. Gregory and Mrs. c. W.
Fiske; Fourth district, Frederick
Jaxels and Mrs. George W. Dodd.
XAIA..an Can't - IaiI