Norwich bulletin., 1915-03-12
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Opposed to Substitute Bill.

a proposed amendment to the present school inspection act, substitute bill was offered at the public hearing held by the committee on public health and safety, February 18th.
 It is the opinion of many that the substitute bill is equally as objection able as the original To quote from it's text: "AI such school inspection sball, however, be carried on in ac- cordance with the rules and regula- tions prescribed by the state board of health and state board of education and also, t"The state board of health in consultation with the state board Of education shall prescribe the duties of the medical inspectors of schools and nurses appointed under this act and establish rules and regulations rela- tiva to the conduct of the same"
 The somewhat novel penalty section is as follows:
 For any violation of the provisions of this act each member of the board of school visitors or board of educa- ton, as the case may be, shall be fined not more than fifty dollars"
 Those who have given these matters thoughtful consideration see a grave danger in such centralization of dic- tatOTial authority in state boards. It is thought to savor strongly of pa tern&lism. It will also at once be rec ognized as being in direct opposition to the present popular policy of Home Rule for cities and towns, as it transfers the authority now vested in local boards of health, boards of education and school visitors to state boards.
 Moreover, inasmuch as the adherants of tho so-caileG regular or ailopathic school Of medicine, at present domin- ate and probably for sometime in the future will dominate the state board of health, it is believed that passing this measure will have the effect of Hi 1E-I,i=, fota ioi, he reason that the health of the school children of the state will thereby be placed exclusively in charge of the physicians of one school of medicine Conditions in the Federal Public Health service are cited as furnishing a concrete example of what Is likely | to follow granting such special priv | iieges to any one class of medical practitioners.
 The officers and employees in the Government Public Health service | numbering about 16,o0o, are all of the | allopathic school or under it's control | irasmuch as no other school of medi- | cine or mode of healing is recognized | or considered.
 For the fiscal year of 1912 the ex- | 24000.D00, more than half of whicf | were for salaries or other comoensa. | ton
 In February congress defeated a lii | faVoraLly reported, to increase salarie: in the service by a total of $46,000. During the discussion the doctors | came in for severe criticism. According to newspaper reports | Congressmar Mann, minority house | leader, in charging that the doctors | had maint aimed an organized lobby fol | tlese increases, said:
 | ''The truth is that the public healtf service has been largely demoralizeG i during the past five or six years be- l cause there has been a propaganda from the top to the bottom, spending i time working for an increase in com | pensation, instead of performing tho work for which the men are paid | These men do not receive poor pay | They receive salaries for life. Int committee ought to tell these men: GO and attend to your business; yol | ought to be satisfied.'
 | Representative Dies said: q have no doubt if these gentlemen high priced, high paid, and learned | who are in the health service, haC | their way about it, they would in spect every laborer in the country | probably require him, if the matte went as far as they would like it t | go, to take his regular bath and keel his nails manicured
 Indeed, the way we are travelling il this good nation we will pretty sool provide supervisors for all the peo pie in all walks of life.
 If we will tax the people on all tn activities of their industrial lives il order to set over them a great swarm inG army of federal employees and in spectors, the people will be wonderful ly rotected-wonderfull protected against every idea and every initiativ ana every personal individual ambition | through all their lives"
 Congressman Dies has referred t, enc very important result of such leg islation, namely; that 1t tends to re recognized by the state and thus in dlVtdual endeavOr is thwarted ant progress defeated.
 Our ancestors as a legacy bequeath | ed to us a democracy under the con | stituticn of which the individual ha the inherent right to select the sehoo or medicine or healing method he ma employ. This medical freedom is con granted by our constitution, whicl gives to the individual the right t
 worship God according to the dictate eryone can appreciate that to preserv
 this liberty. for which our forefather fought and sacrificed, 1t is necessar, to oppose and defeat proposed legisla
 ton of the kind represented by the Bil No S6 and it's substitute. Publi
 hearing on this bill will be held at 1.3
 p. m., Wednesday, March IT, 1915 Yours truly.
 PUBLIC HEALTH Norwich, March 15, 1915.